Washed Flour Roast Turkee

Wash your flour in (2) 6-cup batches of bread or all purpose flour (easier to handle than all in one bowl). I have found that 2 1/4 cups of water is about perfect for 6 cups of flour, but different flours may vary, so start with 2 cups of water and add a little more if necessary. New to washing flour? Follow steps 1-7 here.

While your dough balls are resting in water, prepare your simmering liquid using the vegetable broth base plus chickun variation of this recipe, or use about 1 gallon of vegetable broth and add 6T nutritional yeast, 2t dried sage, 8 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary.

Once your gluten has drained for at least 20 minutes after washing, add it to a blender (working in batches if necessary) with 4T of chickun bouillon and 3oz of tofu*. Blend until those ingredients are evenly incorporated.

*TIP: If you start with just a little bit of the gluten and the tofu, it might be easier to get the tofu to fully break down. You do not want to see any tofu chunks as this will impact the texture of the final roast. If you're aiming for a more chickeny roast, you can omit the tofu entirely.

Let your gluten rest about another hour on the counter or until the strands have developed enough so you can stretch it without breaking. You'll want to be able to stretch it enough to tie in one big knot, or 2-3 if you want a more shreddy chicken flavor. I let it rest again at this point as I was straining my broth, and the dough should begin to smooth back out. Stab the seitan about 10 times to let some of the cooking liquid in. You can optionally then wrap it with cheesecloth to help the shape stay more uniform and round.

I transferred my strained broth to a slow cooker on high. This is so I can make sure that it does not boil and barely maintains a simmer. IMPORTANT: My broth stayed at a steady temperature of about 190F (85C). This temperature can also be achieved by the medium (normal) setting on the slow cooker function of an Instant Pot.) If you can manage this on the stovetop - perfect. Cook for about 2 hours or until it starts to feel more solid.*

Don't fuss with it too much or you can risk breaking up the dough. It will be very soft for at least the first hour. I usually flip mine once after 1.5 hours to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom, but you really shouldn't need to flip it at all if it's covered in liquid. When done cooking, allow it to come to room temperature and let it rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight in the broth.

*TIP: Some people have said their roasts take longer to cook than 2 hours. It should feel a little tough/stiff and have the ability to stay together. Mine typically floats when it's done, but others have reported theirs did not. Using cheesecloth may affect its ability to float. Also, if you did not flip it, it might be stuck to the bottom.

On the day you are eating your roast, bring it out of the fridge in the liquid and let it come to room temperature for about 2 hours, then set your oven to 325F. Pull your turkee out of the broth placing it on a work surface and gently pat the top dry. Soak your rice paper in the broth until it is very malleable. At the same time, melt about 1-2T of non dairy butter. Brush the butter onto the turkee and add the rice paper skin, tucking it around the edges at the bottom.

Add all the ingredients for your basting liquid to a small pot on the stove and bring to a simmer, then lower the temp so it stays warm.

Prepare a small roast pan. Coat the bottom with about 3/4-1c of the reserved broth, just enough to coat the bottom. Place your wrapped turkey in the pan and drizzle with about 1/3 of the basting liquid. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and baste again with another 1/3 of the liquid. Leave the foil off and continue to cook for another 20 minutes.