oh wow, that’s much simpler - I usually have some specific ratio that I weigh out for the gluten and the water, and I knead it for a long time to develop the gluten into long, fibrous strands. I let it sit for a while and knead it some more. Then I eventually braid it and boil the braid in a flavorful broth for a while (can’t remember if it’s like 30 minutes or an hour - I remember it taking a while). Then it goes into the fridge overnight because it’s kinda soggy and soft at this point. The next day it’s like meat - chewy, fibrous, etc.

For a lunchmeat instead of braiding and boiling, I put spices in with the gluten and then after kneading I put the loaf onto some wax paper and wrap it tightly with aluminum foil, and then I steam that. I have even made a substitute Braunschweiger this way which was sorta tasty (incorporated a lot of other ingredients for that to make it fattier).

I’ll try your easy method and see how it goes - do you use it like a lunchmeat substitution or just any kind of meat sub?