Bechamel Sauce
Course – Sauces
Cuisine – French
Keyword – Belhamel
Cook Time – 10 minutes
Serving – 1 Cup
Skill level – Easy
Author – Bobby Hicks
Everyone can cook – this I am convinced of.
There are people that have an innate skill, finesse and even an air of effortless confidence when walking into a kitchen – then there is everyone else, burning the pot of water and covered in flour.
The good news is it’s totally within your ability to learn how to cook delicious foods and elevate simple dishes with recipes like this one.
Sauce Bechamel is one of the original Mother Sauces from the Father of cooking, August Escoffier, which is commonly known today as “White Sauce.”
Whether or not you want to wax on impressing your diners with your newly acquired verbiage is up to you, but executing this will instantly amplify any dish in 10 minutes or less.
When making Bechamel sauce you don’t want to get bogged down with numbers – they help, don’t get me wrong, but cooking is like dancing and much of it comes from feeling and knowing it’s right.
So, rather than expect you memorize exact numbers, let’s make it simple with this ratio.
1:1:10
There you go – you can make white sauce for days.
The exact ratio you’re looking for is 1 part butter (or any fat), 1 part All-Purpose Flour and 10 parts of warm milk.
Mixing the fat and flour together and allowing to cook into a kind of paste is called a roux which is generally a thickening agent for most sauces.
Once you follow the steps below, you’ll have a rich, creamy and thick sauce that’s perfect for so many dishes.
Let’s get into it.
Should my milk be hot or cold when adding to the Roux?
- Best practices are to introduce warm or hot liquids to your roux when making your béchamel. You can add cold liquids, but add a tablespoon or two at a time, while whisking before adding more, until the sauce is thickened enough.
Do I have to add milk or can I add another liquid?
- To make Sauce Bechamel you’ll want to use milk, but if you were to substitute the milk for a stock, you’d be making another Mother Sauce, Sauce Veloute. This is essentially the same sauce, but it’s much lighter.
Can I use a Gluten-free flour for my roux?
- Yes! You will want to find a proper gluten-free flour that isn’t just nut-based. The sauce is thickened with flour because the gluten in the flour activates and thickens, so be sure to find a blend with cornstarch or tapioca flour to help thicken your sauce. The same rule applies for the ratio (1 part fat, 1 part flour = roux)
INGREDIENTS
- 2T Butter (or rendered fat)
- 2T All-Purpose Flour
- 1.25C Whole Milk, warm
- Salt to taste
- Sprinkle of fresh nutmeg (optional)
METHOD
Heat your milk in a saucepan so that it’s warm but not scalding.
Melt your butter in a warm pot or pan and add the AP flour, to form your roux.
Allow the raw flavor of the flour to cook out in the butter, until the roux begins to turn a slightly amber color. (2-3 minutes)
Slowly pour your milk in with the roux, while whisking constantly. The roux will begin to almost immediately absorb the liquid.
Keep adding your milk until you’ve reached around the golden ratio of about 10 parts liquid.
When you have the consistency you want, season your béchamel with salt and even some freshly-grated nutmeg or cracked pepper.
Transfer your sauce to your food or add to an airtight container and allow to cool before sealing and refrigerating.
It will hold for several days and reheats very easily.
NOTES:
- If you add cheese to this sauce, you just made Mornay Sauce, which is perfect for Mac and Cheese!
- This sauce is perfect with most veggies, most proteins and is the classic sauce used in Lasagna!
- You can fortify this dish and make it even better (in my opinion) by whisking an egg yolk into the sauce, when it’s not too warm – you don’t want scrambled eggs, right?
- Sub out Chicken Stock, or another stock of your choice, and you made Veloute Sauce!
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