Béchamel is also known as a white sauce. In its most basic form, it consists of milk which is thickened by a roux.
Chef's notes
You can add flavorings/aromatics to the béchamel by sweating items such as onions, garlic, herbs, etc., at the beginning with the butter. This softens and extracts flavor. Add the flour to the mixture and continue with the recipe. Strain the aromatics once done. Season to taste.
Steps
1
Making the Sauce
Ingredients
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4 tbsp all-purpose flour (approx.)
2 cups cold, whole milk
kosher salt (to taste)
white pepper (to taste)
freshly grated nutmeg (to taste, optional)
To start the béchamel, first melt the butter in a small pot over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk to form a white roux that has a medium consistency. Cook the roux for about 1 minute; it should not turn color.
Slowly temper in the milk, a bit at a time. To prevent lumping, thoroughly whisk together the roux and milk with each addition. Once all of the milk has been incorporated, gently simmer uncovered for about 10 to 15 minutes to cook out the starch flavor.
The béchamel should have a medium consistency (thicker than a sauce). Strain if desired. Season to taste.
22 Comments
Darren S•
usually how much aromatics would you add for this recipe? half a shallot? 1 clove of garlic?
Also, if using ground nutmeg, how much should i use - about half a teaspoon?
Mother sauces allow you to personalize the flavor by adding an array of ingredients. It is really up to you and how strong of a flavor you want to add. For this amount of sauce, your suggestions of the shallot and garlic sound reasonable to start with. For the nutmeg, add a bit, taste it and adjust to your liking. Make sure to review the lesson on Bechamel if you haven't already done so. Cheers!
I have a midterm coming up this week that requires us to make a béchamel sauce.. Our recipe for culinary school says to add the cool roux to the warm milk.. Are there any advantages or disadvantages with this method?
The only advantage is that a cool roux's butter won't melt too quickly, so if not properly whisked right from the beginning the butter in a warm roux can melt out and result in a greasy bechamel. Just remember to stir or whisk continuously when combining the two. But I've never had problems adding a roux and milk together, no matter what the temperature.
I discovered something called Sauce Flour recently. It is really great because it allows you to add more flour to a warm mixture if the sauce gets too thin. Simply whisk it in with manual balloon whisk in a Bechamel or stir in if there are other ingredients already there. Any small lumps disappear with cooking.
I have found that this works well with casseroles and meat based sauces if you add a bit too much stock etc.,and want to thicken it up again.
Any comments?
My first comment is that I had to look up Sauce Flour as I had never heard of it. My only other comment would be, If it works for you then that's what matters. As I cannot say whether or not it will give a sauce the same richness or flavor, as I believe there is no need for butter or fat with the "sauce flour", therefore; I can't really add much more than that without testing it out. Cheers!
This flour is widely available in the UK and may be used instead of ordinary flour, with butter and/or fat and well cooked in the same way. However it really comes into its own if you want to thicken already warm or hot ingredients without risking lumps, unlike plain flour. Sorry, don't understand the comment about white wash. In my part of the world white wash is a paint!
Not sure if you have watched the lesson on "How to Make Bechamel" but you may want to watch the Introduction topic of the lesson as we do talk about it's uses there.
You may also want to watch the lesson on "How to Make Roux-Based Soups" as we talk quite a bit about bechamel sauce in there as well. Cheers!
I made caulifower gratin with bechamel sauce. While I was making the bechamel sauce, I missed by 1 TBSP of flour, which means 4 TBSP butter, 3 TBSP flour and 2 cups of milk. I continued to make the sauce to the texture as instructed but the caulifower gratin turned out to be quite soupy. I am just wondering if "1 TBSP of flour" makes such a big difference? If not, I may need to find out other factors that caused a soupy gratin. p.s. I also add greuyere and parmesan into my bechamel sauce.
To answer your question about whether or not a tablespoon of flour makes a difference, the short answer is that is certainly can—especially when you are using such a small amount to begin with. It sounds like you may have just needed to use a bit more flour—maybe even a bit more then the tbsp, that was omitted. Also, make sure that the cauliflower is not wet, if you partially cooked it before hand that is.
You can see in this Brussels Sprouts w/ Mornay Sauce we used a bit higher ratio of flour to butter, plus there was the added cheese. Cheers.
Hi Marcus. Thanks for your question. Most Nacho cheese recipes start with a base of béchamel. You can try melting cheddar/pepper jack into this béchamel and then adding cayenne instead of nutmeg. Keep experimenting. Lauren
Is it true when making roux based sauces that it should be hot roux cold liquids as I've been doing hot roux hot liquids and I'm not getting good results lumps and such?
Hello, Riaz: thanks for writing. In making a roux, it is considered a best practice to add cold liquid, a little at a time, while whisking until smooth after each addition. Hope this helps--let us know how your next roux turns out. Cheers, Char
Thank u char.do I switch to a wooden spoon when adding the milk as I tend to find once I add the milk and whick the milk scolds on the base of the pan during thickening stage?
Hi Riaz: Nice hearing from you, thanks for writing. Using a wooden utensil is a good idea, you may want to regulate the temperature of the heat on your stove top to make sure that nothing scalds. Take care, Char
Char when ever I try to make a roux it literally clumps and sticks to the surface of the pot ? What things can I do as an insurance
policy to minimise failures with this ? Would using a non stick pot help and use non metal equipment to whisk such as a silicon whisk and wooden spatula? I watched videos online where you stir in the first stages then whisk.i just want to get this right as I feel like by not perfecting a roux I'm missing out on creating so many different meals.
what are your thoughts on delia smiths all-in-one method from the 70s. its where the butter flour and milk are added to a pot cold then brought up to heat constantly whisking then stirring until to a boil then boil until the starch breaks then simmered?
Kimberley S • Rouxbe Staff •Mother sauces allow you to personalize the flavor by adding an array of ingredients. It is really up to you and how strong of a flavor you want to add. For this amount of sauce, your suggestions of the shallot and garlic sound reasonable to start with. For the nutmeg, add a bit, taste it and adjust to your liking. Make sure to review the lesson on Bechamel if you haven't already done so. Cheers!
Cody H •I have a midterm coming up this week that requires us to make a béchamel sauce.. Our recipe for culinary school says to add the cool roux to the warm milk.. Are there any advantages or disadvantages with this method?
Tony M • Rouxbe Staff •The only advantage is that a cool roux's butter won't melt too quickly, so if not properly whisked right from the beginning the butter in a warm roux can melt out and result in a greasy bechamel. Just remember to stir or whisk continuously when combining the two. But I've never had problems adding a roux and milk together, no matter what the temperature.
Peter C •I discovered something called Sauce Flour recently. It is really great because it allows you to add more flour to a warm mixture if the sauce gets too thin. Simply whisk it in with manual balloon whisk in a Bechamel or stir in if there are other ingredients already there. Any small lumps disappear with cooking. I have found that this works well with casseroles and meat based sauces if you add a bit too much stock etc.,and want to thicken it up again. Any comments?
Dawn T •My first comment is that I had to look up Sauce Flour as I had never heard of it. My only other comment would be, If it works for you then that's what matters. As I cannot say whether or not it will give a sauce the same richness or flavor, as I believe there is no need for butter or fat with the "sauce flour", therefore; I can't really add much more than that without testing it out. Cheers!
Hsiao hui W •I made caulifower gratin with bechamel sauce. While I was making the bechamel sauce, I missed by 1 TBSP of flour, which means 4 TBSP butter, 3 TBSP flour and 2 cups of milk. I continued to make the sauce to the texture as instructed but the caulifower gratin turned out to be quite soupy. I am just wondering if "1 TBSP of flour" makes such a big difference? If not, I may need to find out other factors that caused a soupy gratin. p.s. I also add greuyere and parmesan into my bechamel sauce.
Lauren L •Hi Marcus. Thanks for your question. Most Nacho cheese recipes start with a base of béchamel. You can try melting cheddar/pepper jack into this béchamel and then adding cayenne instead of nutmeg. Keep experimenting. Lauren
Char N • Rouxbe Staff •Hello, Riaz: thanks for writing. In making a roux, it is considered a best practice to add cold liquid, a little at a time, while whisking until smooth after each addition. Hope this helps--let us know how your next roux turns out. Cheers, Char
Riaz M •Char when ever I try to make a roux it literally clumps and sticks to the surface of the pot ? What things can I do as an insurance policy to minimise failures with this ? Would using a non stick pot help and use non metal equipment to whisk such as a silicon whisk and wooden spatula? I watched videos online where you stir in the first stages then whisk.i just want to get this right as I feel like by not perfecting a roux I'm missing out on creating so many different meals.