How to make bechamel or white sauce
How to make a white sauce or bechamel sauce.
White sauce, bechamel sauce or the classic white mother sauce are basically the same.
I first learnt how to make bechamel sauce at culinary school in 1976.
We had to make it the traditional french way, melting butter in a heavy-bottom stainless steel pot.
Add and mix the flour, cook it into a blond roux, and then remove the pot from the heat.
Then we added the milk 1/3 at a time and mixed it into the flour or roux mixture.
We had to use a wooden spoon and measure everything precisely.
Then add the cloute ( an onion, peeled and studded with clove and bay leaf), then cover the sauce in a
cartouche ( a lightly buttered round of waxed paper ) lid to stop the milk from evaporating.
Simmer the sauce, so it does not burn.
Then place the pot into an oven @150°c / 300°f for 20 minutes.
Then strain the sauce, cover it with melted butter, glad wrap, date it and refrigerate it; it seems like yesterday.
We used a heavy pot to avoid burning the milk as the sauce simmers.
It is against most health department policies to allow wood in a commercial kitchen today.
So here is the modern-day recipe. Video and all.
How to make Bechamel or classic White Sauce
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Equipment
- Stainless Steel Pot
- Rubber Spatula
- Digital Scales
Ingredients
- 100 grams butter salted
- 100 grams flour plain
- 1 l milk whole
- 1 g nutmeg ground
- 10 ml wine dry white
- 100 g onion peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove
- 3 g salt
total food cost
Preparation Time Estimate
ADJUSTABLE SERVINGS
Instructions
- Warm the milk in a stainless steel pot or microwave oven to remove the chill.1 l milk
- Melt butter over low heat in a thick bottom stainless steel pot.100 grams butter
- Mix in flour continuously, stirring with a whisk, rubber spatula or wooden spoon.100 grams flour
- Stop the flour from burning by paying attention and continue to whisk. Remove the pot from the heat for a few minutes.
- Mix to the consistency of wet sand.
- This is how you cook the roux. (a mixture for thickening sauces)
- Add the warm milk 1/3 rd at a time, continue to heat, mixing continuously to remove any lumps.
- Place the warm pot back on the heat.
- Bring the bechamel to a slow simmer. Add wine and salt to taste.10 ml wine, 3 g salt
- You may use a whisk if needed to remove lumps.
- Stud the peeped onion with the clove thru the bay leaf.100 g onion, 1 bay leaf, 1 clove
- Add your cloute (onion studded with a clove and bay leaf), seasoning.1 g nutmeg
- Simmer, covered on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Strain if needed, cover with glad wrap or melted butter to prevent skinning.
- Use as needed, add to soups and sauces.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Cover with melted butter to stop skinning.
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