INGREDIENTS
- Butter = 50g
- Flour = 50g
- Milk (cold) = 500ml
- Spices = your preference
Step #1
The preparation for this recipe is very, very little and quick. All you need is a saucepan large enough to fit all the ingredients in and a stirring tool to mix everything with. It would be wise to use a tool that you will feel comfortable with because mixing is the prime action of this whole recipe’s process.
Step #2
The second step after getting everything ready is to melt the butter in the saucepan. You can set the heat to medium or somewhere in the middle. If you like to take it easy, then low heat can work too, but avoid using high heat unless you’re experienced. It helps to have the stove or wherever you’re cooking on turned on ahead of this step to give the saucepan time to warm up. This will make you more effective throughout the cooking process.
Step #3
Once the butter has fully melted and has spread out evenly in the saucepan, you can add the flour. You want to mix the flour really well so that all of it is blended smoothly with the melted butter. If the flour is not mixed in well, the sauce will taste a little too floury, so take time with this part. The color of the sauce should also look a little different by the end of this stage, so stir the mix around and around until this happens.
Step #4
After mixing the butter and flour well, allow the mixture to be brought to a boil while still continuing the stirring process. If you feel like your stirring has slowed down or its effectiveness has dropped, you could always switch to the other hand. It is a common practice amongst professional chefs and serious cooks to use both hands in preparing and cooking to be more efficient in the kitchen.
Step #5
Now that everything is mixed well and boiling nicely, it is time to add the milk. At the moment, you don’t need to add the whole 500ml, just 150ml. This is to prevent the sauce from becoming too lumpy. When you mix the milk, let it seep into every part of the mixture. You could try different stirring techniques to really get into every nook and cranny of that saucepan. After all, this is a sauce recipe, so you want the whole thing to be well moist and flavorsome.
Step #6
If you start to see the sauce looking very smooth and white, you can begin to add the rest of the milk. It is best to add it slowly or bit by bit and while stirring at the same time. If you want to check how the texture is, you could pick up a spoon full of the sauce and drag a finger in the middle to see if it keeps its form, which if it does, then you’re on the right track. At this stage, you can lower the heat to low so you can let the sauce simmer for a bit.
Step #7
For the last step, the final result will depend on your personal preference, which is to add the spices you like. The great thing about this sauce is that it acts as a basic foundation for other sauces or dishes, specifically pasta dishes. So, you can add whatever and however many spices you want, such as herbs or salt and pepper. With this very simple and easy homemade sauce, you can be free to make your own creative bechamel sauce!
Tamiflu
This is THE go to recipe for myself when I need a bechamel or simple white sauce. Works out perfectly everytime and forms the perfect base for numerous recipes.