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Best Homemade Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce Recipe
It is a simple, easy-to-make sauce, bechamel sauce is also known as white sauce. This sauce is used as a base to prepare soups, sauces, and stuffings. It is considered one of the key ingredients in making macaroni cheese.
There are three different types of white sauce: béchamel (white), velouté (blond), and Mornay sauce (a rich cream sauce). This versatile, creamy sauce is used in several recipes, and you can season it with different herbs of your choice.
Bechamel sauce is basically a white roux (flour and butter) thickened with flour, milk, or cream. This French-inspired sauce has many uses in cooking.
Even though the base of bechamel sauce is rich, you can make it flavorful by adding different herbs and spices at the end. Béchamel can be topped with cheese and broiled under the oven before serving. Grated nutmeg is a nice accent to add flavor to white sauces as well.
Bechamel sauce is also used in various recipes, for example, French onion soup, lasagne, and macaroni cheese. The creaminess of bechamel sauce makes it an ideal base ingredient for soups and baked casseroles.
Besides basic white sauce, béchamel sauce has three other variations: Velouté is a blond version of the original bechamel sauce, in which chicken or fish broth is used instead of milk. Generally, the starch that thickens velouté is arrowroot powder mixed with white stock and water.
Mornay sauce is another variation of bechamel sauce, in which Gruyere cheese is melted before adding the hot stock to create a creamy white sauce for dishes such as macaroni cheese and other gratins. Note that parmesan can also be used instead of gruyere.
Finally, there is cream béchamel sauce, which is very similar to the basic recipe with a reduced amount of milk or cream. The consistency is thicker and richer than classic béchamel sauce and serves as a base for creamy soups, such as lobster bisque
Bechamel sauce can be used in a wide range of dishes including gratins, casseroles, soups, and lasagne. This sauce is versatile. You can serve this sauce as an entree or a side dish with vegetables or meat.
This recipe will help you make the Best Homemade Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce Recipe ever as well as help you to avoid common blunders while doing so! Its rich flavor and creaminess just cannot be beaten.
How To Make Best Homemade Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
Author: Ranjeeta Nath Ghai
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter [BUY HERE]
- 1 tbsp olive oil [BUY HERE]
- 2 tbsp plain flour [BUY HERE]
- 1 tbsp garlic minced [BUY HERE]
- 2 cups milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A pinch of nutmeg powder [BUY HERE]
Directions
- Heat the butter and olive oil on low heat in a pan.
- Slowly add the flour.
- Cook it on low heat for 5 minutes or until a little aroma is released.
- Then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove the heated pan from the fire and allow it to return to room temperature.
- Now gradually stir in the milk to get a smooth sauce. Return to the heat, stir continuously till the sauce bubbles and is thick.
- Simmer it a little for 3 to 4 minutes and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Use as required
5 Mistakes Not To Make While Cooking Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce Recipe
There is no doubt that Bechamel is the most versatile sauce – that class of sauces that is the foundation of all French cooking – ever. Milk, butter, and flour are combined to form this gravy. It can also be used for binders in casseroles, cheese sauces, and soufflés. In addition to being one of the easiest to master, mother sauce is often the most maligned as it is often not properly prepared and therefore lumpy.
If you make a mistake, you can’t fix it no matter how much cheese you use, so remember to do it right the first time. You can prepare silky-smooth béchamel every time by avoiding a few mistakes and following these five simple tips.
Mistake 1. You’re using the wrong ratio.
When I make the roux, I often eyeball it by throwing a few spoonfuls of flour and butter into the pan. Sometimes I end up with a sauce that is too thick or thin, but most of the time it works out just fine.
It is usually advised to use a roux that is made from 2 oz. of fat (butter, ghee, coconut oil) to 3 oz. of all-purpose flour for a classic bechamel sauce. With this ratio of roux, a quart of milk can thicken, but less milk can thicken the sauce more.
Mistake 2. Roux is not cooked for the correct amount of time.
You have to be careful when cooking Roux. Once it reaches the brown stage, it’s lost some of its thickening properties and will need to be thickened with more of it. In contrast, for béchamel, we require a roux that is cooked just long enough so it doesn’t taste like raw flour.
As a rule of thumb: Begin by paying attention to the cooking times listed on the recipe, then rely on sight and taste for the best results. At least five minutes should be enough to dry out the roux and make it smell nutty. You can also taste it then. Any traces of raw flour or cereal should be removed.
Mistake 3. Utilizing cold milk.
Using cold milk will make béchamel messier and take longer to cook. The combination of cold milk and hot roux produces even more spurting and splattering than frying chicken (and even more cleanup).
Warm-up your milk for a minute or two in the microwave. For warming and pouring, a glass measuring cup with a spout is ideal.
Mistake 4. Pour the whole cup of milk in at once.
The fastest way to Lump City is to add all the milk to your roux at once. By adding milk to the roux, it will clump (especially in cold milk). You’ll then have to work really hard to whisk out all the lumps.
As a rule of thumb: When adding warm milk, sprinkle about 1/4 of it on top of the roux and whisk vigorously to loosen it up and knock out any lumps. Then drizzle the remaining milk gradually over the top.
Mistake 5. It wasn’t cooked long enough.
You add the milk and it kind of simmering, and you assume that the sauce is ready, right? I mean, it does look thick in the pan. Wrong! Béchamel requires more than simmering and steady whisking to reach the right consistency.
How To Know If Your Béchamel Is Done?
A properly thickened roux must coat the back of the spoon, which means dipping your spoon into the béchamel and then tracing your finger along the coating.
If the sauce wipes clean, does it leave an open space? When the béchamel has been set, you are ready to add seasoning or cheese.
Quick Overview
Recipe Name: Best Homemade Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce Recipe
Author: Ranjeeta Nath Ghai
Description: This recipe will help you make the Best Homemade Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce Recipe ever! Its rich flavor and creaminess just cannot be beaten.
Preperation time: 5 M
Cook Time: 5 M
Total Time: 10 M
Type: entree/sauce
Recipe Yield: 2 cups
Recipe Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp plain flour, 1 tbsp garlic minced, 2 cups milk, Salt and pepper to taste, A pinch of nutmeg powder
Recipe Instructions: Heat the butter and olive oil on low heat in a pan. Slowly add the flour. Cook it on low heat for 5 minutes or until a little aroma is released. Then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove the heated pan from the fire and allow it to return to room temperature. Now gradually stir in the milk to get a smooth sauce. Return to the heat, stir continuously till the sauce bubbles and is thick. Simmer it a little for 3 to 4 minutes and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Use as required
Recipe Cuisine: French
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