Béchamel sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 75 g flour
• 75 g butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 peppercorns, black
• ¾ liter milk or stock
• Salt and pepper from the mill
• nutmeg
• Cayenne pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 20 minutes

Basic recipe

To make the roux, gently sauté the flour in a saucepan with the butter, a bay leaf, and the peppercorns over low heat. Gradually stir in the milk or stock and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg, and pass the sauce through a fine sieve. The béchamel sauce will taste even better if you add a piece of bacon or ham rind and some onions while sautéing. Roux is the French word for roux. Roux is classified as white (roux blanc), light (roux blond), and dark (roux brun), depending on how long the flour is sautéed in the melted butter. Thickening sauces with roux is an outdated method, as flour makes the dish heavy. Thickeners can be made more digestible by thickening them with the vegetables used or with a little cornstarch mixed with cold water. You can also stir in a little cold butter at the end. The béchamel is a basic sauce that is varied by the ratio of roux and milk.