Béchamel Sauce (White Sauce)

Ingredients

• 20g plain flour
• 20g unsalted butter
• 400ml milk

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 minute
Serves: 3

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2. Add the flour and stir them together until it forms a paste.
3. Add about 50ml of the milk and stir well to combine it (it may appear as if the milk will never combine with the butter and flour, however, if you keep stirring, it will eventually come together).
4. Add another 50ml of the milk and, again, stir it well until it has combined. To view a short movie, demonstrating the stirring process, click here (2.4mb).
5. Continue to add the milk, 50ml at a time, until all of the milk has been incrporated
6. Boil the sauce for 1 minutes to cook the flour (otherwise the sauce has a floury taste), stirring all the time.
7. Season with salt & pepper and use as required.

Back to top

Useful Information

Can it be frozen? Yes.
Can it be prepared in advance? Yes, it can be finished up to 3 days in advance (place a piece of cling-film/plastic-wrap on the surface of the sauce to prevent it developing a skin).
Will leftovers be nice? Yes, for up to 3 days.

Notes