Béchamel Sauce

Classic White Sauce — France

One of France's five mother sauces: equal butter and flour, milk, and a whisk. Lasagna, mac and cheese, gratins and croque-monsieur all start here.

Ingredients

• 50 g — Butter (3½ Tbsp)
• 50 g — All-purpose flour (⅓ cup)
• 600 ml — Whole milk, warm (2½ cups)
• 5 g — Fine sea salt (1 tsp)
• 1 g — White pepper (¼ tsp)
• 1 pinch — Nutmeg, freshly grated (a pinch)

Step-by-Step Method

1. Cook the roux blond. Butter melted, flour whisked in, cook 2 minutes over medium until it smells faintly nutty. No color — a brown roux belongs to gumbo, not béchamel.
2. Milk in three additions. First splash: whisk to a smooth paste. Second: whisk out every lump. Third: the rest. Warm milk + gradual adding = zero lumps, guaranteed.
3. Simmer to nappe. Gentle simmer 4–5 minutes, whisking the corners, until it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through leaves a clean line.
4. Season & hold. Salt, white pepper, nutmeg. Resting? Press wrap onto the surface so no skin forms. Add 60 g grated Gruyère or cheddar off the heat and it becomes sauce Mornay.

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