Béchamel Sauce (Beeton)
Béchamel or French white sauce (French: Sauce Béchamel) is a white rich sauce, used as a basic sauce for many dishes.
Ingredients
- 40 g (1½ oz) of plain flour
- 40 g (2 oz) of butter
- 700 ml (1¼ pints) of milk (or white stock)
- 1 small onion or shallot
- 1 small bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)
- 10 peppercorns
- ½ bay leaf
- ½ tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
Ingredients for 14 servings (895 g) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
Put the milk into a saucepan and place on the hob. Add the onion or shallot, the bouquet garni, peppercorns, mace, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil.
Stovetop - 2
In another saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook a little without browning to make a roux.
Stovetop - 3
Stir in your hot milk mixture and whisk over the heat until it boils, then bring down the temperature and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Stovetop - 4
Strain and pass through a sieve or muslin, return to the saucepan, and season lightly with ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp cayenne, and ½ tsp salt.
Stovetop - 5
Serve.
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
Ratings and comments
0 votes · 0 comments. Rate it on its own, or add a comment for the next cook.
Made it? Sign in to rate it and leave a note for the next cook.