Why should I cook the flour first with butter, instead of just combining all the ingredients until I get the desired consistency when making a bechamel sauce?
Bechamel Sauce – Why Cook Flour First in Bechamel Sauce?
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Why should I cook the flour first with butter, instead of just combining all the ingredients until I get the desired consistency when making a bechamel sauce?
Best Answer
This link explains the science behind what is known as "the mother sauce", béchamel. Essentially, the steps of first creating a roux, then adding cold milk, are about manipulating the glucose chains in the flour. Done correctly, the sauce is smooth and flavorful. Done incorrectly and you have a grainy mixture that tastes of raw flour.
@David Richerby's comment below prompted me to investigate further. So, I turned to Harold McGee's classic, On Food and Cooking. He writes, on page 617, that:
He goes on to explain the importance of this step, but it generally achieves the desired texture and means the sauce is less likely to congeal on the plate.
From Wikipedia's page on starch:
...and, yes, this correlates with gelatinization.