Simple Dry Mixture for Making White or Cheese Sauce

This is a very useful recipe for the busy cook! Keep this dry mixture in an airtight container in your fridge, and that tedious task of making a basic white sauce becomes a simple matter of mixing this with water, whisking, and bringing it to a boil ... All instructions included here! Time to make is a guess!

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 20

Ingredients

• BASIC MIXTURE

• 2  cups  full cream milk powder, plus 3 tablespoons (550 ml or 200 g)
• 1  cup flour (250 ml or 140 g, cake flour preferred)
• 1⁄2 lb butter, cold, hard (250 g)

Directions

1. Into a large bowl sift the milk powder and flour two or three times.
2. Using a cheese grater, grate the cold butter into the mixture, then rub it in with your fingers until it resembles fine crumbs.
3. Keep this mixture tightly closed in a jar in the fridge.
4. This makes about 1 lb 3 1/2 oz mixture (600 g).
5. FORMULA:.
6. THIN WHITE SAUCE: use 1 oz plus 1 tablespoon mixture (40 g).
7. MEDIUM SAUCE: use 2 oz mixture (60 g).
8. THICK SAUCE: use 3 oz mixture (80 g).
9. As the original recipe is metric and more accurate, you might have to experiment a little with these weights! It's hard to calculate precisely into ounces.
10. TO MAKE A BASIC WHITE SAUCE:.
11. (Measure out the mixture according to weight, depending on how thin or thick you want your sauce. Zaar wil number the following, but please read it as a "recipe" for your white sauce).
12. Your weighed mixture.
13. 1/2 teaspoon salt.
14. White pepper to taste.
15. 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon water (200 ml).
16. Grated cheese or whatever ingredients you need for the type of the sauce you wish to make.
17. Whisk the dry mixture, salt, pepper and water over gentle heat. Whisk until it starts to boil, and thickens. Simmer about 2 - 3 minutes.
18. Now add your choice of ingredients.
19. This will make about 1 cup of sauce, so double quantities if you need more.
20. AGAIN: depending on a few variables, you might have to experiment to get the right sauce consistency.