How to Cook a Roux in the Oven
Things You'll Need
Instructions
1Portion equal parts fat and flour by weight using a kitchen scale. You can use butter, oil, lard or, in a pinch, margarine. If you use butter or lard, melt it on the stove.
2
Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the melted butter, lard or oil in an enameled baking dish.
3
Sprinkle the flour over the butter and stir it using a wooden spoon to form a paste. Place the roux in the oven on the middle rack.
4
Bake the roux for 10 minutes and pull the oven rack out. Stir the roux and return it to the oven. Pull the rack out and stir the roux using a wooden spoon every 10 minutes during cooking.
5
Bake the roux for 20 minutes and take it out of the oven for a white roux. White roux has a pale yellow color, and is used to thicken white sauces, such as bechamel, and white soups, such as cream of potato.
6
Bake the roux for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, for a blond roux. Blond roux has a blond color and is commonly used in light- to medium-colored sauces, such as chicken veloute, and light or medium-colored soups, such as cream of mushroom.
7
Bake the roux for one hour for a brown roux. Brown roux is primarily used for one thing: gumbo.
8
Stir the roux after you take it out of the oven, and place the enameled dish on a wire rack or hot pad.
9
Use the roux immediately or scrape it into a food-storage container while still warm if you want to store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Spread the roux out evenly with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon in the container and let it cool to room temperature. Cover the food-storage container with its lid.
10
Place the roux in the freezer for about one hour and then take it out. Loosen the edges of the roux using a butter knife and pop it out of the container in one piece. Cut the roux into 1- to 1 1/2-inch cubes, the approximate amount needed to thicken 1 cup of sauce or soup. Wrap each cube of roux in plastic food film. Store roux in the fridge for up to one week for best results and up to one month in the freezer for best results.