MirepoixKeep roux weight and flour weight distinct
A roux made with 30 g butter and 30 g flour weighs approximately 60 g before cooking losses. A recipe asking for 60 g of roux is therefore different from a recipe asking for 60 g of flour.
Read the calculator's ratio label before measuring. When a sauce specifies equal butter and flour weights, use a scale; equal spoonfuls are not equal weights.
Scale the whole starting recipe
Suppose your chosen recipe uses 1 litre of liquid, 60 g butter and 60 g flour. Making 600 ml of that starting mixture uses a factor of 0.6: 600 ml liquid, 36 g butter and 36 g flour. The same factor applies to other ingredients, subject to sensible seasoning adjustments.
For a sauce reduced during cooking, starting liquid is not the same thing as final yield. Do not promise six exact portions from a volume that has not yet been cooked down.
Finish by checking the sauce
Add the liquid in a controlled way, combine it thoroughly and allow the flour-based sauce to cook according to its recipe. Check the texture at serving temperature. A sauce that sits or cools may thicken further.
Taste before adding the final salt, especially when stock or cheese contributes salt of its own. Keep a little suitable liquid available for a measured adjustment rather than changing the recipe several times at once.
- Weigh flour and fat separately.
- Keep millilitres and grams labelled.
- Record the ratio and the finished texture for your next batch.