Cooking For Engineers

[Odd_Bloke]

I'm trying to think about what I like and don't like about my Bechamel sauce, and how I feel I could improve it. However, I'm finding it difficult to think about it usefully because I don't really understand what is causing the thickening (and therefore how I could change it).

My assumption is that it's something to do with the gluten in the flour though http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/lmt/labolmc/DOCS/Bert%20Lagrain.htm suggests that this doesn't happen until ~90 degrees C, and I'm not sure that my sauce is getting that hot (a thermometer is on my to-buy list).

[curryman]

Cooking the bechamel thoroughly breaks down the starches into sugars and gives you a thinner sauce. But why do you want this?