1x 2x 4x 6x 8x
3/4 cup
flour
1.5 3
4.5
6
1/2 cup vegetable oil 1
2
3 4
Place an oven rack in the lowest position, preheat oven to
350F.
In a large heavy Dutch oven, toast flour on medium heat,
stirring continuously. It will take some time for the flour to begin to cook, watch
for a little smoke rising, then observe the texture change and the color to
almost imperceptibly begin to darken. This takes about 10 minutes, stirring
continuously, keeping a close eye.
Remove from heat and stir in the oil, a bit at a time. If
little chunks of "fried flour" form, try to break them up, if not, at
the end, fish them out.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and stir
well, don't be alarmed by what appear to be dark chunks, these are easy to stir
out. According to Cook's Illustrated, a roux can be made ahead of time and
refrigerated for up to a week. If so, bring the roux back to a boil before
continuing.
