We actually cooked flour in the pressure cooker before we tried milk solids. Our first run had us cooking flour in a bag and the results were riddled with failure. The key being that the flour did nothing, it stayed a lovely white to cream color with no visible toasting or caramelization. With the initial failure we shelved the idea until recently. We were working on bridging the similarities between classic techniques and ones that are apparently but not actually new (like pressure cooking and sous vide) and decided a roux would be a fine point of illustration. To add fuel to the fire we were determined to make roux in a new way to us. We added flour and oil to a mason jar and placed it in a pressure cooker. We cooked the mixture for ninety minutes at high pressure and the results were a delicious peanut butter flavored blond roux. With the success of oil and flour we tested flour and butter. The results were equally positive and even more delicious because I like butter. It is the addition of fat that makes all the difference in cooking the flour. Using a pressure cooker allows for uniform, consistent results without having to stand over the stove. Progress is a beautiful thing.
