Has anyone had success using whole wheat flour to make a roux (or bechamel)?

Yes! I use Bob 's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour! Same result as refined flour. Use it constantly. Works fine!

Yes! I use Bob 's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour! Same result as refined flour. Use it constantly. Works fine!

Yes! I use Bob 's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour! Same result as refined flour. Use it constantly. Works fine!

I did recently, and the texture is a bit grainy. I was using it in a baked pasta dish, so it wasn't a problem in terms of the end result, but I probably wouldn't use whole wheat flour in a bechamel sauce where a silky texture is desired.

I use Deborah Madison's recipe (in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) for bechamel. It is lovely, I always make a triple batch, it freezes so last time I even doubled that. I have routinely substituted coconut flour for 1/3 of the wheat flour and it is not noticeable. I also have been substituting coconut milk for 1/3 of the dairy and it is indeed noticeable. So silky.

I was making a gumbo and ground up some hard white wheatberries to make the roux. The end product turned out great, but it did not thicken up like I had expected.
The roux did get chocolate brown a lot quicker though!

Never tried whole wheat, but when I make gluten free mac 'n' cheese, rice flour works EXCELLENTLY as a base for roux. Highly recommend it! Just use the same as you would regular flour.

Observations from seeing my husband when he had to eat gluten free: at first he lost weight, but as he experimented with GF options and found some that he really likes, the weight came back. Yes, portions matter, and overeating just doesn't help! Some people claim that any flour, whole grain or not, promotes weight gain (pasta as well as baked goods).

Another suggestion for the roux -- whole wheat pastry flour is ground very fine and a bit lighter than regular, but more so than white WW. Even non-wheat flours would thicken.

I AM depressed from the Atlantic article. Thinking that having just a few potato chips will keep me from eating the whole bag isn't working, I guess. And yes, then I did need that Akmak cracker a few hours later. Having said that, I did manage to eat fewer taco chips last night in our local taqueria by breaking one chip into 3 pieces. I have lived long enough and been through the gamut of diets. Portion control is the key, I believe.

I've used whole wheat flour for roux and for bechamels and veloutes. Just don't be surprised when they're pale beige! Otherwise, it works fine.

drbabs: Americans' addictions to lots of foods are making us fat and unhealthy -- not just wheat. imho one of the biggest problems is the size of our portions, and that we think we MUST have such huge amounts or we're being "cheated." so sad.

The Spouse has virtually eliminated wheat from his diet and dropped 10 pounds ...

I know!! First thing I saw this morning. Especially the part about the whole wheat bread!

If you want to get really depressed, read this article from the Food52 News section:
http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/09/your-addiction-to-wheat-products-is-making-you-fat-and-unhealthy/245526/

I knew I could get good advice here! For a mushroom pasta dish I'm thinking of playing with, I think I will giveiti a try! I often use white whole wheat in the limited baking I do, so I might try that first.
Thanks!

I've use whole wheat flour for roux and bechamel. The end product is not a silky smooth as a white flour version, but if you're making something more rustic, it doesn't really matter. I think of it as making the switch from white rice to brown rice. After a while brown rice is normal!

I use King Arthur white whole wheat flour in place of all purpose for roux--it comes out fine. (Never have made a bechamel.)