Bread

Before the development of roux in the seventeenth century, bread was an almost universal thickener for sauces and cooking liquids. It is still used today as a thickener for a rather bland béchamel-like sauce that the English like to serve with game. It is also used in thick and strongly flavored sauces, such as the Spanish romesco, sauce rouille, and in some versions of the French garlic mayonnaise Aïoli, where it attenuates the flavor, gives the sauce body, and makes the sauce less rich, so it can be eaten in larger amounts.