homemade tortillas  

Tortillas

Hi,

We don't make flour tortillas at our restaurant as corn tortillas are what is served in Mexico. We do serve some flour tortillas, upon request and on our quesadillas that we make at lunch. I would stick with the corn--healthy, flavorful and much easier to make. I don't have reicpe for flour tortillas, as they are not part of the Mexican kitchen.

My answer may belong more in the Asian Latin Fusion thread.:D

I was making Peking Pancakes for some Mu Shu. It occured to me that my tortilla press would do it faster and easier. It did.

I find that the same recipe works well for flour tortillas, just don't use toasted sesame oil, of course. I like this method because it makes very thin flour tortillas, my preference. Make them bigger than you would for Peking Pancakes too. I assume a whole wheat flour would work, but you may have to adjust the water some.

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon lard in little pieces.

Combine the dry ingredients. Mix in the water and lard, and knead enough to mix evenly and to form a dough. Work it as little as possible though. Cover and let it rest, at least 20 minutes. Cut into even cubes. Cube size determines pancake/tortilla size, 1 inch makes about 6 inch tortillas after the two pressings.

Press a cube between plastic sheets/bag in your tortilla press. It will be small. Remove tortilla. Press a second cube. Brush the first tortilla with some oil and cover with the second tortilla. Press the two togehter in the press. REpeat for the rest of the dough, but keep dough covered and the tortillas too.

If you have trouble with the gluten pulling the pressed dough back to smaller sizes, press all the cubes first, then work the second pressing starting with the first pressed tortilla so the dough has some time to rest again between pressings

Cook on a dry cast iron surface until speckled with brown spots, As they cook, you can separate them and cook the middle sides if you want to.

Nice thin flour tortillas result.

My wife's Texas acquaintances all claim that they have to reinvent their flour tortilla recipe every time they move as they are altitude and humidity sensitive?

Phil