First try making tortillas

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vagriller

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In another thread skilletlicker posted a recipe for flour tortillas (link below). I then used the the tortillas for quesadillas with some leftover grilled chicken (nevermind that I used teriyaki marinade for the chicken!). The tortillas turned out ok, but I think I used too much flour when rolling them out. Also they were rather brittle. Maybe I need to brush them after cooking with butter or oil like after baking bread. Or put them in plastic bags like was suggested by skilletlicker. That would retain some the moisture too.

BTW, the quesadillas were very good. I tried to make guacamole, but my avocado was underipe.

In the end though, my homemade tortillas were not much if any better than the store bought variety. Maybe I need to tweak the recipe some.
 
When I make tortillas, I put them in a large plastic bag covered with a damp towel. This keeps them plyable. My family prefers the homemade as they seem to be more tender than the store bought. If you want I can post the recipe.
 
DaCook said:
When I make tortillas, I put them in a large plastic bag covered with a damp towel. This keeps them plyable. My family prefers the homemade as they seem to be more tender than the store bought. If you want I can post the recipe.

i too would like the recipe when i tried to make mine there were not good
at all. but freshly made tortillas are great i would love to learn how
to make them
 
The recipe is from Barbara Hansen's Mexican Cookery book.
Flour Tortillas
2 C. AP flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 C. lard
About 1/2 C. warm water
Additional lard
Additional flour
Combine 2 cups of flour and salt in a medium bowl. Rub in 1/4 cup lard with your fingers until evenly mixed. Gradually stir in enough water to make a soft dough. Divide dough into quaters. Divide each quarter into 3 equal pieces, making 12 pieces of dough in all. Shape each piece into a smooth ball. With your hands, smooth additional lard over each ball to coat generously. Place balls in a medium bowl; cover with a dry cloth towel. Let stand at least 15 minutes. Preheat an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Shape each ball into a flat round patty. Sprinkle both sides of patties with flour. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each patty to an 8 inch circle. Place each tortilla on preheated griddle. Cook until bubbles form on top and underside is flecked with brown. Turn tortilla and press down bubbles with towel. (I dock them with a fork.) Stack tortillas and cover with a dry towel. (I use a damp towel.) Serve immediately or wrap in foil and reheat briefly in oven before serving. Makes twelve 8 inch tortillas.
 
DaCook,
That recipe looks slightly different than the one I used. I will give that one a go next time, unless I get a recipe that substitutes olive oil for the lard.
 
vagriller, I use a recipe very close to the one DaCook posted; I don't rub extra lard over the balls and you can use a good vegetable shortening instead of the lard. Lard does work best though. An oil will just not work out when making tortilllas, believe me, I have tried. I've been making tortillas for about 40 years. When I make them, I wrap them in a dry tea towel (thin cotton dish towel), then put into a good heavy zip type bag and refrigerate. Damp ones tend to promote mold unless you only make what you are going to use right a way.
 
A Mexican lady gave me her recipe for Flour Tortillas years ago but I haven't ever tried it but here it is:
3 cups Flour
2 tsps salt
5 Tbsps. Solid Shortening or Lard
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 cup warm water - you may not need all the water so add some to the above mixture until it comes to a ball , then it has enough water.
Pinch off a little of the mixture a little larger than a golf ball and roll with a rolling pin until thickness you want. This makes about 10 to 12 flour tortillas.
 
bluebonnettexas, I use practically the same recipe. The baking powder will make it puff a bit; you don't have to use it unless you want to. Without it I can get the thinner tortillas. Sometimes my family wants the thick ones and other times they want real thin ones.
 
vagriller said:
In another thread skilletlicker posted a recipe for flour tortillas (link below). I then used the the tortillas for quesadillas with some leftover grilled chicken (nevermind that I used teriyaki marinade for the chicken!). The tortillas turned out ok, but I think I used too much flour when rolling them out. Also they were rather brittle. Maybe I need to brush them after cooking with butter or oil like after baking bread. Or put them in plastic bags like was suggested by skilletlicker. That would retain some the moisture too.

BTW, the quesadillas were very good. I tried to make guacamole, but my avocado was underipe.

In the end though, my homemade tortillas were not much if any better than the store bought variety. Maybe I need to tweak the recipe some.
vagriller,

This is the link to the post and the link to the recipe you're talking about. One problem I had at first with flour tortillas was the cutting in the fat step reminded me of biscuits or pie dough, for which you avoid handling the dough as much as possible in order to prevent the gluten formation. The dough for flour tortillas is more like a pizza dough in that it must be well kneaded, then rested before forming. This also reduces the need to use as much flour when rolling it out.
Next as they come off the griddle be sure to put the in something like a linen towel or aluminum foil to prevent drying out. Plastic would be better than nothing but wouldn't be my first choice. The earlier thread was primarily about corn tortillas, for which plastic bags, with the sides cut out, are very helpful in forming the tortilla before it is cooked.
 
When we make flour tortillas, we just roll them out flat right after kneading, without any resting time. To us it seems to be working fine this way, the only problem being the leftover tortillas don't keep well, even if we seal them in a plastic bag and refregirate them, they tend to become too dry and crunchy. Is it the difference of non resting? Or any other benefits of having it rest?
 
Licia, try wrapping them in a thin cotton towel first and then into a tight sealing bag. It may also be just a bit too much flour. I have made them without letting the dough rest and it turns out better if you let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes, JMO.
 
Thanks Shunka, I will try it your way next time... we tend to decide to make the tortillas ourselves at the last minute, while the fajita ingredients are already cooking, thus skipping the rest procedure to speed it up... we will plan ourselves better next time:-p
 
If you have a microwave, try this for dried out tortillas.

Moisten paper towels with a little water and wring them out. Wrap the tortilla in the damp towels and microwave on high for 15 seconds. (microwaves vary so all times are approximate).
 
Andy M. said:
If you have a microwave, try this for dried out tortillas.

Moisten paper towels with a little water and wring them out. Wrap the tortilla in the damp towels and microwave on high for 15 seconds. (microwaves vary so all times are approximate).

Great idea, Andy... in fact we do have a couple of them in the fridge right now, I will give it a try this evening, thanks!:)
 
urmaniac13 said:
When we make flour tortillas, we just roll them out flat right after kneading, without any resting time. To us it seems to be working fine this way, the only problem being the leftover tortillas don't keep well, even if we seal them in a plastic bag and refregirate them, they tend to become too dry and crunchy. Is it the difference of non resting? Or any other benefits of having it rest?
I don't think resting the dough would have any effect on how well they store. It just makes it easier to roll out without them bouncing back. My solution to the storage problem is to make only as many as I expect to eat.
 
skilletlicker said:
I don't think resting the dough would have any effect on how well they store. It just makes it easier to roll out without them bouncing back. My solution to the storage problem is to make only as many as I expect to eat.

Yes, your point is very true when I am making a pasta dough, but strangely enough, we don't have this kind of problem with tortilla dough. (We just thought the lard in the dough was making it more manageable... :huh: ?)

We do TRY to make only the amount which we are planning to consume for that particular dinner, but we always end up overdoing it!!
 
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