First try making tortillas

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Oh please~ someone please help me. I've made them for the first time tonight, and while they tasted great, they were quite thick to me. I kept thinking pita bread. HD loved them, so I'd like to keep at it. I let them rest, but when I had them to the right size, and slapped them in the pan, they'd loose and inch I swear! What am I doing wrong? How do I get them thin, and so they don't loose an inch between counter and frying pan......I'm very frusterated....maybe a tortilla press? any input would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 
In an earlier post, someone said that the baking powder causes them to puff up a bit. They recommended leaving it out to make a thinner tortilla. I think a tortilla press would be handy.
 
Very few Latinos make their own flour tortillas. First, because they usually eat corn tortillas, not flour tortillas and secondly, because flour tortillas are difficult to make at home. Usually the ones from the store are better and they're cheap, so why bother.

On the other hand, homemade corn tortillas are infinitely better than store bought and are relatively easy to make so many Latinos make their own.
 
In this part of Mexico, corn tortillas are much more common than flour ones, and they are made in a press, made from either metal or wood. I have two tortilla presses, but don't make them often, because fresh tortillas are so plentiful. Every corner store has a plastic cooler just inside the door that is full of warm, fresh tortillas, either half kilo or full kilo, wrapped in paper. A kilo (2.2 pounds) costs about 9 pesos (around 60 cents US). They are delivered by the tortilleria twice a day - the delivery guy just switches out the coolers. Very clever. You usually get flour tortillas when you order quesadillas in a restauarant, but at a regular taco stand, a "quesadilla" is just a taco with cheese in it, and you get a corn tortilla. A woman who lives down the street from us makes and sells flour tortillas that are heavenly. They are so thin you can see light through them. I know she doesn't use lard because she is a vegetarian, so she must use vegetable shortening. But they are so good. Flour tortillas are never made in a press - they are rolled out. She is a really old woman - I don't know how she gets them so thin....I make them occasionally, but I just can't get them thin enough, either.
 
we prefer both corn and flour tortillas........if you're trying to make flour ones from scratch (not necessary in Houston, TX, as they are readily available (still hot on the shelves but UNavailable on the steppes of KZ) I prefer to make mine with lard............you can roll them as thin as you want them and the dough is easy to work with........my tortilla press from"hecho en Mexico" broke the 2nd time I used it and I've been using a rolling pin ever since..........I've also made fat-free flour tortillas but they do take more elbow work to render thin before puffing up.......good luck with your tortillas.......we use them not only for Mexican dishes but for a bunch of other sandwiches and dishes as well.......
 
I recently started making tortillas because I rendered my own lard. :chef:

Anyway, I would love to make a big batch and freeze them. I was wondering if freezing them as balls would be better than freezing them rolled out. What do you all think?

Cheers,
 
I recently started making tortillas because I rendered my own lard. :chef:

Anyway, I would love to make a big batch and freeze them. I was wondering if freezing them as balls would be better than freezing them rolled out. What do you all think?

Cheers,

in my opinion and very limited freezer space I would suggest the balls in a freezer bag is your best option....if you know that you have company, family, "outlaws" coming over then you might want to roll them out ahead of time if you can't get them hot off the shelves........
 
Thanks! Freezer space IS the issue. Also time and quantity. For me, it'd be better to take out two or three in the morning then roll them out for supper. The easier they are to get at, the sooner they get eaten.
;)


@ the question about rolling them thin, I've never had a problem BUT when I want tortillas to be paper thin I put them between two sheets of plastic wrap or oven paper and add an extra 'push' at the end. You have to be careful in handling them. Too much water and they stick, so do a test one first.
 
Corn tortillas are a lot easier to make than flour. A simple recipe like a couple of the ones above are the best, but for me lard has always been the trick. They get nice "blisters" on them with some lard. You don't have to use a lot, but they do taste that much better with at least a bit of lard in the flour mixture. And I agree, it makes the rolling out of the tortillas much easier, too.

Everyone is correct: they are more difficult to keep in the frig than store bought. But then they don't have preservatives in your home made ones either.

Enjoy.
Marty
 

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