Flour Tortillas

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe: Food from my Heart

I can somewhat live with commercial corn  tortillas. They are essential for crispy flautas and chips and some producers are now making special tortillas for soft-shell tacos. But commercial flour tortillas are another   thing.  They taste like cardboard and are just  no good.  My friend Carmela sends me fabulous flour tortillas from Casas Grandes, Chihuahua and you can make  very similar ones with this recipe.

The trick is to let the dough rest both after kneading and after making the balls. My mother and I like to use a small rolling pin. The goal is to have them puff up when you turn them he third time . This will produce layers especially if you use home-rendered lard.

 

6               cups all-purpose unbleached flour

l  l/2         teaspoons salt

l                teaspoon baking powder

l                cup solid vegetable shortening, or home-rendered lard

l  l/2 – 2    cups water warmed to ll5  (warmer than lukewarm, but not hot)

 

 

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in large mixing bowl. With two knives or your fingers, cut or rub shortening into flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly pour l  l/2 cups very warm water into the mixture, at the same time working the ingredients together with the fingers. When all the water has been added, continue to work the mixture with both hands until it gathers together in a ball.  The object is a somewhat soft but not sticky dough. Add a little more water if necessary, but the dough is not terribly “forgiving” of adjustments.   Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth and silky, about 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and make  l2 equal-sized balls from each piece.  Work with one piece at a time, keeping the others covered with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out. Shape each ball of dough in your fingers — the process is easier to carry out than to describe! To shape, flatten a ball of dough slightly and hold it in your two hands with thumbs on the top side and other fingers underneath. Lightly pull the dough out from the center on all sides, not stretching it much but pulling it enough so that you can tuck down the edges between your thumbs and first two fingers to produce a somewhat rounded shape. (It’s as if a flattish mushroom cap had fat edges you could tuck down, pulling and pushing to round the shape.) Cover the shaped piece of dough with a damp towel. Continue until you have shaped every ball of dough, keeping the completed ones covered. Let rest 20 minutes, covered.

My mother and I always use a small rolling pin like this one because we prefer small tortillas.

 

On a lightly floured surface using a small, lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a ball of dough to a circle about l/l6 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter. Repeat with remaining balls of dough, stacking and covering them with a towel as you are done. Be ready to cook them quickly.

 

Heat an ungreased griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Place a tortilla in skillet and cook until underside is speckled with brown spots and small bubbles appear on the top, about 30 seconds. Turn tortilla with spatula and cook other side until it is also speckled, about 30 more seconds. Now encourage it to puff slightly by quickly pressing it on first one side and then the other with a bunched-up tea towel or weight such as a heavy can. (If using cast-iron skillet, avoid brushing the hot sides with your hand!) Remove to a plate, let cool slightly, and wrap snugly in a napkin or tea towel. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cooling, stacking and covering them as they are done.

Photo by Mike Crawbuck. www.nycfoodiefinder.com I cannot tell in this light whether these are corn or flour tortillas but, in any case, this is how yours should puff up.

Yield: 48 small (4-inch) tortillas. For larger (6-inch) tortillas, divide each quarter of the dough into 6 rather than l2 pieces and roll out to make 24 tortillas.

 

NOTE: Tortillas should be used quickly, but can be reheated very successfully. Wrap in foil and place on baking sheet in preheated 300  oven until heated through, about 5 minutes. A second method is to reheat tortillas one at a time on a hot griddle. Or heat them (stacked, not individually) in a microwave oven about 30 – 40 seconds.  Flour tortillas freeze beautifully.