tortilla help never made before



J

Janet Bostwick

Guest
I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them before--is there anything I need
to know before I start? I have a 12-inch cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the recipe? I
thought I would go with this simple one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons
lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks Janet
 
Add dry ingredients, mix. Add water, SLOWLY....don't dump all of it in at once. Pour, mix, pour
mix..till you get the consistency you want. Don't be afraid to add abit more water as needed.
Important to get dough on the moist side.. moist but not sticky... as it dries out abit during the
process. Too dry a dough makes for tough and brittle tortillas.

Also, abit of 'sitting time', I've found, helps the dough have a more uniform and smooth texture.
After you make the dough, let sit about 10 minutes or so in a bowl with a dampish cloth or paper
towel covering.

I can't really comment on the recipe, because I always 'eyeball' my ingredients, and never bother
measuring them. I always mean to make note of it all, but never do.

Yumm... homemade tortillas!! *drool*

Marlene

"Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them before--is there anything I
> need to know before I start? I have a 12-inch cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the
> recipe? I thought I would go with this simple one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon salt,
3
> tablespoons lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks Janet
 
"Marlene C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Add dry ingredients, mix. Add water, SLOWLY....don't dump all of it in at once. Pour, mix, pour
> mix..till you get the consistency you want. Don't
be
> afraid to add abit more water as needed. Important to get dough on the moist side.. moist but not
> sticky... as it dries out abit during the process. Too dry a dough makes for tough and brittle
> tortillas.
>
> Also, abit of 'sitting time', I've found, helps the dough have a more uniform and smooth texture.
> After you make the dough, let sit about 10 minutes or so in a bowl with a dampish cloth or paper
> towel covering.
>
> I can't really comment on the recipe, because I always 'eyeball' my ingredients, and never bother
> measuring them. I always mean to make note of it all, but never do.
>
> Yumm... homemade tortillas!! *drool*
>
> Marlene
Thanks for your help. Janet
 
On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 13:47:08 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them before--is there anything I need
>to know before I start? I have a 12-inch cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the recipe?
>I thought I would go with this simple one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons
>lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks

Let us know how it turns out. I was going to comment that "trying to make tortillas for the first
time today" rather than making for tonight's dinner would be more practical. As Marlene says, the
recipe includes some "eyeballing" and feel for the operation. Ex: depending on how you measure it, a
"cup" of flour can contain something between 4 and 6-1/2 oz (weight). It's not rocket science, but
it's not cup-of-soup, either. Good luck, and I hope they turned out perfect.
 
"Frogleg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 13:47:08 -0700, "Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them before--is there anything I
> >need to know before I start? I have a
12-inch
> >cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the recipe? I thought I would go with this simple
> >one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon
salt, 3
> >tablespoons lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks
>
> Let us know how it turns out. I was going to comment that "trying to make tortillas for the first
> time today" rather than making for tonight's dinner would be more practical. As Marlene says, the
> recipe includes some "eyeballing" and feel for the operation. Ex: depending on how you measure it,
> a "cup" of flour can contain something between 4 and 6-1/2 oz (weight). It's not rocket science,
> but it's not cup-of-soup, either. Good luck, and I hope they turned out perfect.

They turned out pretty good(not perfect shape)but everything else was good. I did take into account
that cup measurements vary so I chose the middle of the road for measuring--spoon into the cup and
level. For this particular recipe next time I will scoop the flour as it was obvious right away that
more flour was needed(for my taste) in relation to the lard. But I fiddled with the proportions and
then wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for a half hour. I rolled them out on Silpat
so sticking wasn't a problem. I was undecided about which was best for production so ended up
rolling them all out and sandwiching them between foil until baked and had a couple of stuck spots.
All in all, they weren't that much different to handle than pizza dough, or pie crust or dog cookie
dough and certainly not as nasty as a slack bread dough. Now that I've done it once I can see that
it would be no problem to roll one and then while it bakes, roll out another. I had been worried
(unnecessarily)that turning them when baking would be a problem I don't have a tortilla warmer, so
what's the best way to keep them warm without either drying out or getting steamy? Thanks Janet
 
On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 14:45:22 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Frogleg" <[email protected]> wrote

>> Let us know how it turns out.
>
>They turned out pretty good(not perfect shape)but everything else was good.

Terrific! I'm sure perfect shape is a very small consideration. I've never made a round-round dough
thing of any description. :)

> I don't have a tortilla warmer, so what's the best way to keep them warm without either drying out
> or getting steamy?

I usually just cover with a (cloth) towel. If they get cold, I nuke 'em (very briefly). For longer
sitting, I'd put waxed paper in between the 'layers.'

Congrats -- your first attempt certainly sounds better than mine. What did you serve these with?
 
Ahhh, yes.. the different state shaped tortillas. Most of mine when
starting out,
resembled Florida :) The key to the round shape. .(and I've in no way
perfected it,
but I can get a decent roundish shape :p ).. is to roll, pick up and give a
1/4 turn, roll, pick up, give a 1/4 turn..etc etc.

I don't roll all mine out in advance, but I do pinch off a small palmfull, make a sort of flattened
disc shaped form out of it. I make all my little 'disc shapes' first, and then roll one at a time..
.usually having one the skillet, the other ready to go.

Keeping them stored has never been a problem for me, probs because we go through them pretty fast
(in a house with 3 teenagers, it's expected). I'm trying to remember back to the authentic Mexican
household I lived in (where I learned to make them), and honestly, I can't remember what she stored
them in afterwards either !

During the process, I usually keep mine in between foil. They never sit long enough to lose their
fresh taste. :)

M
>
> They turned out pretty good(not perfect shape)but everything else was
good.
> I did take into account that cup measurements vary so I chose the middle
of
> the road for measuring--spoon into the cup and level. For this particular recipe next time I will
> scoop the flour as it was obvious right away that more flour was needed(for my taste) in relation
> to the lard. But I
fiddled
> with the proportions and then wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for a half hour. I
> rolled them out on Silpat so sticking wasn't a problem. I was undecided about which was best for
> production so ended up rolling them all out and sandwiching them between foil until baked and had
a
> couple of stuck spots. All in all, they weren't that much different to handle than pizza dough, or
> pie crust or dog cookie dough and certainly
not
> as nasty as a slack bread dough. Now that I've done it once I can see
that
> it would be no problem to roll one and then while it bakes, roll out another. I had been worried
> (unnecessarily)that turning them when baking would be a problem I don't have a tortilla warmer, so
> what's the best way to keep them warm without either drying out or getting steamy? Thanks Janet
 
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