Friday, July 1, 2011

DIY Tortillas

I tried making tortillas twice back when we were first married, and I wanted to try making everything from scratch. They were OK, but not great. They also take a lot of time to make. So when we were back in Illinois where there is a large Hispanic population and tortillas are cheap, I basically gave up on the idea. But Chinese people don't really eat tortillas, so there are only a couple places in town where foreigners can buy them. One place is the import stores, but everything in these stores is pretty expensive. The only other place that sells them cheaply, but those tortillas aways fall apart when you try to roll them.

So, I started looking for a good tortillas recipe. Eventually, I ended up tweaking this one and made some delicious and cheap homemade tortillas. These are the best tortillas I have had outside of a truly authentic Mexican restaurant. It would be hard to go back to store-bought tortillas because these are so much better. It still takes a while, but now I enlist helpers, and we generally make a quadruple batch. We have a fun family project and can freeze enough tortillas for several weeks.


Chewy Tortillas

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
¾ cup warm water
2 Tbsp oil

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients, and then add wet ingredients. Knead until the dough reaches an even consistency. Let the dough rest for 20–30 minutes. This makes it much easier to roll the dough thin enough to make good tortillas.

Next divide the dough into 8 to 10 balls and roll into circles that are ¼ inch or less thick. This is the part that is really helps to have helpers since they can be rolling and someone else can start the next step of fry.

Place a tortilla in a hot, dry, skillet, and fry for about 30 seconds. The tortilla will often bubble up as the first side cooks. Flip it over and cook another 30 seconds. Now place the warm tortilla in a clean kitchen towel. Fry another and place it on top of the first one until all are cooked. This helps the tortillas develop the right consistency. After they are all cooked they can be eaten right away or frozen and reheated in a microwave or toaster oven later. These are great for tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, enchiladas, Mexican lasagna, or anything else you normally use tortillas for.

2 comments:

  1. These were awesome! I made them with whole wheat flour. This will save me about $2 a week, since I buy a pack of whole wheat tortillas almost every week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's great! I was wondering how they would work with whole wheat. I'll have to try it sometime.

    ReplyDelete

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