From wilkins@falcon.cc.ukans.edu Fri Mar 5 15:45:43 1999 Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 11:50:56 -0600 From: Wilkinson Newsgroups: alt.food.mexican-cooking Subject: Re: Help with Flour Tortillas Gary, I'm sure you will get many responses to your inquiry but in case you don't, here is my contribution. I learned how to make flour tortillas over 25 years ago from Lola Jaramillo who lived in Canyon Plaza, New Mexico. Lola was shocked to meet an adult woman who did not know how to make them. I am going to give you her recipe and my own adaptation. Both make delicious tortillas. Each recipe makes 8 tortillas about 8 inches across. Lola's: Mine: 2 cups white flour 1 cup unbleached white flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup vegetable suet 1/4 cup light oil (canola) 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tbsp baking powder warm water to make the dough room temperature water to make the dough In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, then the oil or lard. Begin adding water (it will take between 3/4 to 1 cup depending on the moisture content of the flour and the weather) until you have a smooth, moist but not sticky dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead very breifly. You do not want to develop the gluten as much as you do for bread. It is often useful, but not essential, to let the dough rest for 5 or 10 minutes before you begin to roll it out. To bake: Pinch the dough into 8 equal sized lumps and roll into balls. Take one ball and flatten with your fingers and make a slight identation in the middle on one side. Put the disc of dough with the indented side down, and roll out once with a wooden pin pushing the dough away from you. (To roll tortillas, I use a wooden dowel [a bolleo] that is about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long. I have used a cut off mop handle, too. Some women use a beer bottle.) After you roll the dough once, lift it, turn it over and rotate it one quater turn. Roll away from you again, and continue this process, lifting, turning over and rotating until it is about 1/8 inch think and a little more than 8 inches in diameter. The rotating and flipping will help you to keep it round. Put the dough on a mediaum hot, dry griddle for about a minute and then turn it over. You may need to flip it more than once. The tortilla is done when the dough is dry and there are small brown flecks on it. It takes about 2 1/2 minutes to bake a tortilla. Don't let your griddle get too hot! Stack the tortillas in a tea towel as you make them. The steam will keep them soft until you eat them. Lola used to stand at her wood fired stove making tortillas and handing them freshly baked to her family and guests. If you want to make some tortillas that will keep for a few days, you can also include some oat flour (replace about 1/4 cup of the wheat flour) or some cooked, left-over oatmeal (it will replace some of the water) to the dough. Delicious! I hope you ejoy these! Deb Wilkinson