From agru@frontiernet.net Mon Jul 28 14:37:14 1997 Date: 23 Jul 1997 09:31:19 -0500 From: "A. Grunspan" Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes Subject: Homemade Tortillas Followup-To: rec.food.cooking > From: snipe@videotron.ca (Dave Ross) > I looking for a tortilla recipe that works in regular stove. > Thanks in advance. Equal amounts of masa harina (available in specialty depts. of larger grocery stores or Latin supermarkets) and water Mix masa and water together checking texture. Your hands should not have the mixture sticking to them when you work with the final product, nor should the dough crumble when formed into a ball. Heat a large ungreased, teflon coated skillet (I use a pancake skillet). Working with one tortilla at a time, form the dough into walnut sized balls (large walnuts). Using a tortilla press lined with a plastic sandwich bag that has been opened along the sides (the easier way), or a rolling pin and that same plastic sandwich bag, form the tortillas to a thinness you are comfortable working with. Some people can get them really thin, others make them a little thicker. It's all personal. Peel the tortilla off the plastic bag and place on the heated griddle. Make your next tortilla. Put it on the griddle and turn the first tortilla. Make your next tortilla. Remove the first tortilla from the griddle, turn the second one, and place the third one on. Timing is everything, as well as watching your heat. When everything is perfect, your tortillas should puff up in the middle just before they're done. Usually it takes a few on the griddle before everything is perfect. Keep the tortillas warm by stacking them on eachother and wrapping them in a clean dishtowel. As you can see, it isn't the recipe that's difficult, it's just the methodology. I learned the method while living in Mexico, although I never learned the REAL technique of slapping them between my hands til they were just the right thickness. You can usually get tortilla presses from mail order. I think the WWW would be a good place to check. They really make your life much easier than the rolling pin method! Good luck! April in Rochester, NY -- Rec.food.recipes is moderated; only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting. Please read the "Posting Guidelines" article. Recipes/requests go to recipes@rt66.com; questions/comments go to tfdpress@acpub.duke.edu. Please allow several days for your submission to appear.