Tortillacocina Blog

Hola!

I just finished making a delicious batch of whole wheat flour tortillas for dinner. It is amazing how healthy and wonderful you can make homemade flour tortillas in your own kitchen (lard and white flour not needed!). Flour tortillas are a real treat made fresh and eaten hot off the griddle. With our Electric Flour Tortilla Press it is easy to make a fresh batch anytime and you do not need to be skilled with a rolling pin to make round, even tortillas.

Here is how I make them:

To 3 cups of whole wheat flour add 1/8 cup of olive oil (or vegetable oil) and stir. Add salt to taste. Slowly add up to 1 cup of lukewarm water. Stir until a stiff dough begins to form and then knead with your hands for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and non-sticky. Sticky dough needs a little more flour, cracking, dry dough more water.  Cover the mixing bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

Heat a large dry cast iron  or uncoated (do not use non-stick coated pans) steel griddle or comal to medium heat.

Plug in the Electric Flour Tortilla Press and allow to heat up for 10-15 minutes prior to using.

Roll dough balls to golf ball size and slightly flatten in your hand. Place dough on the middle of the press plate (slightly towards the rear hinge) and close top plate. Press handle down firmly and hold for a count of 4. You will usually hear the dough sizzle and puff as it parbakes. Open and carefully remove tortilla to hot griddle.

Cook tortilla for 30-45 seconds until it bubbles up. Flip and cook for another minute until golden brown speckles form. Good tortillas will puff up from the steam inside. It helps to press the tortilla down with the back of your spatula or a towel covered hand as it cooks to make it puff.

Remove from griddle and wrap tortillas in a towel or covered container to allow them to steam and keep moist. Serve hot tortillas immediately for a treat you will not soon forget! You can store the cooked tortillas in tupperware or plastic bags to reheat later but they are best eaten fresh.

Some additions to your dough that add interest are: chile powder, garlic powder, wheat germ, seasoned salt. Use your imagination.

Have fun and eat healthy!

P.S. - We now have a 220V version of the Electric Flour Tortilla Press Maker  available for tortilla lovers in Europe, Australia and other places using 220VAC current!

The “Bread of Mexico”, the delicious and versatile tortilla comes in two varieties. Corn tortillas are the original and oldest type and were made by the Aztecs and Maya prior to the coming of Europeans. The wheat flour tortilla is a relative latecomer, it was an adaptation to wheat cultivation brought to Mexico by the Spanish. Flour tortillas are popular in northern Mexico while corn tortillas are the staple in central and southern Mexico and Central America. There are major differences in use and making.

Corn Tortillas are the original type of tortilla and are made using a specially prepared corn flour known as “masa” (which means “dough” in Spanish). Masa is made by soaking and cooking corn kernals in a mild lime water solution. The “lime” we are referring to is hydrated lime or calcium hydroxide, sometimes called builders lime. In Mexico it is often referred to as “Cal”.  After soaking and cooking the corn in lime water it is washed and the tough outer husks removed. The remaining “naked” kernal is soft and almost pure starch. The corn is now called “nixtamal” and can be ground into a thick dough called masa. By adding water, salt and kneading it the masa is ready to make tortillas or tamales. Masa is more nutritious than regular corn meal and contains available niacin which regular corn meal lacks. The soft, pliable but non-sticky masa is flattened into a thin patty using a tortilla press, tortilla machine or by hand and cooked on a hot, dry griddle or comal. Corn tortillas are a staple item at most meals as well as being the basis for tacos, enchiladas, chips, and other traditional foods. They are often fried for a crisper texture.

Flour Tortillas are were introduced much later than corn. Wheat flour tortillas form the basis of Tex-Mex cuisine and are the primary ingredient for burritos, wraps, empanadas, and more.  Wheat flour tortillas are made by mixing wheat flour (whole wheat, bleached, or both) with a small amount of water and usually oil or lard. The mixture is kneaded into a thick, stiff dough until it is non-sticky. Flour tortillas contain gluten which is the protein in bread dough which makes the dough elastic (and allows bread to rise). Because of the gluten, flour tortillas cannot simply be pressed out like corn tortillas because they it will draw back-up. The gluten must be broken down using either mechanical action or heat before it will retain its shape when flattened into a thin tortilla. Flour tortillas are traditionally made by using a rolling pin to work and stretch the dough until flat and tender. An easier way is to press the dough with a heated tortilla press or dough press to flatten and parbake the dough at the same time. Our Electric Flour Tortilla Press is made for this very purpose and works well for making 8″ diameter flour tortillas. Restaurants and commercial producers use larger heated platen dough presses to produce large sized flour tortillas or a large volumes.

In our home we love both types of tortillas and make them regularly. I used to avoid making flour tortillas except on special occassions because of the mess and labor of rolling them out individually before cooking. Using the Electric Flour Tortilla Press I can easily make a small batch of flour tortillas fresh for a single meal with little clean-up or difficulty. It is possible to make 8-10 tortillas per minute with this unit! Corn tortillas are still the staple in our home and we make a large batch almost every week to keep in the refrigerator.  Enjoy both types of fresh homemade tortillas. I believe that once you try fresh tortillas you will be hooked!