Homemade tortillas

[ChemMommy]

I tried making homemade tortillas last week and they were a hit. I was surprised at how easy they were to do and how much better they tasted.

 

So, for those who've made tortillas from scratch, a couple of questions:

 

1. What brand of flour do you use? Be specific. We have only high protein, hard winter wheat up here and I may need to order in something softer, so the brand is important.

 

2. Do you use shortening or oil in yours?

 

3. Did you oil or butter the griddle/pan before you browned them?

 

4. What's your best suggestion for making terrific tortillas at home??

 

Thanks.....

[gardening momma]

I use the flour tortilla recipe from Texas Rolling Pins.

I use store brand white flour (usually unbleached). I use vegetable shortening. I do not grease the pan first. I just follow the recipe and they turn out great. :001_smile: I stack the finished tortillas on a plate with a clean towel folded over (tortillas go inside the towel so one half of towel is under tortillas and the other half is over the tortillas).

 

ETA: I've made regular and thick versions. I like them both.

[Learner]

We make tortillas every once in a while and they are super easy!

We use Chapati flour ( you can buy these from Indian shops, and they have 20lbs bag pretty cheap for $8-9) brands:Golden temple, Laxmi( Whole wheat).

We just add water to the flour, and if tortillas tend to stick to teh griddle, grease it with little oil, else its just fine even without adding any oil ...

Super simple and economical!!

 

:001_smile:

[ChemMommy]

I use the flour tortilla recipe from Texas Rolling Pins.

I use store brand white flour (usually unbleached). I use vegetable shortening. I do not grease the pan first. I just follow the recipe and they turn out great. :001_smile: I stack the finished tortillas on a plate with a clean towel folded over (tortillas go inside the towel so one half of towel is under tortillas and the other half is over the tortillas).

 

ETA: I've made regular and thick versions. I like them both.

 

 

I thought I rolled mine super thin, but I was surprised at how thick they were. I'm going to try to get them thinner this time. I suspect that my high protein flour is a problem. I'll check to see if we have a Mexican grocery store in town.

 

I was rather surprised at how easy they were to prepare and how much better they were. I was politely requested to keep making them (which means a lot since I'm not a particularly good cook!)

[ChemMommy]

Do you use a skillet or a griddle to brown them?????

[Brilliant]

Have you tried homemade corn tortillas? We LOVE these. My hubby makes them for us, so I have no hints or instructions except that you use corn masa. (you'll probably have to go to a grocery that stocks a lot of Mexican food items to find this).

[ChemMommy]

Have you tried homemade corn tortillas? We LOVE these. My hubby makes them for us, so I have no hints or instructions except that you use corn masa. (you'll probably have to go to a grocery that stocks a lot of Mexican food items to find this).

 

 

I always assumed that the corn ones were harder to make. I have no clue where that idea came from!!

 

I'm hoping to make the flour tortillas for the church supper this Wedn. I'd need to make about 80. I don't know if that's doable or not.

 

I'll try the corn ones.

[Brilliant]

I always assumed that the corn ones were harder to make. I have no clue where that idea came from!!

 

 

 

They are much easier! Dh tried flour ones several times, using different recipes & techniques. He could never get them thin enough (and we had a tortilla press) so that they didn't shrink up & fatten up on the griddle.

 

The corn tortillas are super easy - you mix masa & water, and you can roll them out without a press.

[melissel]

Oh, I loved my homemade flour tortillas! I haven't worked up the nerve to try a gluten-free recipe yet *sigh*

 

I did mine on a big nonstick pancake griddle that we have. I don't typically use nonstick things, but this is my one exception, maybe once every two months. It worked beautifully for tortillas. I could do two at a time, the temperature stayed even, no oil needed. It really moved the process along much more quickly.

[gardening momma]

Do you use a skillet or a griddle to brown them?????

I have a flat, rectangular griddle that goes across two burners. I used to have a stove with a bridge burner, so that worked better than what I have now, the large burner in the front and the small at the back. I turn them both on to med-high heat and make the tortillas a large oval shape--not the whole size of the pan, but as wide as the pan and a little longer than the width, cooking the tortilla mainly over the large burner in the front. I'd love to get wider griddle pan so I can make big round tortillas. The tortilla presses and tortilla pans I've seen so far are smaller than I want.

[gardening momma]

Have you tried homemade corn tortillas? We LOVE these. My hubby makes them for us, so I have no hints or instructions except that you use corn masa. (you'll probably have to go to a grocery that stocks a lot of Mexican food items to find this).

I got Quaker brand masa harina from Kroger in the baking aisle. I haven't tried it yet.

[Luckymama]

I buy the Maseca brand masa from the grocery store. At one store it's with the flours and at another it's with the "mexican" foods.

 

Making corn tortillas is so easy! I have an under-$10 tortilla press and just use a Caphalon-type wide frying pan. I'd love a cast iron flat skilletish thing like in the link upthread but with my glasstop oven I can't use cast iron.

 

I haven't tried making flour tortillas in almost 20 years (seriously, I was in grad school!). I will give the linked recipe a try :)

[Spy Car]

In my neighborhood (or close to it anyway) one can purchase freshly prepared corn masa at the supermarket. It makes tortilla making quite easy.

 

Bill

[Punchie]

I use non-hydrogenated shortening. I would like to use lard, but the lard sold in stores is hydrogenated. For browning, I use a cast iron pan. I would have liked to buy a comal, but I couldn't find any where we lived at the time.

[Guest]

Mmmm...just made a bunch of tortillas the other day!

 

My favorite is white flour and shortening; I make them in a skillet, the griddle didn't cook them as well, for me.

 

I did find this wheat tortilla recipe using oil; it is pretty good, too, imo. We're trying to eat a bit healthier, so this is good on the days I'm feeling healthy. :tongue_smilie:

 

The biggest help to me has been that I make the dough in the morning and then refrigerate it until I am ready to roll them out. The refrigeration seems to help the dough set up a bit. The first time I made them I made SUCH a mess, lol.

[Lady Florida.]

So I have a question. Do they store well, or do you just make what you need at that time? I've been meaning to try and make some, but I'd like to be able to make enough to last a few days. We like to use them for wraps and quick quesadillas, so I always like to have some on hand.

[Guest]

Mine last a few days (I'm on day #3 right now). I know I had Trader Joe's tortillas go bad in my fridge, so I don't *plan* to have these around for long. One batch of my white makes 12 and I divided my wheat dough in half (to make 12). The dough I don't use I store in the freezer. Usually, tortillas won't physically stay in my house for more than a day or two. :)

[Tutor]

We use Masa corn flour and water, no oil or shortening. Then we cook them on a dry, hot skillet. They take 1-2 minutes each to cook.

 

Friends of ours who were missionaries in Mexico for years gave us one of their tortilla presses and taught us how to make tortillas and we've been hooked ever since.

[melissel]

Can anyone recommend a tortilla press that actually works? What really stopped me from making them was the rolling. I LOVED the end product, but I hated the rolling.

 

I've researched on Amazon, but everything that's there gets very low ratings. Does anyone have one they like?

 

ETA: Oh, good grief. Never mind. It must be awhile since I've looked, because now I'm seeing far more options with 3- and 4-star reviews. Time to get that Amazon credit out! :D

Edited March 22, 2011 by melissel

[meena]

Can anyone recommend a tortilla press that actually works? What really stopped me from making them was the rolling. I LOVED the end product, but I hated the rolling.

 

I've researched on Amazon, but everything that's there gets very low ratings. Does anyone have one they like?

 

ETA: Oh, good grief. Never mind. It must be awhile since I've looked, because now I'm seeing far more options with 3- and 4-star reviews. Time to get that Amazon credit out! :D

 

Would you mind sharing what press you get? I'm interested in buying one but I'm not sure what to look for. Thanks!

[Vida Winter]

I use a cast iron comal exclusively for tortillas. There is no other type of pan that would work for me. I also use regular white flour (bulk from Costco) and Crisco shortening - the other ingredients are baking powder, salt, and water.

 

You need to roll the dough pretty thin -- it will still puff up and make a thick tortilla, but that's the way it should be. The tortillas you buy in the store were flattened by some kind of industrial press that squeezes them so thin -- you'd never be able to duplicate that at home.

 

As far as making tortillas in bulk - I once made about 150 for an event. My hands and wrists were sore for days! The good thing about doing a big batch like that is that you learn to mix up a batch without measuring anything.

 

ETA: I do not butter the comal. The single most important element of success in my tortilla making is the cast iron comal -- it needs to be pretty hot, too. On my gas range I'd say it is about a 6 out of possible 10 on the burner setting, one notch above "medium" heat. I preheat the comal while I am mixing the dough - it takes a while.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Dana in OR

[LostSurprise]

I use standard all-purpose flour from Walmart.

 

The original recipe had half butter, half shortening. I never have shortening so I used all butter. Since then I've used oil. All work fine.

 

I oil every few tortillas on a long griddle. It's easier than using a cast iron frying pan. I flip it when it starts to bubble.

 

We love these around here. I notice that if you have leftover pizza dough they make pretty good tortillas/flat bread too.

[Melanie]

I use unbleached white flour, Crisco, and a dry cast iron skillet. I wrote a blog post (with pictures) about them recently.

[ChemMommy]

I use unbleached white flour, Crisco, and a dry cast iron skillet. I wrote a blog post (with pictures) about them recently.

 

 

Awesome blog post! I love the pictures. I added you to my blog reader!

 

I always wondered if I could make the dough in advance and just roll them out later. Guess I can. And since I'll be mass producing them tomorrow night, I'll grab a roll of paper towels and some wax paper at the store, too.

 

It looks like most people prefer the shortening so I'll do that instead of oil.

 

Thanks!!

[Guest]

I use unbleached white flour, Crisco, and a dry cast iron skillet. I wrote a blog post (with pictures) about them recently.

 

Great, I just shared this blog post with a friend of mine who was asking me yesterday about making tortillas. I make mine similar to yours. :)