Incontinentius Buttocks > wrote:

> No salt, yeast, baking soda?

I learned to make flour tortillas from an older Mexican woman, who
learned from her mother, and I assume she learned from hers, too. I
never even thought to try any of those things, specifically, but I do
sometimes add about a teaspoon of baking powder per cup of water to get
a lighter, fluffier tortilla.

She also tried to teach me to pat out corn tortillas, but I never
mastered it. Her daughters laughed at my feeble attempts. Perhaps the
only way to master it is to start at a very young age, on your mother's
knee.

Anyway, the 16:4:1 proportions I gave work pretty well, but since
moving ten years ago into the mountains (6250' in elevation) I find
that I have to use a bit more water, as things dehydrate quickly here.
I don't even know how much more I'm using -- I just go for the right
feel.

> If lard is best and shortening is almost as good, why are butter and
> margarine not acceptable substitutes?

I don't have a solid answer for that, but it's a fine question.

I've tried butter, which tasted good, but the feel of the end product
was too oily for my liking. I've never tried margarine, but expect it
would be even oilier. Perhaps using less butter would have solved the
problem? I dunno -- I just went back to my old recipe. Lard's cheaper!

Right now, here in a dinky little town in the mountains of Northwest
Colorado, butter costs just shy of four dollars per pound. I don't
experiment much at that price!

--
Art Sackett,
Patron Saint of Drunken Fornication