I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them
before--is there anything I need to know before I start? I have a 12-inch
cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the recipe? I thought I
would go with this simple one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 3
tablespoons lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks
Janet

Add dry ingredients, mix. Add water, SLOWLY....don't dump all of it in at
once. Pour, mix, pour mix..till you get the consistency you want. Don't be
afraid to add abit more water as needed. Important to get dough on the
moist side.. moist but not sticky... as it dries out abit during the
process. Too dry a dough makes for tough and brittle tortillas.

Also, abit of 'sitting time', I've found, helps the dough have a more
uniform and smooth texture. After you make the dough, let sit about 10
minutes or so in a bowl with a dampish cloth or paper towel covering.

I can't really comment on the recipe, because I always 'eyeball' my
ingredients, and never bother measuring them.
I always mean to make note of it all, but never do.

Yumm... homemade tortillas!! *drool*

Marlene


"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
...
> I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them
> before--is there anything I need to know before I start? I have a 12-inch
> cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the recipe? I thought I
> would go with this simple one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon salt,
3
> tablespoons lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks
> Janet
>
>

"Marlene C." > wrote in message
...
> Add dry ingredients, mix. Add water, SLOWLY....don't dump all of it in at
> once. Pour, mix, pour mix..till you get the consistency you want. Don't
be
> afraid to add abit more water as needed. Important to get dough on the
> moist side.. moist but not sticky... as it dries out abit during the
> process. Too dry a dough makes for tough and brittle tortillas.
>
> Also, abit of 'sitting time', I've found, helps the dough have a more
> uniform and smooth texture. After you make the dough, let sit about 10
> minutes or so in a bowl with a dampish cloth or paper towel covering.
>
> I can't really comment on the recipe, because I always 'eyeball' my
> ingredients, and never bother measuring them.
> I always mean to make note of it all, but never do.
>
> Yumm... homemade tortillas!! *drool*
>
> Marlene
Thanks for your help.
Janet

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 13:47:08 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
> wrote:

>I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them
>before--is there anything I need to know before I start? I have a 12-inch
>cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the recipe? I thought I
>would go with this simple one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 3
>tablespoons lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks

Let us know how it turns out. I was going to comment that "trying to
make tortillas for the first time today" rather than making for
tonight's dinner would be more practical. As Marlene says, the recipe
includes some "eyeballing" and feel for the operation. Ex: depending
on how you measure it, a "cup" of flour can contain something between
4 and 6-1/2 oz (weight). It's not rocket science, but it's not
cup-of-soup, either. Good luck, and I hope they turned out perfect.

"Frogleg" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 13:47:08 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
> > wrote:
>
> >I'm going to make tortillas today for dinner. I've never made them
> >before--is there anything I need to know before I start? I have a
12-inch
> >cast iron skillet for baking them. What about the recipe? I thought I
> >would go with this simple one: 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon
salt, 3
> >tablespoons lard/shortening, 1/2 cup warm water. Thanks
>
> Let us know how it turns out. I was going to comment that "trying to
> make tortillas for the first time today" rather than making for
> tonight's dinner would be more practical. As Marlene says, the recipe
> includes some "eyeballing" and feel for the operation. Ex: depending
> on how you measure it, a "cup" of flour can contain something between
> 4 and 6-1/2 oz (weight). It's not rocket science, but it's not
> cup-of-soup, either. Good luck, and I hope they turned out perfect.

They turned out pretty good(not perfect shape)but everything else was good.
I did take into account that cup measurements vary so I chose the middle of
the road for measuring--spoon into the cup and level. For this particular
recipe next time I will scoop the flour as it was obvious right away that
more flour was needed(for my taste) in relation to the lard. But I fiddled
with the proportions and then wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let it
rest for a half hour. I rolled them out on Silpat so sticking wasn't a
problem. I was undecided about which was best for production so ended up
rolling them all out and sandwiching them between foil until baked and had a
couple of stuck spots. All in all, they weren't that much different to
handle than pizza dough, or pie crust or dog cookie dough and certainly not
as nasty as a slack bread dough. Now that I've done it once I can see that
it would be no problem to roll one and then while it bakes, roll out
another. I had been worried (unnecessarily)that turning them when baking
would be a problem I don't have a tortilla warmer, so what's the best way
to keep them warm without either drying out or getting steamy? Thanks
Janet

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 14:45:22 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
> wrote:

>
>"Frogleg" > wrote

>> Let us know how it turns out.
>
>They turned out pretty good(not perfect shape)but everything else was good.

Terrific! I'm sure perfect shape is a very small consideration. I've
never made a round-round dough thing of any description. :-)

> I don't have a tortilla warmer, so what's the best way
>to keep them warm without either drying out or getting steamy?

I usually just cover with a (cloth) towel. If they get cold, I nuke
'em (very briefly). For longer sitting, I'd put waxed paper in between
the 'layers.'

Congrats -- your first attempt certainly sounds better than mine. What
did you serve these with?

Ahhh, yes.. the different state shaped tortillas. Most of mine when
starting out,
resembled Florida The key to the round shape. .(and I've in no way
perfected it,
but I can get a decent roundish shape :P ).. is to roll, pick up and give a
1/4 turn, roll,
pick up, give a 1/4 turn..etc etc.

I don't roll all mine out in advance, but I do pinch off a small palmfull,
make a sort of
flattened disc shaped form out of it. I make all my little 'disc shapes'
first, and then roll
one at a time.. .usually having one the skillet, the other ready to go.

Keeping them stored has never been a problem for me, probs because we go
through
them pretty fast (in a house with 3 teenagers, it's expected). I'm trying
to remember
back to the authentic Mexican household I lived in (where I learned to make
them),
and honestly, I can't remember what she stored them in afterwards either !

During the process, I usually keep mine in between foil. They never sit
long enough
to lose their fresh taste.

M
>
> They turned out pretty good(not perfect shape)but everything else was
good.
> I did take into account that cup measurements vary so I chose the middle
of
> the road for measuring--spoon into the cup and level. For this particular
> recipe next time I will scoop the flour as it was obvious right away that
> more flour was needed(for my taste) in relation to the lard. But I
fiddled
> with the proportions and then wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let it
> rest for a half hour. I rolled them out on Silpat so sticking wasn't a
> problem. I was undecided about which was best for production so ended up
> rolling them all out and sandwiching them between foil until baked and had
a
> couple of stuck spots. All in all, they weren't that much different to
> handle than pizza dough, or pie crust or dog cookie dough and certainly
not
> as nasty as a slack bread dough. Now that I've done it once I can see
that
> it would be no problem to roll one and then while it bakes, roll out
> another. I had been worried (unnecessarily)that turning them when baking
> would be a problem I don't have a tortilla warmer, so what's the best way
> to keep them warm without either drying out or getting steamy? Thanks
> Janet
>
>

I've never made a tortilla before, but I did think of something which might
help with the roundness. Or maybe it's not practical, I haven't a clue, but
here goes:

What if you roll it out, then place something like and upside-down plate on
top? Then you could go around it with a knife or pizza cutter or something?

-Jen

>They turned out pretty good(not perfect >shape)but everything else was
>good.
Half the people you know are below average. -Steven Wright