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Care and feeding of flour tortillas

Hi all,
reverting to my old handle because I´m too tired to remember the
password to my correct name.

The Teflon install on my Villamex tortilla press worked out great,
and the restaurant opened this week. One problem I´m finding is that
some customers are commenting that the tortillas are kind of hard and
rubbery at the edges. Let me describe how we´re making them, and
invite your suggestions.

The recipe is flour, milk, a bit of oil, yeast, and salt. We press
the tortillas with enough heat to "set" them, then wrap them and put
them in the fridge for a day or so, passing them over the grill to
cook them before putting them out to be served within a few hours. If
the tortillas are not consumed within about three hours, the edges
start to get hard and rubbery, thought otherwise they are still soft
and tasty. Today I bought hygienic plastic bags to store the cooked
tortillas, with a clean towel inside to absorb the
"sweat", but the problem persists. Any ideas on what I should do?

Thanks,

JMA

hi

you are using the wrong recipe!

try thisone

I N G R E D I E N T S
3/4 pound (2-3/4 cups ) all purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling
the tortillas
5 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening, or a mixture of the two
3/4 teaspoon salt
about 3/4 cup very warm tap water

I N S T R U C T I O N S
Put the flour in a large bowl and rub the lard or shortening into the flour
using your fingertips. Add the salt to the water to dissolve. Mix the
water into the flour a small amount at a time until you form a stiff dough.

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and kneed it for about 10-15
minutes until it is elastic.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each one into a ball with the palm
of your hands. Cover the pieces with plastic wrap while you work. When
you are finished cover all the pieces and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Roll out each ball on a lightly floured surface using a thin rolling pin.
Rotate the tortilla one quarter with each roll to keep the shape even. (This
takes a lot of practice so do not be disheartened if your first attempts
don't make perfect round tortillas). Keep rolling until the tortilla is
about 12".

Warm a comal over medium heat. Place one tortilla at a time on the surface
(ungreased) and cook for about 45 seconds to 1 minute until the surface
beings to blister and lightly brown. Turn the tortilla over and cook the
other side for an additional minute.

Wrap the tortillas in a clean dish towel to keep them warm as you heat the
rest.

never use milk, your recipe is like for pancakes not for tortillas!

jl

http://members.chello.nl/j.pulido1/

"Incontinentius Buttocks" > schreef in
bericht om...
> Hi all,
> reverting to my old handle because I´m too tired to remember the
> password to my correct name.
>
> The Teflon install on my Villamex tortilla press worked out great,
> and the restaurant opened this week. One problem I´m finding is that
> some customers are commenting that the tortillas are kind of hard and
> rubbery at the edges. Let me describe how we´re making them, and
> invite your suggestions.
>
> The recipe is flour, milk, a bit of oil, yeast, and salt. We press
> the tortillas with enough heat to "set" them, then wrap them and put
> them in the fridge for a day or so, passing them over the grill to
> cook them before putting them out to be served within a few hours. If
> the tortillas are not consumed within about three hours, the edges
> start to get hard and rubbery, thought otherwise they are still soft
> and tasty. Today I bought hygienic plastic bags to store the cooked
> tortillas, with a clean towel inside to absorb the
> "sweat", but the problem persists. Any ideas on what I should do?
>
> Thanks,
>
> JMA

<< you are using the wrong recipe! >><BR><BR>

Yeah, I have never seen "yeast" in a tortia recipe.
Years back, when up in the wilds of Canada before Taco bell got out into the
boonies, I used to get a craving for Tortillas, so I rolled my own. Just
flour, shortning, and water and a little salt. Rolled them out by hand with a
rolling pin and cooked them in an electric skillet. Worked and tasted fine. I
don't even think I have ever heard of "milk" in a tortilla recipe.
Try the one the fellow posted and use that in the press, I think you might find
that it works and tastes a lot better.

krusty kritter > wrote:

> The whole idea of any flat bread, whether it's a tortilla, pizza crust, pita,
> or nan, is that it's *unleavened* bread, it's not supposed to rise because it's
> a "quick and dirty" form of bread that can be made over an open fire out in a
> camp in whatever country the peasants are living in...

Hmmmm... I've been making pizza crusts with sourdough for years, just
depriving them of a long fermentation time. Maybe I'm doing something
wrong?

I will admit that I've never heard of using yeast in a tortilla until
recently, and only in this newsgroup. I sometimes add some baking
powder to mine, depending upon how they're to be used. The baking
powder makes for a lighter, slightly puffier tortilla.

--
Art Sackett,
Patron Saint of Drunken Fornication