Homemade Tortilla Food

TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Combine the flour, vegetable oil and salt in a bowl. Pour over 150ml warm water and knead to bring the mixture together. Remove from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured work surface for around 5 mins until you make a soft, smooth ball of dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and rest for at least 15 mins before rolling out.
• Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (about 75g each). Roll out each ball of dough as thinly as possible on a floured work surface. They should make rounds about 20 cm wide, 2mm thick.
• Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Cook the tortillas for 1-2 mins on each side until golden brown and toasted. Wrap them in foil and cover in a tea towel to keep warm, while you cook the rest. Keeps for two days well wrapped, or cool, wrap and freeze for up to three months.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Steps:

• In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Stir in the vegetable oil, then slowly pour in the hot water, stirring gently. When the dough comes together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it gently a few times to smooth it out.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Pinch off a piece of dough slightly smaller than a Ping-Pong ball and roll it into a 5-inch circle. It should be extremely thin.
• Cook on the dry skillet for about 1 minute on the first side, until it starts to brown a little, then flip it and cook for about 30 seconds on the second side. Remove and stack onto a kitchen towel, then repeat with the rest. As you stack the tortillas, wrap them in the kitchen towel while you cook the next ones.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in water and oil. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10-12 times, adding a little flour or water if needed to achieve a smooth dough. Let rest for 10 minutes., Divide dough into 8 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 7-in. circle., In a greased cast-iron or other heavy skillet, cook tortillas over medium heat until lightly browned, 1 minute on each side. Serve warm.

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the bottom blade, add the all-purpose flour, wheat flour and salt and pulse 2 to 3 times to combine. Add in the cold lard and butter and pulse until the mix resembles cornmeal-like texture, 5 to 6 (20-second) pulses. Add the warm water and pulse until a dough ball forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and knead until the dough is elastic and smooth and no longer sticky, 3 to 4 minutes. Form into a small loaf shape, about 6 by 4-inches. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with one at a time, roll into a ball, about the size of a golf ball and dust lightly with flour. Repeat.
• Place the balls, one at a time, into a well-floured tortilla press, press down and remove. You should have a 6-inch disc at this point. Place the disc on a floured board and roll out to 8 to 9-inch in diameter and almost paper thin, lightly dusting with flour and turning as needed. You can stack them, separated by waxed paper.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add the raw tortillas, one at time, cook for 30 to 45 seconds per side, or just until the bubbles puff up, then turn and repeat. Keep the cooked tortillas in a towel, covered, to keep warm and pliable.
• Special equipment: tortilla press.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Steps:

• This works great as a stand-alone recipe, but also as a component in Jamie's Taco Party from Together - see the full collection of menus here.
• ON THE DAY You can't beat the smell and taste of homemade tortillas. Measure out 700ml of boiling kettle water and let it cool for 5 minutes. Put the flour into a large bowl with a pinch of sea salt and make a well in the middle, then pour in the hot water. Use a fork to gradually mix in the flour, until it starts to come together. Bring into a smooth dough, then, once cool enough to handle, divide into six equal pieces and split each sixth into six balls, giving you 36 in total - cover with a clean damp tea towel as you go to prevent them drying out. Tear off a large sheet of greaseproof paper, fold it in half, place one ball in the middle, press down to flatten, and roll it out between the paper until about 2mm thick, then repeat the process, stacking them in sheets of greaseproof paper as you go so they don't dry out. Cook three tortillas at a time for 1 minute on each side in a large dry hot non-stick pan on a medium heat. As they're cooked, stack them up in a clean tea towel so they stay warm until you're ready to tuck in. Delicious served with Slow-cooked pork belly.

HOMEMADE CORN TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Set a comal, a flat griddle, or a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until thoroughly heated. (If the pan isn't hot enough, the tortillas will stick to it.)
• Meanwhile, cut two circles about the size of the tortilla press plates (or at least 6 inches in diameter if using a rolling pin) out of thin plastic bags, such as produce bags from the grocery store; do not use plastic wrap.
• In a large bowl, mix together the masa harina, salt, and water and then knead in a circular motion until the dough feels smooth and without lumps. It shouldn't be wet or sticky but nice and moist. If it feels coarse when you gather the dough together, add a bit more water. Masa dries out fast, so keep it covered while you make the tortillas.
• Roll a piece of the dough in the palm of your hand into a ball about 1½ inches in diameter. Place one of the plastic circles on the bottom of the tortilla press and place the ball on top. Place the other plastic circle on top of the ball and clamp down the press to make a flat disk, jiggling the press a little as you get to the bottom (this makes for a rounder tortilla). It should be about 5 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Alternatively, you can place a ball between plastic sheets or parchment paper and roll out the tortillas with a rolling pin.
• Open the press, check the tortilla for dryness (see Cook's Trick), and add water to the dough if needed. Remove the plastic on top of the tortilla, then lift up the bottom piece of plastic and the tortilla with one hand and peel the tortilla away from the plastic with the other hand. Keep at least half of the tortilla off your hand to make it easier to transfer it swiftly to the hot pan.
• Place the tortilla on the hot surface and don't touch it for 30 seconds-even if it doesn't lie completely flat, resist the temptation to fiddle with it! Cook until you can easily lift it with a spatula, 40 seconds to 1 minute; it should be opaque on the cooked side. Flip and cook for about a minute longer, until it has begun to get brown freckles. Flip once more. After 10 to 15 seconds, the tortilla should puff like pita bread, if not all over, at least in one area. If it is not puffing, gently tease it along by poking it in the center with the tip of your finger. Once it puffs, let the tortilla continue cooking for another 15 to 20 seconds, so that it cooks all the way through. That extra cooking is what makes the difference between stiff tortillas and those that are toothy, tender, and pliable.
• Transfer the cooked tortilla to a clean kitchen towel or a cloth-lined tortillero (a tortilla basket, which looks just like a bread basket) and cover to keep warm while you make the rest of the tortillas.
• Cook's Trick
• The masa has to be as soft and smooth as Play-Doh. This has less to do with the kneading-which takes under a minute-than with the amount of water. The measurement given on most bags for masa harina is too low. Here I give you the measurement that works for me. Things will vary, however, according to climate and ingredients. One way to tell if your masa needs more water is to take a look at the first tortilla after you have pressed it out. If the edges seem cracked and rough, you need more water. The tortilla should be smooth and even along the edges, not at all ridged.

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
• Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Stir together flour with salt in a bowl, then cut in lard with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture resembles meal. Drizzle vegetable oil over and stir in warm water with a fork until a dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes, dusting hands occasionally with flour if dough is sticky.
• Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest 1 hour. Heat a dry well-seasoned cast-iron comal, regular griddle, or skillet over moderately low heat until hot. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces and form into balls.
• When rolling out 1 ball at a time with dowel, use just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking; you don't want excess flour coming off on the comal. Keep remaining dough covered with plastic wrap. Roll out each ball into a 7-inch round, maintaining an even thinness as you roll. Cook 1 tortilla on comal as you roll the next.
• Tortilla will bubble and puff, and bottom will be browned in spots in 45 seconds. Turn it over and cook second side in same way, moving tortilla around to compensate for any hot spots on comal if necessary. Transfer to a kitchen towel. Stack and cover tortillas as cooked. They can be frozen (cool thoroughly first). Rewarm thawed tortillas on comal before using.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt using your hands or a pastry cutter and crumble or cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly. If it looks more powdery than crumbly add a tablespoon or more shortening until it is crumbly.
• Add just enough of the HOT water to make the ingredients look moist.
• Now, knead the mixture. Kneading anywhere you see any loose pieces or flour so you are sure to get everything. If it sticks to the anything add a some more flour. Play with the dough and the flour and shortening amounts until you have a dough that makes a soft round shape. You want your dough to be smooth and sort of elastic.
• Cover bowl with a towel and let it rest for about an hour.
• After it rests, cut or pinch off 10 to 12 balls. Add some flour to your rolling pin and workspace LIGHTLY. Roll each ball into about 1/8 inch thickness or press with a tortilla press that has plastic wrap covering any part that the dough will touch.
• Cook tortilla's one at a time on a medium hot cast iron skillet or griddle for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until the tortilla gets brown specks. Black specks mean your pan is too hot. Reduce heat so the tortilla puffs and browns. It should puff up underneath if done right. Do not worry if it does not though. Practice will get you to that stage.
• NOTE: Here are some tips as to technique: Do not use bread flour. You want flour with a low gluten content. You don't want to over-flour your work surface, but you don't want your rolled-out tortilla sticking to it either. I found that the dough adhered less to an unvarnished wood surface (like an old cutting board) than any other surface I tried. A flat dough scraper, or "bench knife" is perfect for removing the rolled-out tortilla from the work surface. When rolling out tortillas, dust your rolling pin with flour, and don't be afraid to apply some pressure. Flour tortilla dough is pretty sturdy; but not to the point of rerolling. You don't want tough tortillas. Making perfect circles is harder than it sounds; the dough wants to draw up. So if perfectly circular shapes are important, you can trim away the excess with a sharp knife.

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients together and knead until just smooth and round into a ball (about 4-5 minutes). Dust the dough with flour lightly then leave to rest for half an hour under a tea towel or cling film. This doesn't rise as there is no yeast but does need time for the gluten to begin to develop
• Split the dough into either six or eight equal pieces, depending on how big you want your tortillas. You can either do this by sight (chop the dough in half and so on) or, to get the tortillas as equal as possible, weigh the dough and work out the weight for an eighth or tenth of that total. Then weigh portions out accordingly
• Put your frying pan on the hob over a medium-high heat
• Flour your work surface and roll out a ball of dough thinly (about 1-2 mm thick) and to as close to a circle as possible. Don't worry if it's a wonky 'circle' as that's all part of the hand-made charm (please note these tortillas are a little more tricky to handle than normal flour tortillas and will need a little extra flour on your work surface to stop them sticking)
• Pop the tortilla on the frying pan and toast on the first side until it is getting dark brown but not burnt. This will only be a minute or even less so keep a keen eye on it. Flip over and repeat on the other side
• While the first tortilla is dry-frying roll out the next one, but bear in mind how quick they cook! Repeat until all tortillas are browned on both sides
• When the soft tortillas are made, cut them into eight wedges each
• Have a few sheets of paper towel ready. Also, have a small bowl ready and the salt and paprika to hand
• Pour a layer of oil into the same frying pan, to a few millimeters - it doesn't have to be a huge amount of oil
• Fry as many tortilla wedges at a time as you can fit in the frying pan - fry for about one minute on each side, flipping them over as they puff up a little and brown lightly. Take them out and place on the kitchen towel to get rid of any excess oil
• Immediately (while still hot) place them in the small bowl and sprinkle over a little salt and the smoked paprika, toss them so they are covered and set aside.
• Repeat steps 10 and 11 until all of the tortillas are fried and seasoned. Serve when they are cooled and have crisped up. They'll keep for a couple of days in an airtight container

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix salt and chili powder. Cut each tortilla into 4 wedges. In an electric skillet, heat 1 in. of oil to 350°. Fry chips, several at a time, 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels., Transfer chips to a large bowl; sprinkle with salt mixture and gently toss to coat.

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS

Steps:

• With a pastry brush, paint a very light coating of oil on one side of each tortilla.
• Stack the tortillas greased side up in an even pile.
• With a sharp, heavy knife (or serrated knife) cut the stack in half, then into quarters, then into eighths.
• Separate the pieces and arrange them greased side up on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
• Toast the chips in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until they are crisp and just beginning to brown lightly; watch them closely so they don't become over baked.