Homemade Flour Tortillas: The Story
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo by making tortillas from scratch! A great way to spend time with the family and make memories during this COVID season while you have the time. This recipe is from one of our SGC sisters, Mari Rubio:
"My mom made them when I was a child, as the youngest of eight with a single mom, it makes sense to me now that it was a cheap and good food on a very very limited budget.
My sisters learned to cook them but I never really did. It wasn't until I was married at age 33 that one of my sisters taught me (she's 11 years older). She said something to the effect of, "You are married now, you need to learn how to make them for your husband!"
So we found a day and schedule the time for my first tortilla lesson. My sister brought all the ingredients to my house and even a brought big tortilla bowl, which she said was must. She said you always use the same bowl so that you can remember how to make them.
That day, I mostly watched and got the gist of how to make them. I never really got a good handle on them. It just seemed like so much work. My sister is definitely an expert at tortillas making. She would make 15-20 dozens at a time several times a month just for the fun of it. I remember watching her make them when I was younger. She'd crank up the old school jams like Superfreak and Ring my Bell, fill her 32oz cup of diet Coke, and get to work. She'd spend hours making them but the time went quickly.
At any rate, in my 18 years of marriage I can count the number of times I made fresh tortillas on one hand, two if I am going to be generous to myself. There were always so many excuses... no time, no ingredients, too tired....I mean, why make them, when I can get them at the store?
But when I did get over the excuses and finally made them, I remember how happy James would be. He was a big eat-out kinda guy and hated left overs, but he loved homemade tortillas. He would always snack on them for as long as we had them and didn't even warm them up. He didn't use any butter or any accompaniment... just straight up tortilla. RJ, my oldest would always ask for them too but all the excuses came back.
Now that we have been challenged by the coronavirus with limited food supply and the ability to freely go shopping. Tortillas have become a necessity again, just like when I was a kid. I just haven't been able to to find them anywhere.
My two younger boys have been eating egg burritos every morning since we've all been on self isolation. It's become part of their daily routine. So, you can imagine the drama and crankiness when they don't have one of their favorite food items. So, I got tired of looking on instacart and all the online groceries options and decided to start making them myself.
In the last two weeks, I've made about 12 dozens, three and four at a time. The boys have their breakfast burritos and RJ eats them just like his dad. Dahlia loves them warmed with melting butter, like me, and the baby crams them in his mouth anyway he gets them. One last thing, I'm not really supposed to eat gluten because it gives me digestive problems but I can't resist one or two as as I'm making them.
I always hate when people tell long stories before they get to the recipe. I find it incredibly annoying but I guess now I can understand why they feel it necessary to tell their life story before getting to the point.
So please forgive me for being so long winded. But really, this recipe is so easy, I guessed I had the time to share backstory:)
"My mom made them when I was a child, as the youngest of eight with a single mom, it makes sense to me now that it was a cheap and good food on a very very limited budget.
My sisters learned to cook them but I never really did. It wasn't until I was married at age 33 that one of my sisters taught me (she's 11 years older). She said something to the effect of, "You are married now, you need to learn how to make them for your husband!"
So we found a day and schedule the time for my first tortilla lesson. My sister brought all the ingredients to my house and even a brought big tortilla bowl, which she said was must. She said you always use the same bowl so that you can remember how to make them.
That day, I mostly watched and got the gist of how to make them. I never really got a good handle on them. It just seemed like so much work. My sister is definitely an expert at tortillas making. She would make 15-20 dozens at a time several times a month just for the fun of it. I remember watching her make them when I was younger. She'd crank up the old school jams like Superfreak and Ring my Bell, fill her 32oz cup of diet Coke, and get to work. She'd spend hours making them but the time went quickly.
At any rate, in my 18 years of marriage I can count the number of times I made fresh tortillas on one hand, two if I am going to be generous to myself. There were always so many excuses... no time, no ingredients, too tired....I mean, why make them, when I can get them at the store?
But when I did get over the excuses and finally made them, I remember how happy James would be. He was a big eat-out kinda guy and hated left overs, but he loved homemade tortillas. He would always snack on them for as long as we had them and didn't even warm them up. He didn't use any butter or any accompaniment... just straight up tortilla. RJ, my oldest would always ask for them too but all the excuses came back.
Now that we have been challenged by the coronavirus with limited food supply and the ability to freely go shopping. Tortillas have become a necessity again, just like when I was a kid. I just haven't been able to to find them anywhere.
My two younger boys have been eating egg burritos every morning since we've all been on self isolation. It's become part of their daily routine. So, you can imagine the drama and crankiness when they don't have one of their favorite food items. So, I got tired of looking on instacart and all the online groceries options and decided to start making them myself.
In the last two weeks, I've made about 12 dozens, three and four at a time. The boys have their breakfast burritos and RJ eats them just like his dad. Dahlia loves them warmed with melting butter, like me, and the baby crams them in his mouth anyway he gets them. One last thing, I'm not really supposed to eat gluten because it gives me digestive problems but I can't resist one or two as as I'm making them.
I always hate when people tell long stories before they get to the recipe. I find it incredibly annoying but I guess now I can understand why they feel it necessary to tell their life story before getting to the point.
So please forgive me for being so long winded. But really, this recipe is so easy, I guessed I had the time to share backstory:)
What You'll Need
TOOLS:
*Large bowl
*Rolling pin
*Comal, skillet, or griddle (I use an electric griddle that my mom gave me bc I can cook two tortillas at a time)
*Dinner plate
INGREDIENTS:
*All purpose flour: 5lbs, room temp (my sister taught me with Gold Medal brand and that's what I still use)
*Morell lard: 2 cups (I've tried substitutes but nothing works as well: you can find it near the cooking oil at Fry's)
*Salt: 1 tablespoon
*Water: approximately 24 oz of warm water (from tap is fine)
*Makes approximately 4dz
And that's it. My mom used a dash of baking powder to help them rise but my sister omitted that, as do I. I find they rise just as well. Why use an extra ingredient that doesn't serve a major purpose?
Let's get rolling!
Put 4.5lbs flour in your tortilla bowl (a shallow bowl is easier to work with than a deep bowl), add salt by spreading it over the flour. The remaining, flour will be used later.
Mix the salt and flour, stir with a spoon, then add lard. Here's where you use the best two tools in your kitchen, your hands:). Mix the lard into the flour, breaking down the lard into small pieces. The flour will turn from a white color to an off-white color and you will know you are done when the flour looks like a bowl of nerds in shape:))
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add about 12oz of water, mix until the water is incorporated. At this point, it's easier to dump the masa (dough) onto your work suface, it's easier to have more work space to kneed the dough... a counter near your stove or griddle works best.
Keep adding the warm water, little by little to the dough until all the dough becomes smooth (note: you may not use all the water). You will know you are done when the dough has a nice smooth texture. If the dough sticks to your hands, you may have too much water, just add a bit more flour; if it is too powdery, add more water.
Roll the dough into a big ball, cover it, I use a plastic grocery bag let it sit for about an hour; you can leave it on the counter. After the hour, remove the plastic, then start making the tortilla balls. The size of the balls depends on the size of tortillas you want. I usually tear off a piece that fits in the palm of my hand. This makes a good size that will fit on my griddle and a gallon size ziplock bag. At this point you can start warming your pan or griddle to about 350- 375 degrees (medium-high heat) depending how quickly you want them to cook.
Some of the remaining flour can be put on the plate, take a ball and gently flatten it in the flour on both sides, do about 6-8. Sprinkle a little flour on your work space and you can start rolling your tortillas out. I like to add flour to my rolling pin as I flatten the tortilla to avoid the tortilla from sticking. To get the round shape, I turn the tortilla as I roll it. For example, two rolls, turn it clock wise, two more rolls, turn it clockwise, etc until it is the size and shape you like. Don't worry about it being perfectly round. It will be delicious no matter the shape
Cook until the tortilla bubbles up, then flip to the other side, once the other side bubbles up, it's done. I like to place them in a folded tea towel until I'm done with the entire batch.
It sounds complicated but is really simple and dare I say, fun? Take it from me who made up every excuse in the book to avoid it. I used to dread making them and especially getting down to the last couple of tortillas but now I quite enjoy it. I crank up my favorite 80's music, serve myself a flavored water (wine would work too) and get to work.
I've even freely and happily give them away a dozen at a time. It's the least I can do for folks who have been so generous to me. It's not much but does come from the heart!
*Large bowl
*Rolling pin
*Comal, skillet, or griddle (I use an electric griddle that my mom gave me bc I can cook two tortillas at a time)
*Dinner plate
INGREDIENTS:
*All purpose flour: 5lbs, room temp (my sister taught me with Gold Medal brand and that's what I still use)
*Morell lard: 2 cups (I've tried substitutes but nothing works as well: you can find it near the cooking oil at Fry's)
*Salt: 1 tablespoon
*Water: approximately 24 oz of warm water (from tap is fine)
*Makes approximately 4dz
And that's it. My mom used a dash of baking powder to help them rise but my sister omitted that, as do I. I find they rise just as well. Why use an extra ingredient that doesn't serve a major purpose?
Let's get rolling!
Put 4.5lbs flour in your tortilla bowl (a shallow bowl is easier to work with than a deep bowl), add salt by spreading it over the flour. The remaining, flour will be used later.
Mix the salt and flour, stir with a spoon, then add lard. Here's where you use the best two tools in your kitchen, your hands:). Mix the lard into the flour, breaking down the lard into small pieces. The flour will turn from a white color to an off-white color and you will know you are done when the flour looks like a bowl of nerds in shape:))
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add about 12oz of water, mix until the water is incorporated. At this point, it's easier to dump the masa (dough) onto your work suface, it's easier to have more work space to kneed the dough... a counter near your stove or griddle works best.
Keep adding the warm water, little by little to the dough until all the dough becomes smooth (note: you may not use all the water). You will know you are done when the dough has a nice smooth texture. If the dough sticks to your hands, you may have too much water, just add a bit more flour; if it is too powdery, add more water.
Roll the dough into a big ball, cover it, I use a plastic grocery bag let it sit for about an hour; you can leave it on the counter. After the hour, remove the plastic, then start making the tortilla balls. The size of the balls depends on the size of tortillas you want. I usually tear off a piece that fits in the palm of my hand. This makes a good size that will fit on my griddle and a gallon size ziplock bag. At this point you can start warming your pan or griddle to about 350- 375 degrees (medium-high heat) depending how quickly you want them to cook.
Some of the remaining flour can be put on the plate, take a ball and gently flatten it in the flour on both sides, do about 6-8. Sprinkle a little flour on your work space and you can start rolling your tortillas out. I like to add flour to my rolling pin as I flatten the tortilla to avoid the tortilla from sticking. To get the round shape, I turn the tortilla as I roll it. For example, two rolls, turn it clock wise, two more rolls, turn it clockwise, etc until it is the size and shape you like. Don't worry about it being perfectly round. It will be delicious no matter the shape
Cook until the tortilla bubbles up, then flip to the other side, once the other side bubbles up, it's done. I like to place them in a folded tea towel until I'm done with the entire batch.
It sounds complicated but is really simple and dare I say, fun? Take it from me who made up every excuse in the book to avoid it. I used to dread making them and especially getting down to the last couple of tortillas but now I quite enjoy it. I crank up my favorite 80's music, serve myself a flavored water (wine would work too) and get to work.
I've even freely and happily give them away a dozen at a time. It's the least I can do for folks who have been so generous to me. It's not much but does come from the heart!
God Bless the hands that made this food...
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Mari is our babysitting chair and the mother of five children She has been a member of our ministry for over ten years and helps make our annual Christmas and Easter children's events fun-filled and spirit-filled. She is a certified hypnotherapist and the owner of Graphene Hypnosis. By the way, everything she does comes from the heart!
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