Hot Tortillas Arrruuuba!

I watched many videos on Youtube before I attempted this, there are many different recipes and methods. The little senoritas making them over a comal were so lovely to watch. They were very appealing, and make it look like a labor of love. Flour tortillas were fairly easy. I rolled them out with a rolling pin. They were very tasty-I got rave reviews (seemed a little too easy, but I liked them too.)

Cast iron is definitely the way to go.

Must have refried beans!

Dough for corn tortillas.

These are the ones I rolled out between two pieces of plastic wrap so the edges are very uneven, but that doesn't bother me, it makes them look "hand crafted". I think I may like the hand tossed ones a bit better, they are certainly thicker so they take a long time to cook.

Very very good, I won't be easy to settle for store bought ones now. The corn ones are tasty, healthy and fairly easy to make. I want to invest in a tortilla press now. I know we would use it.

Flour Tortillas:

2 cups Bread Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1/4 cup Lard, chilled

3/4 cup Warm Water

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add the lard and mix in with your fingers until you have completly crumbled it in. Slowly add the warm water and mix witha large spoon. Take the ball out and put on a floured board and knead 3-5 minutes until elastic. Store in a warm place inside an oiled, plastic bag for 1 hour. (I skipped this step but will try it next time to see if there is a noticable difference) Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a golf ball (1 inch) and let rest 15 minutes. Roll the balls into circles approximately 7 inches in size. Cook on a HOT griddle, turning only once. Remove to a basket lined with a cloth towel or put between a towel until cool. After the tortillas have cooled completely store them in a plastic bag. Yield: 9-10 tortillas.

Corn Tortillas

4 cups Masa Harina

1/2 tsp. Salt

2 1/2 cups hot but not boiling water.

Place the masa harina and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and mix with your hands to make a dough that comes together in a soft ball. Continue mixing and kneading until the dough is elastic enough to hold together without cracking, about 3 minutes. Divide the dough into 18 equal portions and cover with a damp towel.

To form the tortillas, place a portion of dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. press with a tortilla press or roll out with a rolling pin into a circle 6-7 inches in diameter. Use your fingers to smooth any raggedy edges. (Skipped this step-oops.)

To cook the tortillas, heat a heavy skillet, griddle or camal over high heat until it begins to smoke. ( I am thinking of trying my grill on Sunday.) Peel the plastic wrap off a tortilla and place the tortilla in the pan. Reduce the heat to med-high and cook for 30 seconds. Turn and cook on the other side for 1 minute. Turn again and cook until the tortilla puffs a bit but is still pliable, not crisp, about 30 seconds more. Remove and continue until all the tortillas are cooked. Serve right away as this is when they are the best.

I noticed in the videos that the women would wet thier hands with water and that worked real well. This kind of hands on cooking with doughy yummy things is a good way to relax I think.