Monday, 6 November 2006

flour tor·til·la

First of all, I would like to say, that the best way to cook these tortillas is with someone else. Someone with whom you can enjoy a glass of wine in the kitchen, working together while you chat. Then, they will be perfect.

Flour Tortilla
makes 12

2 cups strong bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons lard or goose or duck fat
boiling water, about a cup

Mix the flour and the salt together then rub in the fat. While stirring with a wooden spoon, add enough boiling water to form a dough then knead briefly. Wrap in plasitc and rest for an hour. Heat a cast iron frying pan to hot.
Divide into 12 pieces and either using a tortilla/chappati press or a rolling pin form circles as thin as you can, cooking them for 30 seconds per side, or until then have golden patches and are puffy, then wrapping in a teatowel to keep warm and soft. This is where a kitchen partnership is so good ; one person rolls and the other cooks, all easy, no fussing (and no forgetting to turn that one which is now burning because you were busy rolling).

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A friend and I once made tortillas while my husband was preparing margaritas. By the time the tortillas were all made the kitchen was a mess and we were drunk from testing the margaritas. You make it sound so easy Emma.

Elizabeth said...

You're right!! It's so much easier to work two together than trying to go it alone!

Emma, do you knead the dough at all and/or how long do you stir it?

Incidentally, when we make flour tortillas, we use a rack placed on a second burner for the final puffing of the bread.

-Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

I never tried to make tortillas before, you might have inspired me to. Yours look just perfect!

Emma said...

Oh Barbara that is a much better way to do it! It certainly is a great way to linger over pre-prandial drinks!

Elizabeth - I just knead it until it comes together and seems nice and uniform. The rack-puffing idea sounds great - do you use gas? We have an electric stove.

Bea - Excellent! I am looking forward to seeing your undoubtably beautiful results.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this, I've been wanting to make homemade tortillas for somet time. Yours look like something you'd get in a gourmet mexican restaurant. :)

Ari (Baking and Books)

Lisa Fain (Homesick Texan) said...

I've never made tortillas with duckfat...yum! Yours are gorgeous!