Wednesday, July 23, 2008

First attempt at making tortillas

First of all, let me preface this by saying that pregnancy has turned me into a wuss!!!!! I roll out dozens of lefse each year at the holidays with nary a complaint and rolling out a mere 8 tortillas has exhausted me. Sad.

Anyways, I've been wanting to try my hand a tortillas for quite some time and today was the day. I found a good recipe online and went to town!

Rolling them out-yeah I know, this one isn't so pretty, but I can make them nearly perfect. ;o)

Cooking on the griddle.

The finished product. Aren't they pretty?

Mmmmm. Cheesy Quesadillas for lunch!!!

We really enjoyed these! They were really tasty and it's always nice to eat something homemade. The only complaint I had was of my own doing-I didn't roll them quite thin enough so they were a bit more like a flat bread. Easily remedied next time!

Chewy Flour Tortillas

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup lukewarm milk (2% is fine)

Stir together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough. It will be sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (I just used my KitchenAid and let the dough hook do the work!). The kneading will take care of the stickiness. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)

Divide your dough into 8 balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes. Avoid letting them touch, if you don't want them to stick together.

Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat it into a 5-inch circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, until you have a 7- or 8-inch tortilla a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet or griddle. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 30 seconds. Remove the tortilla, place it in a napkin-lined basket and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

1 comment:

Mary said...

oh yes, they are pretty, and they look incredibly fresh, too!