I made flour tortillas over the weekend

[wryter2000]

There's only me, and I hate the stale tortillas in the store. I found a recipe in one of Diana Kennedy's books, and I thought they came out good.

For two big tortillas or three standard size

4 oz flour (must be weighed)
1 oz lard
1/4 cup warm (not lukewarm and not hot)
1/2 tsp salt

Work the lard into the flour with your fingers. Dissolve salt in water. Mix/salt mixture into flour/lard mixture. Knead for 3 minutes. Wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

Knead one minute more. Break into rounds and roll out between two pieces of waxed paper. Cook in a hot cast iron frying pan, turning until there are brown spots on both sides.

[politicat]

1. Yanno, oil works real well, too....

Great minds think, you know.... We made tortillas this weekend, too. The batch of 13-14 took 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup oil, 2 cups flour, and sprinkles of salt.

[wryter2000]

6. Thanks

Maybe I'll try that next.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. You can make chapati if you have a gas stove.

They're very similar. Chapati is made with fewer ingredients and the dough tends to be a little sticky.

This is based on two different recipes, one by Madhur Jaffrey the other by a British author named Dharamjit Singh.

For 1/4 pound of flour, use 1/2 teaspoon salt and about 3.5 to 4 oz of water. Mix the flour and salt together and place on pastry board or in a wide shallow bowl. Add the water a little bit at a time, incorporating it with the four completely before adding more. Stop when the dough is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 7-10 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Knead again , then divide into about 5-7 balls. One at a time, flatten a ball and roll it out very thin.

Cook in a hot cast iron frying pan. When bubbles form, turn over the chapati. After about one minute, twirl the chapati in the pan a few times. Turn the gas on low on an adjacent burner. Place chapati directly on the burner. It should puff up in a few seconds. Turn over and let it sit on the flames for a few more seconds. Stack completed chapati on a cloth cover plate and fold cloth over the top to keep the chapati warm.

Chapati are best fresh too but leftovers. can be reheated.

Without a gas stove, the final puffing could be done on a hibachi or grill.

[wryter2000]

5. Thanks.

I do have a gas stove. Thank heaven.

[Warpy]

3. Lard? Blech.

I'm lucky to have my choice among many brands of exquisitely fresh locally made tortillas that use vegetable oil.

I haven't made flour tortillas since I left Boston. I still do corn tortillas because sometimes I like them even fresher than the stores here deliver.

[Dora]

4. Lard? Mmm.

I just had to put in my fond sentimental regard for homemade tortillas made with lard.

I remember well hanging out in the kitchen while my best-friend's mother and grandmother made their weekly batch of tortillas. The flour, the lard, the tupperware bowl. The smell of the tortillas and the smell of the griddle. Patsy and Nani were skilled at stretching their tortillas by hand, and their tortillas were thin, chewy, and delectable. They would give Jenny and me small balls of dough to practice stretching or rolling out, and we would use a biscuit cutter to cut tiny tortillas we would use for tea parties.

Tortillas these days never taste quite right to me.

[yellerpup]

7. When I learned how to make tortillas I had to learn how to render lard

first. Fresh lard is heavenly (if you like pork chops, you will appreciate lard). To make authentic Mexican food, first you must kill the pig...

[wryter2000]

9. Can't kill a pig

I'm a hopeless city hypocrite. I'm fine with meat if someone else kills it.

[yellerpup]

11. I haven't had to participate in slaughter since I was a child on the farm

I learned how to make flour tortillas in NYC, so no pigs have been sacrificed by me to make tortillas in a long time. If I have lard on hand, I use it to refry beans but I never use bacon grease. I guess it's a matter of personal preference, and I just don't care for the taste of "smoke" in bacon fat.

[wryter2000]

14. As long as you don't refry them in oil

Oh, the humanity! :rofl:

[wryter2000]

8. My grandmother used lard in pie crust

I don't go quite that far, but if I don't have bacon fat, I use lard to refry beans. Sometimes the grodiest, most cholesterol-laden stuff is the best.

[yellerpup]

12. Lard makes the lightest pie crust

But it also can make it greasy. I use butter in a classic French pie crust recipe--it's kind of cookie-like, crunchy and delicious, but will toughen up for sure if you overwork it.

[wryter2000]

15. I use a combination of crisco and butter

Works pretty well.

[yellerpup]

16. I'll try it.

Thanks! :hi:

[NMDemDist2]

10. I had the best tortillas last night

the local grocery store makes them fresh right on premise

they were awesome!

[yellerpup]

13. Now I'm just jealous.

Enjoy the Land of Enchantment. Best of luck to you in your new home.

[NMDemDist2]

17. thanks pup! n/t