Proficiency in Italian and counted cross-stitch are two things I thought I might learn during quarantine. I don’t know what happened to all those months, but I can’t speak Italian and I haven’t sewn one stitch. Instead, I spent my time learning to make some of our favorite foods. First on the list: flour tortillas.
For the past several years, I have traveled a Tour de Texas, teaching for the Central Market Cooking School. Central Market is owned by HEB, a grocery chain that serves much of the state, and its tortilla is the standard by which I measure all others. Leaving Texas, I would pack my suitcase with tortillas for my home freezer. (There are a number of options, but the butter tortilla is my hands-down favorite.) Five months ago, around the middle of April, I defrosted the last package.
The time had come to teach myself to make a flour tortilla just like that one — light and airy, chewy, sturdy enough to hold fillings and packed with flavor. A good tortilla is the very reason I make sure there are leftovers. I look forward to lunchtime, when I warm a fresh tortilla over the flame of my gas stove, charring it a little, and then wrap it around last night’s dinner. Some mornings, I can’t think of anything until there are soft scrambled eggs, crumbled cotija, salsa and hot sauce wrapped up in a warm tortilla. Got chorizo? That’s a weekend breakfast burrito classic.Advertisement
To find a path to the ideal tortilla, I consulted cookbooks on my shelves, from Diana Kennedy’s “Essential Cuisines of Mexico” to Enrique Olvera’s “Mexico From the Inside Out,” where I learned about the origins of the Sonoran flour tortilla. I pored over Alex Stupak’s “Tacos” and Lisa Fain’s “The Homesick Texan Cookbook” to see how the tortilla was interpreted. I searched online for recipes from bloggers and from aggregators. After dozens of variations on the theme, I learned that the tortilla, from book to book, site to site, is made with a consistent ratio of 4 parts flour, 1 part water, and ½ part fat. The only outlier? Baking powder.
Over the course of several weeks, I tested different flours, including one from a small mill in southern Texas that was recommended on a subreddit. (The tortilla rabbit holes were extraordinary.) The best results, consistently, were tortillas made with bread flour, as recommended in Kennedy’s book. All-purpose flour lacks the proteins to form a sturdy tortilla. High-gluten flour made a tough tortilla. Bread flour made a chewy, light tortilla and a stretchy dough that rolled out gloriously into thin-as-air rounds.
I made tortillas with warm water, which helped the fat and flour mix smoothly. I tried Fain’s recipe that called for milk instead of water, and it added flavor to dough made with shortening.Advertisement
Once I had the flour and liquids sorted, I started swapping out fats. An all-butter tortilla is delicious and flavorful, and when warmed, its aroma is reminiscent of buttered toast. The dough is a little tricky, though. When I mixed shortening and butter, the tortilla retained the buttery flavor and the dough was more workable.
Lard is the classic addition to the Sonoran tortilla, so I tried leaf lard (which I keep around for pie crusts) and made a porky, silky tortilla. Because so few households have readily available lard, I tried bacon fat, too. This was my favorite, particularly as it contained tiny, crispy bits of bacon. Duck fat was terrific, too. My husband, a vegetarian, preferred the butter-and-shortening tortilla. Any of these fats will make a delicious tortilla. Use what you have.
After weeks of experimentation, I called Mexican chef Pati Jinich, cookbook author and the award-winning host of “Pati’s Mexican Kitchen,” whose eighth season just premiered on PBS, focusing on Sonora. I had done my research and needed confirmation, some tips, and more than anything, intel about that baking powder (which I thought made tortillas too caky).Advertisement
Jinich confirmed that the ingredients for a traditional tortilla made in Sonora, the land of flour tortillas, are flour, water and lard or beef suet. “When they make it with the beef lard, there are little crispy bits and it’s just delicious.” I shared my bacon fat revelation and we both said “Yum” at the same moment. She thinks the baking powder was a Texas twist, possibly to account for differences in the flour when the tortilla crossed the border.
To cook tortillas — and so much more — Mexican kitchens are equipped with a comal, or griddle. If you don’t have one, heat a dry cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Every stove is different, and depending on how thin your dough has been rolled, the heat and timing will need to be adjusted.
Making tortillas is straightforward. I mix the dough and let it rest so it won’t fight back when rolled. I use a dowel to roll out each tortilla much thinner than I could ever achieve with a pin, so thin I can see my hand through it, then transfer it quickly to the hot, dry griddle.Advertisement
After I griddle each tortilla, I wrap it in a tea towel. It will steam, stay warm and flexible, and be there to welcome the other tortillas as you roll, griddle, flip, and stack them, too. Please do not miss the chance to take the last one off the stack, butter it and eat it while it’s so hot it’s steaming.
Keep the tortillas wrapped in a towel right on the kitchen counter, incorporating them into your meals during the day. Jinich and I discussed longer storage (although she says in her household full of growing kids, it’s not an issue.) At the end of the day, she says, any remaining tortillas should stay wrapped in the towel, slipped into a zip-top bag and refrigerated. They won’t last more than a couple of days. She is no fan of freezing tortillas, and I’ll admit the homemade ones do not freeze as well as the Central Market tortillas, but it can be done.
For breakfast burritos, taquitos or soft tacos (and never, says Jinich, “for tostadas or enchiladas, which are only made with corn tortillas”), if you have a gas stove, reheat the tortilla directly over the flame until slightly warmed, about 10 seconds. Flip and warm the other side for another 10 seconds. Without an open flame, heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet and toast the tortilla on a dry hot surface until pliable and warmed through, about 20 seconds per side.Advertisement
I’ll get back to Central Market someday, and I’ll fill my suitcase with tortillas again. Until then, you’ll find me making fresh tortillas at home. Not only will we be enjoying quesadillas and burritos, now that I’ve talked to Jinich, I can’t wait to make a griddled sincronizada with ham, refried beans, Oaxacan cheese and chorizo layered between two tortillas.
Storage: The tortillas made with butter, vegan butter and/or shortening can be stored at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for up to 4 days; the tortillas made with animal fats will keep for up to 2 days. Warm the tortillas directly over a gas stove’s open flame for 10 seconds per side or on a hot ungreased griddle or skillet for 20 seconds per side. Frozen, the tortillas will keep for 2 months. Defrost and reheat as usual.
Baking powder creates the bready, chewy texture. Cooking the tortillas on a very hot skillet results in maximum tenderness.
Once I had the flour and liquids sorted, I started swapping out fats. An all-butter tortilla is delicious and flavorful, and when warmed, its aroma is reminiscent of buttered toast. The dough is a little tricky, though. When I mixed shortening and butter, the tortilla retained the buttery flavor and the dough was more workable.
To cook tortillas — and so much more — Mexican kitchens are equipped with a comal, or griddle. If you don’t have one, heat a dry cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Every stove is different, and depending on how thin your dough has been rolled, the heat and timing will need to be adjusted.
Making tortillas is straightforward. I mix the dough and let it rest so it won’t fight back when rolled. I use a dowel to roll out each tortilla much thinner than I could ever achieve with a pin, so thin I can see my hand through it, then transfer it quickly to the hot, dry griddle.Advertisement
Proficiency in Italian and counted cross-stitch are two things I thought I might learn during quarantine. I don’t know what happened to all those months, but I can’t speak Italian and I haven’t sewn one stitch. Instead, I spent my time learning to make some of our favorite foods. First on the list: flour tortillas.
Keep the tortillas wrapped in a towel right on the kitchen counter, incorporating them into your meals during the day. Jinich and I discussed longer storage (although she says in her household full of growing kids, it’s not an issue.) At the end of the day, she says, any remaining tortillas should stay wrapped in the towel, slipped into a zip-top bag and refrigerated. They won’t last more than a couple of days. She is no fan of freezing tortillas, and I’ll admit the homemade ones do not freeze as well as the Central Market tortillas, but it can be done.
Anyone can make chewy and soft homemade flour tortillas. They require only a few inexpensive ingredients. Once you’ve got the hang of making tortillas, you will never go back to store bought!
I’m not an expert on Mexican food, but if I can make delicious homemade tortillas, so can you! There’s nothing like eating freshly made bread. When done right, tortillas are soft and supple. They can be used for a multitude of purposes: fajitas, burritos, tacos…even as a flatbread pizza base.
SUPER Addictive SOFT BUTTER FLOUR TORTILLAS | Make Flour Tortillas Like a PRO, NO FAIL and THAT EASY
FAQ
Why do my tortillas come out chewy?
Why are my homemade flour tortillas tough?
Can you overwork tortilla dough?
How do you keep homemade tortillas soft?
Why are my homemade flour tortillas hard?
The reason your homemade flour tortillas are hard could be because you overwork the dough. When you use an electric mixer to mix the dough, you tend to knead it for longer than necessary. This causes the gluten in the flour to toughen up and makes the dough hard. A better way to mix the dough is to use your hands.
Can eating tortilla help with weight loss?
Tortilla can be a good option for weight loss as long as it contains whole grains. As compared to white flour, it has way less fat and calories. It is also important which foods are in the inside; you must prefer lean meats, such as poultry or fish, and use many vegetables.
Why is my flour tortilla not crispy?
One of the most common issues that you will come across is that your flour tortilla will not have the texture that you are looking for. It might be that the tortilla is too thin and it turns into something more akin to a crisp than a soft, pliable wrap.
Why is my tortilla dough hard?
Cold water can impede the hydration process, resulting in a stiffer and less pliable dough that yields hard tortillas. To remedy this, try using warm water instead of cold. Warm water helps the flour absorb moisture more effectively, resulting in a softer and more manageable dough. Make sure the water is warm to the touch but not scorching hot.