Shrinking Tortillas?
thu...@waterw.com
Hi,
Does anyone on the forum here know how to keep flour tortillas you make from
scratch from shrinking to the size of silver dollars when you put them on the
griddle to cook?
Also, (while I'm on the subject), does anyone know a good way to grind bay
leaves for spice mixture recipes? (coffee bean grinder method doesn't seem to
cut it for me!). Thanks!
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Valerie Khan
Let the dough for the flour tortillas rest before your final roll before
gridling. Also,are you allowing enough dough for each individual
tortilla? Try adding more dough to each individual tortilla, if you
don't come up with as many yield as the recipe states, that's ok, make
more.
If our using bay leaves for their flavor but don't wish to "fish" them
out of your meal, try crumbling them and place in cheesecloth.
Valerie
cat
Are you letting the dough rest..after you first mix it and knead it???
This is the recipe that I use..and I never have a shrinkage problem
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup solid shortening
About 1 cup warm water
In a bowl, stir together baking powder, salt, and 3 cups of flour.
Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in shortening until fine
crumbs form. Slowly add 1 cup of water. Then mix dough with your hands
until it holds together (add a few drops more water, if needed). Knead
on a floured board until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Shape
into 12 balls; cover lightly with plastic film and let rest for 15
minutes.
Shape and cook tortillas one at a time (to prevent drying, cover dough
you're not working with). To make each tortilla, flatten a ball of
dough on a floured board to a 4 or 5 inch round; using center-to-edge
strokes, roll out dough to about 9 inches. Turn dough often as you
roll, stretching it slightly as you lift it off board.
Pre-heat an ungreased wide frying pan or heavy griddle over
medium-high heat. Place tortilla in pan or on griddle; blisters will
appear almost at once. With a wide spatula, press tortilla gently but
firmly all over top; blisters will rise over surface. Turn and cook on
other side until blisters are golden brown (tortilla should remain
soft). If tortilla sticks or browns to quickly, reduce heat. Stack
hot cooked tortillas in a folded cloth towel enclosed in a plastic
bag; keep bag closed to let tortillas soften. makes 1 dozen.
(recipe from Sunset's Easy Basics for International Cooking)
And in regards to the bay leaf problem...Have you tried a good old
fashioned "mortar and pestle"?
Cat
thu...@waterw.com
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it! No, I haven't let the dough rest before
pressing it out (I'm attempting to use a 6" tortilla press to make them), so
that might be an idea to try. I don't know if adding more dough per tortilla
will work, either. I have a recipe for them that is only supposed to make
twelve at a time, but I average about 25 of them using the tortilla press.
Anyway, thanks again for your help!
In article <6hm5ha$fq9$1...@newsd-153.iap.bryant.webtv.net>#1/1,
thu...@waterw.com
Hi Cat,
Thanks for the help and recipe! No, I haven't been letting the dough rest, so
maybe that's the problem. I'll try doing that and see what happens. Thanks
again for the help!
In article <353ea430...@news.cibola.net>#1/1,
BlackBeard
In article <353ea430...@news.cibola.net>, petl...@unforgettable.com
wrote:
<snip>
>strokes, roll out dough to about 9 inches. Turn dough often as you
>roll, stretching it slightly as you lift it off board.
>Pre-heat an ungreased wide frying pan or heavy griddle over
>medium-high heat. Place tortilla in pan or on griddle; blisters will
>appear almost at once. With a wide spatula, press tortilla gently but
>firmly all over top; blisters will rise over surface. Turn and cook on
>other side until blisters are golden brown (tortilla should remain
>soft). If tortilla sticks or browns to quickly, reduce heat. Stack
>hot cooked tortillas in a folded cloth towel enclosed in a plastic
>bag; keep bag closed to let tortillas soften. makes 1 dozen.
>(recipe from Sunset's Easy Basics for International Cooking)
>
Hmmm... Sounds very 'caucasian'. ;) I still do it the way mi esposa
taught me. You got to have a comal (heavy cast iron ) and you have to
use your fingers. Popping the bubbles that form quickly enough to flatten
them and avoid the superhot steam that rushes out. Turning them with your
fingers so you catch the edge of the cast iron and burning the tips.
Well, that's the way she made me do it. And she was always laughing each
time I burned myself and cussed. Of course, she wouldn't get burned but
she's been making them since she was 10.
She really seemed to enjoy seeing me in pain... Maybe... nah....
BlackBeard
Submarines once, Submarines twice...
Trying to reason with hurricane season, in the Mojave desert.
Angel-N-Kent
FLOUR TORTILLAS
Amount Measurement Ingredient Preparation Method
2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1/2 cup warm water
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in shortening until
flour looks as though it has small peas in it. Add enough warm water to make
a soft dough. Mix well and knead on a well-floured board for 3 to 5 minutes
or until shiny and elastic. Cover dough and let rest for 30 minutes, out of
draft.
Form dough into balls about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. On a lightly
floured board, roll into circles about 7 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch
thick.
Cook on a hot, ungreased griddle for about 2 minutes or until lightly
browned
on the edges. Turn and cook on the other side for about 1 minute or until
edges are brown. Keep warm, tightly wrapped in foil if serving right away,
or
reheat, tightly wrapped in foil, at 300 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes
or
until heated through.
Makes 10 to 12 tortillas.
thu...@waterw.com
In article <35408...@news.sound.net>,
"Angel-N-Kent" <an...@mo-net.com> wrote:
>
> FLOUR TORTILLAS
Thaanks for the recipe!
Koko
On Wed, 22 Apr 1998 17:03:16 -0600, thu...@waterw.com wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Does anyone on the forum here know how to keep flour tortillas you make from
>scratch from shrinking to the size of silver dollars when you put them on the
>griddle to cook?
snip, snip
Did you let the dough rest for about 10-15 minutes before rolling out
the tortillas? Let the dough rest on a floured counter, under the bowl
you mixed the dough in.
I also make the dough a little on the moist side because some more
flour is worked into the dough during the rolling out process.
I'm proud to announce that my tortillas are now looking less like
leg-less chickens and Alfred Hitchcock profiles, and more like
tortillas. :-)
Koko
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