(no subject)
So. It took some doing, but I figured out the major malfunction in my tortilla making that has hounded me for decades.
My tortillas were coming out brittle and cracked. They'd shrink up to half their rolled out sized. They were more cookies than flatbread. I'd had a lot of people advise me on what to do, including different kneading techniques, types of flour, removing ingredients, adding ingredients...after a while I gave up.
When I went back to Texas, I went right to the source, and Mom and I worked together using the recipe I'd cobbled together from her measurements (she uses handfuls, I translated that to cups and whatnot). And for the first time with her, they came out perfect. I couldn't figure out why mine were so terrible when I did them on my own. And she couldn't figure out why mine were so bad the few times we'd tried before.
My roomie asked me if we ever figured out what the problem was, and that's when it came to me. I told her that I made them there exactly as I made them here, and they were perfect. But after thinking about it, I DIDN'T make them exactly as I did here. This time, my mother added the water to the dough (I was busy getting some meat defrosting in the microwave), and she added it in one go, where I would add it slowly in.
So, tonight. I tried it exactly that way, pouring all the water in at once. AND THAT WORKED.
That was totally it. Fifteen years I've tried everything BUT that. Because I'd always been told you add water slowly to flour to make dough.
Lissa used to tell me I was "overworking" the dough, and I tried to compensate by not kneading it as much. But mom would tell me you can't over work the dough, when it's made right. But, by adding the water slowly, I WAS overworking it, making it tough and brittle. Putting it all in at once, causes it to form up faster, and make a more supple dough.
So, finally, here is the final recipe, some fifteen years later:
Jenn's Family's Ancient Time Honored Tortilla Recipe:
3 cups of flour
2 tsps salt
.5 tbsp baking powder
.5 cup shortening
1 cup of hot water
1) Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and knead into a supple dough. The dough should pull stuck mixture off the walls and your hands.
2) Remove the dough from the bowl, and roll the dough into a cylindrical shape. Fold the ends back to the center of the cylinder, and roll again. Repeat until the dough is smooth.
3) Fold the ends back to the center of the cylinder and put dough back in the mixing bowl. Cover with a wet towel for at least 30 minutes (Mom prefers overnight).
4) Remove the dough from the bowl, and roll the dough into a cylindrical shape. Fold the ends back to the center of the cylinder, and roll again. Repeat until the dough is smooth.
5) Cover with a wet towel for at least 5 minutes.
6) Head a pan or skillet to medium high heat (Mom uses a "comal," and old iron stove cover).
7) Break the dough into 15 balls.
8) With a rolling pin, roll a ball into a round shape, about a foot in diameter, as thin as possible.
9) Place the flattened dough on the pan and cook until bubbles form in the dough. The bottom should have small light brown speckles.
10) Flip the tortilla and cook the other side. This time, there should be larger darker brown spots on the underside.
11) EAT!
My tortillas were coming out brittle and cracked. They'd shrink up to half their rolled out sized. They were more cookies than flatbread. I'd had a lot of people advise me on what to do, including different kneading techniques, types of flour, removing ingredients, adding ingredients...after a while I gave up.
When I went back to Texas, I went right to the source, and Mom and I worked together using the recipe I'd cobbled together from her measurements (she uses handfuls, I translated that to cups and whatnot). And for the first time with her, they came out perfect. I couldn't figure out why mine were so terrible when I did them on my own. And she couldn't figure out why mine were so bad the few times we'd tried before.
My roomie asked me if we ever figured out what the problem was, and that's when it came to me. I told her that I made them there exactly as I made them here, and they were perfect. But after thinking about it, I DIDN'T make them exactly as I did here. This time, my mother added the water to the dough (I was busy getting some meat defrosting in the microwave), and she added it in one go, where I would add it slowly in.
So, tonight. I tried it exactly that way, pouring all the water in at once. AND THAT WORKED.
That was totally it. Fifteen years I've tried everything BUT that. Because I'd always been told you add water slowly to flour to make dough.
Lissa used to tell me I was "overworking" the dough, and I tried to compensate by not kneading it as much. But mom would tell me you can't over work the dough, when it's made right. But, by adding the water slowly, I WAS overworking it, making it tough and brittle. Putting it all in at once, causes it to form up faster, and make a more supple dough.
So, finally, here is the final recipe, some fifteen years later:
Jenn's Family's Ancient Time Honored Tortilla Recipe:
3 cups of flour
2 tsps salt
.5 tbsp baking powder
.5 cup shortening
1 cup of hot water
1) Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and knead into a supple dough. The dough should pull stuck mixture off the walls and your hands.
2) Remove the dough from the bowl, and roll the dough into a cylindrical shape. Fold the ends back to the center of the cylinder, and roll again. Repeat until the dough is smooth.
3) Fold the ends back to the center of the cylinder and put dough back in the mixing bowl. Cover with a wet towel for at least 30 minutes (Mom prefers overnight).
4) Remove the dough from the bowl, and roll the dough into a cylindrical shape. Fold the ends back to the center of the cylinder, and roll again. Repeat until the dough is smooth.
5) Cover with a wet towel for at least 5 minutes.
6) Head a pan or skillet to medium high heat (Mom uses a "comal," and old iron stove cover).
7) Break the dough into 15 balls.
8) With a rolling pin, roll a ball into a round shape, about a foot in diameter, as thin as possible.
9) Place the flattened dough on the pan and cook until bubbles form in the dough. The bottom should have small light brown speckles.
10) Flip the tortilla and cook the other side. This time, there should be larger darker brown spots on the underside.
11) EAT!