Tortillas

METHOD

Mix it up. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt until well combined, make a well in the center, and add in all of the oil and half of the water. Mix until all of the ingredients are coming together and little by little adding more water until your dough comes together and isn't sticky.

Depending on the conditions of your home, you may need to add more or less water to get the dough to come together.

Let sit. Drizzle just a little bit of oil in to the bottom of your mixing bowl, then place the dough back in the bowl, cover and allow to sit for 10 - 15 minutes. In the case of the wheat flour tortillas, if it isn't soft, moist, stretchy and easy to work with after the initial 10-15 minutes let it sit for another 10 minutes covered.

The Masa Harina/Corn tortilla dough will be more like a play dough texture.

Divide and conquer. Divide the dough to make individual, small (golf ball sized) chunks. Shape them into proper balls and then place them back into the bowl and keep covered while you work.

Flatten. If using a tortilla press, use two pieces of parchment paper, or cut up a pre-loved zip lock bag, to lay over the open tortilla press. Place a ball of the tortilla dough into the middle of the open press, lower the top down and then use the handle to flatten the ball inside.

If using a rolling pin, dust your bench surface lightly with flour and also your rolling pin. Place one dough ball onto the work surface, use your palm to flatten down. Then begin rolling and stretching out the dough into a circular shape and to ⅛ of an inch thick.

Cook. Heat your pan (or comal if you have one) to a medium-high heat and gently lay the flattened round of dough onto the center of your pan.

For the corn tortillas you'll notice the edges of the round rising up away from the pan after about 45-60 seconds. Flip the tortilla and let the second side cook for a further 30 seconds or so. You'll notice it puffing up in the center once you've flipped it.

For the plain flour tortillas after about 2 minutes in the pan you'll notice the dough change colour and air bubbles beginning to form, use a piece of paper towel to gently press down on each of the air bubbles. This encourages the air to distribute throughout the tortilla, making them lighter and softer. Flip over and cook the second side for another minute or less.

Remove from heat and place in a kitchen towel to keep it warm and fresh as you cook the rest.

If using a tortilla press, you will be able to press a new ball as you're cooking the previously flattened round. If using a rolling pin you will probably work a little slower and need to keep going back to the pan to check on your cooking tortilla, careful not to leave it too long.

Notes from Sam: The flour to water ratio will vary greatly depending on the environment that you're cooking in. I always find I end up needing more water than the original recipe recommends. I live in a basement suite in Whistler (if that helps!). I always use a little more than a cup of water for the corn tortillas for example, and for the flour tortillas it ranges from 3/4 of a cup to 1 cup. Your flour will obviously affect this also. It's best to just aim for a dough similar in consistency to play dough (for the corn tortillas, more stretchy dough for the plain flour tortillas) and add more water if it's too dry and add more flour if you accidentally put in too much water.

*Adapted from the corn tortillas recipe from "Recipes from a pantry- By Bintu" and also the flour tortillas recipe from Mexican made Meatless

Photo by Keir Atkinson