But someones got to cook around here...and speaking of cooking I've been doing quite a bit both here at the house and out in the village. One of my first projects there was revamping the menus to be a little more interesting. Besides the traditional rice and beans combo we added Pollo Guisado and Pulique which are Guatemalan favorites and I also experimented with Lentil Soup and Rice and Brocoli casserole which thankfully went over surprising well with the kiddos.
On the home front Gregg and I had both been craving flour tortillas like crazy. Of course that sounds ridiculous being that we are in a Central American country but it is shockingly hard to find good flour tortillas here - everyone just eats corn, corn and more corn. So I decided to take things into my own capable hands and I found an awesome tortillas recipe that is super duper easy. You don't even need a rolling pin...an empty (or not but that would be wasteful) wine bottle will work just fine :)
Chewy Flour Tortillas
These tortillas have real body and taste; they are perfect for gorditas, fajitas or just eating straight off the griddle.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup lukewarm milk (2% is fine)
Stir together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough. It will be sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (fold and press, fold and press). The kneading will take care of the stickiness. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)
Divide your dough into 8 balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes. Avoid letting them touch, if you don't want them to stick together.
Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat it into a 5-inch circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, until you have a 7- or 8-inch tortilla a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet or griddle. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 30 seconds. Remove the tortilla, place it in a napkin-lined basket and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.
Here are some tips as to technique:
- Do not use bread flour. You want flour with a low gluten content.
- You don't want to over-flour your work surface, but you don't want your rolled-out tortilla sticking to it either. I found that the dough adhered less to an unvarnished wood surface (like an old cutting board) than any other surface I tried.
- A flat dough scraper, known in baking parlance as a "bench knife", is very efficient in removing the rolled-out tortilla from the work surface.
- When rolling out tortillas, dust your rolling pin with flour, and don't be afraid to apply pressure. Flour tortilla dough is pretty sturdy; but not to the point of rerolling. You don't want tough tortillas.
- My personal preference is for plain tortillas but, if desired, you can spice up this recipe by adding
- A tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs (like oregano or rosemary)
- A teaspoon or so of dried herbs
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A tablespoon of minced jalapeños
- A little garlic powder (or substitute garlic salt for the salt) YUMMY!
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