Homemade tortillas

EzraBrooks

I want to start making tortillas from scratch, anybody got a recommendation on a decent and inexpensive cast iron tortilla press?  The reviews on Amazon are hit and miss with a lot of them saying the handle breaks off after a few uses.

hoosier_egger

No help on corn tortillas, but if yo want to start making bacon fat flour tortillas, I highly recommend Kirk's (Albukirky Seasoning) recipe found here.

https://albukirky.com/2019/02/04/bacon-fat-flour-tortillas/

Carolina Q

No expert here, but with my limited use, I'm happy with this  one.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tortilla&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Botch

Timely; I just bought my first bag of masa flour yesterday and am planning on trying it too.
Can't remember where I saw it, but they put a ball of the dough in between two clear plastic sheets, then pressed down on it with a glass pie plate.  You can see easily what's happening, and if I put just 30% of my body weight onto the plate it'll out-press any aluminum fulcrum!  
 
Now I realize I don't have a glass pie plate either, so I have to buy one or the other...    

lkapigian

Just throwing this out there, Sourdough Tortillas are amazing ...i just have a chepo cast press that I heat up up the stove top, press and cool at the same time ...a healthy alternative 

buzd504

I just bought whatever cheap one they had at the local Latin market.  It works well enough (it's aluminum I think).

Pro-tip - for your plastic sheets to press the tortillas, get a gallon ziploc bag and cut the sides.  Then put the ball in the center and press.  Easy to clean and reusable.

womaus

Make me an offer. Remember shipping charges apply. 8 lbs +.

https://worcester.craigslist.org/hsh/d/worcester-imusa-tortilla-press-cast/7353726351.html

DavidCrumpton

EzraBrooks said:

I want to start making tortillas from scratch, anybody got a recommendation on a decent and inexpensive cast iron tortilla press?  The reviews on Amazon are hit and miss with a lot of them saying the handle breaks off after a few uses.

Do you have a Latin market in your town? If so visit it and buy one there. They are usually very inexpensive. 

I have had mine for years and zero problems. 

GregW

If you want to achieve tortilla nirvana, research making your own fresh masa utilizing dried corn. The flavor is a lot better.

Lit

I do not like using a press they dont get flat enough. I use a rolling pin it works much better.

Lit

Lit said:

I do not like using a press they dont get flat enough. I use a rolling pin it works much better.

I have tried all bacon fat and all shortening and I have settled on 50/50 bacon fat and shortening. All bacon fat makes it too dense and all shortening makes them flaky and too light. All of them are good but 50/50 is my preference.

buzd504

Lit said:

I have tried all bacon fat and all shortening and I have settled on 50/50 bacon fat and shortening. All bacon fat makes it too dense and all shortening makes them flaky and too light. All of them are good but 50/50 is my preference.

Lard, FTW.

Botch

Well, my first attempt was about a 4.
 
The masa harina mixed up easily (the bag, and the videos I watched, all called for water, not fat), let it rest covered for an hour, then divided into walnut-size balls.  New press worked easily:
 

 
The first four pressed, peeled and cooked easily, but in all the videos I'd watched, after the second flip, they would press down briefly with the spatula, a towel or their fingers, and the tortilla puffed up like a sopapia or pita.  Mine didn't do that, they just lay there.  Then one folded in the pan on me, I scraped it out, so did the next one, scraped it out, then damaged the next one when I burned my hand on the frypan.  
 

 
I had enough for two lunches, and put the rest of the dough balls (uncooked) into a sealed bag into the frig; the pan had bits of burned-on dough now and I decided it was time to regroup.  
Made enchiladas, and they didn't taste good, at all.  I either didn't have the hydration right, or the cast iron was too hot, or too cold (there are really no other variables).  One EweTuber said to let them cool completely in a tortilla warmer before using, mine were still warm.  Any ideas?
 
Also, the dough makes quite a number of tortillas; is it best to refrigerate the extra dough and cook as needed, or cook them all and then chill the extra tortillas? They are fun to make, I just need to figure out what I did wrong.  

buzd504

I think the bag I used called for 2 cups of water and 1.5 cups of hot water.  Sometimes I would use slightly less water and add a tablespoon of lard.  And a little salt.  I have also halved that recipe successfully.

I find brushing a tiny bit of oil on your cast iron helps (even though you shouldn't need it).  I usually use all the tortillas I make, so not much help with the storage.  I use them as soon as I'm done cooking them and they do ok.

Mattman3969

Where’s @SciAggie - if I recall correctly he was pretty knowledgeable on the subject 

Mickey

Happy with this from Amazon 

paqman

That’s the one I use.  I press the tortilla between 2 sheets of parchment paper and only remove one of the two sheets so I don’t have to fight with the sticky tortilla.  The second sheet easily gets removed after you start baking it in the pan.

https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-TOR-003-FBA_TOR-003-Tortilla-Press/dp/B00HWEIKZO/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=victoria+85008&qid=1629503829&sr=8-3

paqman

paqman

paqman

@Botch your dough probably needs more kneading and more rest, you know the dough is ok when it is still tacky but doesn’t stick to your hands. Mine won’t puff unless I let it rest a couple of hours.  I never tried keeping uncooked dough in the fridge, I usually bake the leftovers to make tortilla chips.

DavidCrumpton

Paqman are yours wheat flour tortillas?
And isn’t masa harina a corn tortilla?
Can corn tortilla be kneaded?

Botch

Happy with this from Amazon 

That's the one I purchased this morning; locally at almost twice the price.  The handle on the pic on the box did indeed look hefty, and it is, but the rest of the pan is thin and flimsy.  
The CI press that "Carolina Q" posted above was down the page a bit, and when I re-reviewed it this afternoon I noticed an article where a chef reviewed many presses.  The "top-rated" CI press was his/her favorite pick (I've now ordered one) and the above alum pan I bought this morning was at the bottom of the list; it's being returned tomorrow.  
 
After reviewing a few things, I'm thinking my CI pan was just not hot enough; my tortillas tasted more like the raw masa dough crumbs that were in the bottom of the bowl.  Store-bought, days-old tortillas tasted better.  
 
So here's today's Science Question:
You have two cast-iron frypans in front of you, heated for dissimilar amounts of time, over different burners.  You throw a few drops of water into each; Pan A, the drops vaporize almost instantly, Pan B, the drops "dance around" before eventually vaporizing.
 
Which pan was hotter?  

Botch

paqman said:

@Botch your dough probably needs more kneading and more rest, you know the dough is ok when it is still tacky but doesn’t stick to your hands. Mine won’t puff unless I let it rest a couple of hours.  I never tried keeping uncooked dough in the fridge, I usually bake the leftovers to make tortilla chips.

Thank you Sir, I'll give that a try on Sunday!  

caliking

Pan B

caliking

Most excellent @paqman

dmourati

I bought this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HWEIKZO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Works like a champ. If you can break the handle off, you must be a lot stronger than me.

Pro tip, slit open a large ziploc bag and use it to keep from sticking.

dmourati

ColtsFan said:

No help on corn tortillas, but if yo want to start making bacon fat flour tortillas, I highly recommend Kirk's (Albukirky Seasoning) recipe found here.

https://albukirky.com/2019/02/04/bacon-fat-flour-tortillas/

Yes. This recipe is awesome but there is a typo! Recipe says 1.25 cup milk.

3/4 cup + 3/4 cup = 1.5 cup

paqman

DavidCrumpton said:

Paqman are yours wheat flour tortillas?
And isn’t masa harina a corn tortilla?
Can corn tortilla be kneaded?

@DavidCrumpton

Masa Harina is a corn flour that has been treated with lye (you cannot just use corn meal).  Yes it can and should be kneaded, I think that it has something to do with water absorption rather than gluten development (corn has no gluten).  The 3 mistakes that I made when first making tortilla were: 1. Adding too much water  2. Not letting the dough rest long enough  (it helps with water absorption) 3. Not kneading enough (you should knead until the dough no longer lets go small chunks when you slap it with dry hands)

Looking at my pictures again, those may be wheat flour tortilla (or a mix) but the baking process is pretty much the same.  The trick I see recommended everywhere is to use a ziplock bag cut on the sides to press but it did not work well for me sometimes… parchment paper works all the time.

Many recipes I’ve see are calling for “mas caliente” water (warm water), the consensus seems to be that this is 130F water but I’ve seen anywhere between 95F-130F.

That’s the Masa Harina that I use:

paqman

@Botch

DavidCrumpton

paqman said:

DavidCrumpton said:

Paqman are yours wheat flour tortillas?
And isn’t masa harina a corn tortilla?
Can corn tortilla be kneaded?

@DavidCrumpton

Masa Harina is a corn flour that has been treated with lye (you cannot just use corn meal).  Yes it can and should be kneaded, I think that it has something to do with water absorption rather than gluten development (corn has no gluten).  The 3 mistakes that I made when first making tortilla were: 1. Adding too much water  2. Not letting the dough rest long enough  (it helps with water absorption) 3. Not kneading enough (you should knead until the dough no longer lets go small chunks when you slap it with dry hands)

Looking at my pictures again, those may be wheat flour tortilla (or a mix) but the baking process is pretty much the same.  The trick I see recommended everywhere is to use a ziplock bag cut on the sides to press but it did not work well for me sometimes… parchment paper works all the time.

Many recipes I’ve see are calling for “mas caliente” water (warm water), the consensus seems to be that this is 130F water but I’ve seen anywhere between 95F-130F.

That’s the Masa Harina that I use:

The missing gluten was what had me wondering. 

I am allergic to both corn and wheat, so I don’t touch, make, buy, anything with them in it. 

caliking

I really love how this thread is shaping up. 

Because it makes me want to make tortillas... like, yesterday!