Making Groceries: Flour Tortillas

Olé!  Today’s edition of Making Groceries takes us south of the border to Mexico.  Perhaps my inspiration comes from the book I’m currently reading, Thrive, which reports that Mexico is one of the happiest places on Earth.  Go figure!

Flour tortillas have been a staple in my diet since the 90s, when they exploded on the market along with a lot of other Mexican goodies.  Let me say right off the bat that these are not authentic Mexican tortillas.  That would require using lard which goes against my vegetarian and health principles.  There was a time when I made my own tortillas on a regular basis, but I haven’t made them for years.  Last year I catered a Mexican dinner and reacquainted myself with the cuisine.  My old tortilla recipe used shortening and worked fine.  In light of the dangers of transfats, I decided to concoct a recipe using butter instead.  Well, it’s just about as delicious as you can imagine.  Easy too.  Butta makes everything betta!

2 1/2 c flour
1/2 t sea salt
2 T butter
2/3 c water

1.  Put flour and salt in a food processor with the butter.  Pulse for about 10 seconds until you get a coarse meal texture.  Add water and process for about a minute, until dough is well combined.

2.  Divide into 8 little balls, cover with a tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes.  This is important, as it allows the gluten to relax.  Rolling will be much easier and the tortillas will taste better.

3.  Heat a dry griddle pan over a medium high heat.  In the meantime, roll out balls into flat discs.  Lightly flour your work surface.  To get circles, start each roll from the middle of the tortilla towards the outside.  Rotate about 30 degrees and keep repeating until tortilla is as thin as you want it.  My homemade versions are never perfect circles and I don’t care.  

4.  Place a tortilla onto the hot griddle.  About 30-60 seconds later, you will see bubbles.  That means it’s time to flip.

4.  Cook the second side until it begins to lightly brown and poof as well.  The second side takes less time than the first.  Repeat with all eight balls.  I like to roll them as I cook.  The whole process will take less than 10 minutes.

You can do what you like with your tortillas after this.  I like to use them right away to take full advantage of their freshness.  You can store the leftovers in a well-sealed plastic bag for lunch the next day.

Tonight I will be using mine to make my second most downloaded recipe, Black Bean and Mango Quesadillas with Green Goddess Guacamole.  It is amazing, and since mangoes are in season right now, a delectable dinner. 

The Bottom Line

Here’s a side by side comparison of my homemade tortillas and the store bought (Mission) tortillas.  I put mine on a prettier plate because they deserve it.  You can see that the homemade versions are not perfect circles.  The store version is quite flat from being stored and shipped for so long.

My homemade tortillas felt free since I always have the ingredients in my pantry, but they did cost some loose change: 51¢ for 8.  Quite a savings from $2.79 for 10 I shelled out at the grocery store.  They taste great too.  I haven’t ever kept them for more than a day in my refrigerator, so I can’t say if they would last as long.  My guess is they would not.  I suspect they would dry out without any preservatives.  Check out the list of ingredients on a typical bag of tortillas:

I am getting more and more disgusted by typical groceries and their amazingly bizarre ingredients.  What exactly are we eating?  And why?

The homemade version is easy to make, provided you allow your dough to rest a bit.  Kids can certainly take a gander at making them.  It’s fun and not that hard.  I have to admit that the convenience aspect is gone.  Throwing some cheese on some tortillas and calling it dinner in a minute can’t happen if you make your own.  But was that ever really dinner?  Wasn’t it always a cop out?

Making your own groceries costs less money, but more time.  It tastes better, is better for you, has the ability to engage the family in the cooking process, but you have to work a little for it.  That’s a price I’m comfortable paying for good food.