Making my own flour tortillas? Any advice? Also want high fiber tortilla recipe.?

Oh my God, you will so love your tortilla press! Mine's a Villaware. I've used it for over 5 years now and it's so dependable. If you order from them, you get a recipe booklet which has all those recipes in it. I've made the whole wheat ones before (can't find the booklet right now). And there's a great one for black bean tortillas. But here's the flour one...

2 cups AP flour

1 tsp salt (I use kosher)

A few good shakes of ground cumin to taste

1/4 cup canola oil

2/3 cup warm water

Combine flour through oil in a food processor. Then drizzle in the water until it's combined. Turn it out onto a floured board, knead, cut into balls (I usually do 8), cover with a towel and let rest for 30 minutes, then press. I stack mine between popup sheets of wax paper and then put them in a ziplock in the fridge.

They're so much fun to make, and you will never buy store tortillas again.

Here is a recipe for corn tortillas..If you click on the links below, they have illustrations also..

Corn Tortillas

To make tortillas, you will need patience and a little bit of time.

The ingredients for tortilla making are incredibly, and somewhat deceptively, simple. There are only two: corn flour and water. We could get so basic as to detail the process of making corn flour with parched corn and slaked lime, and grinding the resulting product ourselves, but for this recipe, we will keep it simple. And besides, there is a product made by The Quaker Oats Company called Masa Harina that makes an excellent corn tortilla.

Whatever you do, don't confuse corn flour with corn meal. Corn meal is made from a completely different process, and it won't work for tortilla making.

You'll need a big cast-iron skillet or griddle and a tortilla press, too. Tortilla presses have become pretty easy to find in kitchen-supply stores. If you pay more than $20 for one, you've paid way too much. If you can't find a tortilla press, it is possible (but not preferable) to press out your tortillas on a flat surface using a heavy, flat-bottomed dish. You'll also need some plastic bags of the sandwich or freezer variety.

This is the basic process:

1. Combine 2 cups of Masa Harina with 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cups of water.

2. Knead to form your masa (dough)

3. Pinch off a golf-ball sized piece of masa and roll it into a ball

4. Set the masa on a piece of plastic in the tortilla press; cover with another piece of plastic

5. Press the masa

6. Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet

7. Cook for about 30 seconds on one side; gently turn

8. Cook for about 60 seconds (it should puff slightly); turn back to the first side

9. Cook for another 30 seconds on the first side

Remove and keep the tortilla warm

Sounds simple enough, but there are several crucial considerations along the way and, until you have made a batch or two and get the hang of it, a few tortilla-making tips will ease the way.

When mixing the masa, mix all the Masa Harina with 1 1/4 cup of the water. You can work it with your hands, if you like. If it seems too dry, add additional water, a teaspoon at a time. Too much water, and you won't be able to peel the plastic off the tortilla; too little and your tortilla will be dry and crumbly. Unlike pastry dough, masa does not suffer from being over-handled.

The masa will dry out quickly. Keep it covered with a piece of plastic wrap while making your tortillas.

Cut up sandwich or (my favorite) freezer bags work better than the flimsier plastic wrap or waxed paper.

Hold the pressed tortilla (with the plastic on both sides) in one hand. Peel away the top plastic from the tortilla (not the tortilla from the plastic). Flip it over into your other hand, and peel away the other piece of plastic.

Gently place the tortilla on the hot skillet or griddle. It should make a soft sizzling sound when you do. If your tortillas are not perfect circles, don't worry; they will still taste wonderful.

If your skillet or griddle is at the right temperature, a tortilla can be cooked in no more than 2 minutes.

The use of cast-iron utensils is important. You are cooking at high heat on a dry surface, and a lighter-weight utensil could warp.

Brown spots on your tortillas are good‹an indication that they are handmade, rather than punched out of a big machine and cooked assembly-line fashion.

The experienced tortilla cook need not turn out tortillas one at a time. You can get your own assembly-line process going by using two big skillets. Another pair of hands in the form of a kitchen helper can hasten the process, as well.

Put your hot tortillas in an aluminum foil pouch wrapped in a kitchen towel or napkin. You want them to stay hot and tender. Corn tortillas can be made 2 hours in advance, wrapped and reheated. Bake, in a 350°F oven for about 12 minutes.

There are many brands of tortillas available at most supermarkets--some better than others--but, nothing beats the taste and satisfaction of a home made corn tortilla.

For Additional web recipes with pictures:

http://gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_corntortillas.htm

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2002/hybrid/inspiredby_r...

this recipe is the best possable one to use ,in Mexico the only tortillas pressed are the corn ones ,,corn tortillas are best home made and cooked slow on an open grill pan if you haven't tried them it might be worth your while the Mexican eat the corn soft and rolled up,, very good with everything,but i sent you the recipe for whole wheat flour tortillas and they are rolled out with rolling pin and cooked much like the corn are and this is the most authentic way and produces the best taste<<<good luck and how you give the others a try as well i sent the link just in case :)

www.recipezaar.com has 21 recipes for homemade flour tortillas for FREE, go there!

Go to your local healh food store and ask about there high fiber flours

Healthy Multi-grain Tortilla recipes:

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour

1-1/2 cups blue corn masa harina para tortillas or

harinilla

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup amaranth flour or mesquite flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups warm water

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces

1) In a medium mixing bowl using your hands or a wooden spoon or in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the unbleached flour, the blue cornmeal, the whole wheat and amaranth flours, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly, using a fork or pastry blender if making by hand. Gradually add the hot water to the flour mixture, stirring just until the dough sticks together, clears the sides of the bowl, and a soft firm ball is formed, adding a tablespoon of water at a time if the dough seems too dry. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 45 minutes.

2) To shape the tortillas, divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Shape each into a ball and place on a baking sheet or marble slab. Drape each ball around your forefinger, making a depression on the underside, which makes a mushroom shape and creates an air bubble to help it roll out into an even round. On a very lightly floured work surface, flatten the ball with your palm. (The flattened balls can rest on a greased baking sheet, covered tightly, for 30 minutes longer, if necessary.) Place one of the portions of the dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper. Press in a tortilla press, turning at regular intervals, until the desired thickness. Or roll out with a rolling pin to a 4-inch round, 1/4 inch thick. Stack between layers of plastic wrap to prevent drying out while pressing out the remaining dough. Bake as soon as possible.

3) To bake the tortillas, heat a large ungreased heavy cast-iron skillet or comal over medium-high heat until a drop of water dances across the surface. Place the tortillas, one at a time, in the pan, and bake for about 2-1/2 minutes. When the dough looks dry and brown spots are formed, turn over to the other side and bake for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep flipping back and forth until the tortilla is soft, not crisp; it will puff up to l/2 inch thick. It is very easy to overbake, so pay close attention to the timing. Remove each tortilla to a clean towel. Cover until serving.

Enjoy this authentic Mexican tortilla recipe.

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Wheat-Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup 'no trans-fat' margarine with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon (such as Take Control®)

1/2 cup warm water

canola cooking spray

Preparation:

1. In the mixing bowl, combine the flours and salt. With a pastry blender, blend in the margarine (it should be broken up into small pea-sized pieces).

2. With a wooden spoon, mix in the water to form a dough. Divide the dough into 8 balls. Cover them with a dish towel and set aside for 20 minutes.

3. Lightly flour a cutting board. With the rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.

4. Heating a nonstick, 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the skillet with canola cooking spray. Cook the tortillas, one at a time, until blisters appear and the tortillas are lightly browned (1 to 2 minutes on each side). While the second side is cooking, you can sprinkle grated cheese over the top to make a quesadilla, if desired.

* If you use Take Control margarine, keep it in the freezer and add it to this recipe directly from the freezer.

Yield: 8 tortillas

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Here are some other recipes with various ingredients, just use the method above.

RED WHEAT TORTILLAS:

2 C. unbleached all purpose (organic) sifted

2 C. Stoneground Red Wheat flour, sifted

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp seasalt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cup luke warm water (didn't use all of it)

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Buckwheat Tortillas:

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp seasalt

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup water

Buckwheat/Amaranth Tortillas:

1/2 cup amaranth flour

3/4 cup buckwheat flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp seasalt

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup water

TO INCREASE FIBER in your tortillas:

add 2 tbsp of wheat germ or "Fiber Sure" as directed.