A local grocery store has a markdown shelf I love to check out as I never know what I’ll find. Often, there’s nothing of interest, but on occasion I find great deals. Sometimes the discounted items are things I need (handiwipes and baking chocolate are two recent finds). Other times I find something I didn’t know I needed until I found it. Case in point: tortilla flour.
For a mere $2.00, this 4-pound bag of “flour tortilla mix” beckoned. Its ingredient list named flour, shortening, sweetener, salt, and leavening. According to the recipe on the bag (written in Spanish as well as English), I’d only need to add 1/2 cup water to 2 cups of the mix to make eight tortillas. For two bucks, I couldn’t go wrong.
I made the tortillas last night and loved the process and results. It was easy enough and so satisfying to end up with tortillas that far surpassed those sold in supermarket plastic bags. Fresh is definitely best.
After mixing in water, I kneaded the dough briefly, then covered it to rise much like bread dough. After 15 minutes of rise time, the dough was divided into eight sections which were rolled into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. My “rounds” are always approximate (you should see my pie crusts–yikes), but I rolled my eight tortillas and “fried” them on a dry griddle for the recommended 1 1/2 minutes on each side.
The tortillas were so very good, especially warm off the griddle. Although I think of this experiment as making tortillas from scratch, you could argue that I used a shortcut as I started with a mix (just add water!). All the same, it was a fun–and easy–project and the results were fresh and delicious. My $2.00 was well spent.
Nice! I really need to get around to making my own tortillas. They look so good!
It was easy easy, that’s for sure. They’d go nicely w/your black bean soup🙂
they look good to me! I’ve always wanted to make my own tortillas, and maybe that’s a great way to start – I’ll have to go look for that mix!
I wouldn’t have found the mix had it not been on the markdown shelf. Making tortillas totally from scratch isn’t that much more complicated as it’s a basic recipe. Though the authentic ones often contain lard (!). lol. Let me know how it works out for you.