Cooking Challenge #3 - Making Tortillas

What happened was I Hulked out on my brand new tortilla press and snapped the handle! Turns out you can make serviceable tortillas by standing on the press.

Oh and I used parchment paper. Worked great! I recommend it.

craig87c said:

What happened was I Hulked out on my brand new tortilla press and snapped the handle! Turns out you can make serviceable tortillas by standing on the press.

Oh and I used parchment paper. Worked great! I recommend it.

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you don't need to apply that much pressure. Just slowly press down and wait 2-3 seconds and open, that should be enough.

I wasn't pressing all that hard (the busted handle disagrees!) I'm just setting up a replacement from amazon- those tortillas were too good to only have them once.

craig87c said:

I wasn't pressing all that hard (the busted handle disagrees!) I'm just setting up a replacement from amazon- those tortillas were too good to only have them once.

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After : Hulk! SMASH!

Craig! SMASH!

Good luck with the next tortilla press!

craig87c said:

What happened was I Hulked out on my brand new tortilla press and snapped the handle! Turns out you can make serviceable tortillas by standing on the press.

Oh and I used parchment paper. Worked great! I recommend it.

Click to expand...

Now you can stomp some grapes and make some wine to go with those tortillas.

You can also use a cut-up plastic Zip-loc freezer bag--they're way thicker than plastic wrap.

I made some flour tortillas today. The dough was elastic and just didn't work in the press. The dough shrank as soon as the press was opened. So I rolled them out like chapatti. Chapatti don't have the lard and baking powder and come out a bit crisper. Next batch I'll try a mix of corn flour and wheat flour.

Alacrity59 said:

I made some flour tortillas today. The dough was elastic and just didn't work in the press. The dough shrank as soon as the press was opened. So I rolled them out like chapatti. Chapatti don't have the lard and baking powder and come out a bit crisper. Next batch I'll try a mix of corn flour and wheat flour.

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I have better results using a rolling pin than a press when it comes to wheat tortillas. They will also shrink a bit while you roll if you keep at it, they will eventually be the size you want.

TickTock said:

You can also use a cut-up plastic Zip-loc freezer bag--they're way thicker than plastic wrap.

Click to expand...

Precisely what I do!

I didn't see anyone mention using a comal, and they're great for cooking up meats for tacos as well. They do need to be seasoned and maintained just like griddles.

What I haven't been able to reproduce is getting the tortilla to bubble up like they do in some of the YouTube videos. Delicious in any case!

I use plastic sandwich bags (zip-lock or otherwise). They are thicker and easier to peel from the tortilla (without 'wrinkles'). Yes, the secret is the correct consistency of the dough, and adding a little water at a time while kneading in a bread bowl is the best way to achieve that. Take a bit and pinch it in your fingers; if it cracks you need more water. A little dab will do ya. I also use two dry towels folded up, then flip it (first tortilla on top) over when brought to the table. The steam from the other tortillas keeps them moist.

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