Reaching out a packet of tortillas is always convenient. But once you start making at home with simple clean ingredients, you will see the world of difference in taste. I am not claiming that making tortillas at home is easy, you definitely need some practice to get the dough consistency right and roll them thin enough. I will share a few tips that will help you navigate through any issues and get the best result.
Begin with mixing flour, baking powder(if using), salt, and sugar in a wide mixing bowl. Drizzle oil and rub flour in between your fingers to create a crumb-like mixture. Add half a cup of hot water and start mixing the flour with hand or wooden spatula.(Make sure the water is just hot enough to handle with bare hands, otherwise, wait for a few minutes before start mixing). Then add a tablespoon of water at a time and keep stirring until the dough is slightly sticky and starts pulling away from the edges of the bowl. Shift the dough to a clean working surface or if the bowl is wide enough you can knead the dough right in there. Knead it for 5-6 minutes until the dough no longer sticks to the palm and it forms a smooth crack free ball. Cover with damp cloth and let it rest for 10-12 minutes. ( use a dough scraper if required to bring together the dough while kneading)
Can we use whole wheat flour?
Whole grain Wheat flour has low gluten content but it can be used to make tortillas. Wholegrain flour needs extra water for the dough. Knead for an extra 2-3 minutes to develop gluten and get a soft dough. The final texture of the dough might not be as soft as the earlier one but its tastes great.
Why my tortillas are dry and have cracks on them?
There could be many reasons for this.
First, if the dough is too tight because of less water used. When the dough is not kneaded enough, there is not enough gluten developed. You should aim for a dough that is smooth, soft, and forms crack-free balls. Third reason could be you have used excess flour while rolling and the dough has absorbed the excess flour hence dry tortillas. The last reason is the pan was not hot enough and you might have cooked the tortillas a little too long to get the bubbles.
How to get perfectly round tortillas?
Well, I don’t mind having tacos or wraps made from tortillas that are not perfectly round. It takes time and practice to roll perfectly round ones. I have a hack for this and no one even can guess ( pssttt…). Use a lid (around 8-10 inch diameter) with sharp edges and once you roll the dough to a circle, cut out a perfect circle with the lid.
Make a filling wrap for a quick lunch – Grilled Chicken Wrap , BBQ Chicken Wrap, Buffalo Chicken wrap , Protein packed spicy chickpea wrap. Off course you can use torillas in lot of Mexican recipes like Taco – Shredded Chicken Taco, Spicy Tilapia Fish Taco, Buffalo Chicken Tacos, Black bean taco Quesadillas – Loaded vegetable quesadillas , to fuel your mornings Breakfast quesadillas.
