"Sonoran" Flour Tortillas


 
Rich G

Rich G

TVWBB Honor Circle
After years of trying flour tortilla recipes, I finally found my winner! Based on THIS RECIPE, I settled on a 50/50 blend of AP and 00 Caputo pizzeria flour, as well as beef tallow for the fat. Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Flour Tortillas (makes 12 @ 35g)
Ingredients
  • 125 grams all-purpose flour
  • 125 Caputo 00 flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 40 grams tallow, lard, bacon fat, duck fat, vegetable shortening or butter
  • 7/8 cup hot water (see below)
Instructions
  • Mix the two flours and the salt in a bowl. Add the lard and, using your fingers, work it into the flour until you have a texture similar to a coarse meal.
  • Meanwhile, heat some water on the stove to a simmer. When it's hot, measure out a scant cup of water, about 7/8 of a cup, and add most of it to the flours. Mix well with a fork at first because it will be too hot to work with your hands. You want to see everything incorporated into a very pliable dough that is just short of being sticky. Sometimes it takes only 3/4 of a cup, sometimes a bit more. Never more than 1 cup of water, though.
  • When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead it vigorously for 5 minutes. It should be a soft, pliable dough that is not sticky.
  • Now, using your thumb and forefinger, squeeze off a ball of dough about the size of a walnut. Typically this is about 40 to 45 grams. You will eventually get all your balls within a few grams of each other without effort, but it takes practice. Squeezing off the balls keeps the gluten structure intact and makes for a better tortilla. Give each ball a roll to make it a ball and set it in a plastic bag. Do this with all the flour, re-kneading if you must. Set the balls to rest in the bag for 2 hours.
  • Heat a comal or flattop to about 450F. Get your tortilla press out. If you don't already have them, you need two thin sheets of plastic to line it. I cut them from produce bags. You don't want thick plastic here. Take a dough ball out of the bag and re-roll it into a ball. Set it in the center of the press, then set the other sheet of plastic on it. Gently press it into a disc, then lever the top of the press down hard. Remove the plastic and set the flattened dough on your hand while you carefully remove the second piece of plastic.
  • Carefully lay the tortilla on the comal and let it sit there until you see lots of little bubbles, about 30 to 45 seconds. Flip the tortilla, using a spatula if needed. Let this cook another 30 to 45 seconds, then flip one more time. By now the tortilla should have ballooned up in places. Move each finished tortilla to a tortilla warmer lined with paper towels, or set them in a kitchen towel, covered to steam and stay warm.
30-35 gram balls for taco size
40-45 gram balls for quesadilla size

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Rich G said:
I was wondering if you liked "gritty" tortillas. :) I'll give that mix a try with my tallow recipe......I've got a bag of masa. :)

R
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i made some liquid gold from my brisket trimming yesterday. how long does the rendered fat last in the fridge, and should i just freeze some or will that even preserve it for longer use? i plan to make these tortillas for Sunday's Niners game.
 
Rich G said:
After years of trying flour tortilla recipes, I finally found my winner! Based on THIS RECIPE, I settled on a 50/50 blend of AP and 00 Caputo pizzeria flour, as well as beef tallow for the fat. Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Flour Tortillas (makes 12 @ 35g)
Ingredients
  • 125 grams all-purpose flour
  • 125 Caputo 00 flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 40 grams tallow, lard, bacon fat, duck fat, vegetable shortening or butter
  • 7/8 cup hot water (see below)
Instructions
  • Mix the two flours and the salt in a bowl. Add the lard and, using your fingers, work it into the flour until you have a texture similar to a coarse meal.
  • Meanwhile, heat some water on the stove to a simmer. When it's hot, measure out a scant cup of water, about 7/8 of a cup, and add most of it to the flours. Mix well with a fork at first because it will be too hot to work with your hands. You want to see everything incorporated into a very pliable dough that is just short of being sticky. Sometimes it takes only 3/4 of a cup, sometimes a bit more. Never more than 1 cup of water, though.
  • When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead it vigorously for 5 minutes. It should be a soft, pliable dough that is not sticky.
  • Now, using your thumb and forefinger, squeeze off a ball of dough about the size of a walnut. Typically this is about 40 to 45 grams. You will eventually get all your balls within a few grams of each other without effort, but it takes practice. Squeezing off the balls keeps the gluten structure intact and makes for a better tortilla. Give each ball a roll to make it a ball and set it in a plastic bag. Do this with all the flour, re-kneading if you must. Set the balls to rest in the bag for 2 hours.
  • Heat a comal or flattop to about 450F. Get your tortilla press out. If you don't already have them, you need two thin sheets of plastic to line it. I cut them from produce bags. You don't want thick plastic here. Take a dough ball out of the bag and re-roll it into a ball. Set it in the center of the press, then set the other sheet of plastic on it. Gently press it into a disc, then lever the top of the press down hard. Remove the plastic and set the flattened dough on your hand while you carefully remove the second piece of plastic.
  • Carefully lay the tortilla on the comal and let it sit there until you see lots of little bubbles, about 30 to 45 seconds. Flip the tortilla, using a spatula if needed. Let this cook another 30 to 45 seconds, then flip one more time. By now the tortilla should have ballooned up in places. Move each finished tortilla to a tortilla warmer lined with paper towels, or set them in a kitchen towel, covered to steam and stay warm.
30-35 gram balls for taco size
40-45 gram balls for quesadilla size

View attachment 35331
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Rich, would you say your taco size (35g) is approx 6 inches round? I’m trying to upsize the recipe for burrito size and to confirm a taco size. I cooked off some brisket fat and saved it in the fridge. Want to make these tomorrow if possible. Thanks!
 
Ten-inch tortilla press was delivered a few days ago. Can't wait to use it and not need to use a plate or rolling pin to try and get them thin and even. Also got some fresh masa. Now all I need to do is convince the wire that storing it in the fridge doesn't keep if fresher if the ZipLoc isn't sealed well.

[
https://flic.kr/p/2mXA1Fk
]
 
Last edited:
Rich G said:
Let me know how it works out for you! I'm making some later today as well for some taco time!

R
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Great recipe. I need more help with making them round. Absolute keeper of a recipe. Flavor it top notch. I used chicken fat I had rendered. I’ll add a pat of butter into the dough next time.

I used my KA mixer and the dough is supple. Very pliable and strong. Good gluten development.

Guess I need a tortilla press.

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Brett-EDH said:
Great recipe. I need more help with making them round. Absolute keeper of a recipe. Flavor it top notch. I used chicken fat I had rendered. I’ll add a pat of butter into the dough next time.

I used my KA mixer and the dough is supple. Very pliable and strong. Good gluten development.

Guess I need a tortilla press.
Click to expand...
So glad you enjoyed it, Brett! I like the "rustic" shapes! The press makes the round shapes pretty easy, and they aren't expensive (I have a cast iron one), or you can make them pretty easily, too.

I think any fat will work, the schmalz sounds like an interesting twist......ooh....duck fat? :)

R
 
Rich G said:
So glad you enjoyed it, Brett! I like the "rustic" shapes! The press makes the round shapes pretty easy, and they aren't expensive (I have a cast iron one), or you can make them pretty easily, too.

I think any fat will work, the schmalz sounds like an interesting twist......ooh....duck fat? :)

R
Click to expand...
I made gribenes for the dog with thigh skins. The schmaltz was the byproduct so I fridged it for this recipe. You can’t taste the chicken which is preferred but the fat gives a very smooth texture to your 50/50 recipe. I cooked them in the CI and they blistered nicely.
 
ChuckO said:
Looks awesome, can I use my mixer? :)
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Chuck, you can, but you really don't need to. The dough comes together really easily with a fork to mix in the hot water, and then the hand kneading is easy/peasy! This is one that I typically do by hand as it's so easy and then I don't have to clean the mixer. :)

R
 
Rich G said:
Chuck, you can, but you really don't need to. The dough comes together really easily with a fork to mix in the hot water, and then the hand kneading is easy/peasy! This is one that I typically do by hand as it's so easy and then I don't have to clean the mixer. :)

R
Click to expand...
If I can't use my mixer, then I don't wanna play :)
 
ChuckO said:
If I can't use my mixer, then I don't wanna play :)
Click to expand...
5 min mix time on lowest speed was perfect. Be careful with the water. Too much water and the dough is super sticky. I had to add dusting flour when I made my flats to avoid the stickiness. Purely my fault.
 
Brett-EDH said:
5 min mix time on lowest speed was perfect. Be careful with the water. Too much water and the dough is super sticky. I had to add dusting flour when I made my flats to avoid the stickiness. Purely my fault.
Click to expand...
This is exactly right. I've started with just adding about 1/2-5/8 of a cup of water to start, and only adding more if it needs it.

.....and, @ChuckO, OF COURSE you can use your new toy! :)

R
 
So.....a couple of years later, and I'm still making these mostly the same. My current formula has a bit more water, a bit less fat, and I have recently switched to rolling them rather than pressing them. I feel like I get them thinner, with much better control overall over the thickness and size. I use a 9" x 1" straight dowel/rolling ping that I picked up at the restaurant supply cheap. Tonight's batch used tallow, cooked up in a CI skillet at about 465°, and they were delicious (made them a bit larger with 50g each.....)

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New formula for 12 tortillas @ 50g each would be.....

170g AP Flour
170g "00" Flour
204g Water
3.7g Salt
54g Fat (I use tallow usually, but filtered bacon grease is good, lard, etc.)
 
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