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torquillI made flour tortillas for the second time tonight. Of course, in my world, first attempts usually don't fail as much as second ones. So...
Lessons learned about making tortillas:
- The skillet needs to be hot, but there is such a thing as too hot.
- Use metal spatulas. (oops.)
- A two-inch ball makes an 8" tortilla.
- The tortillas can be rolled only once; re-rolling them after a flop results in a placemat.
- Roll them until they refuse to be rolled any thinner - yes, they will stop at a certain point.
- Use a flat griddle, not a skillet.
- If using a skillet, put the tortilla on a flexible cutting surface, then curve the surface into a half-circle to ease the tortilla onto the skillet. Don't touch the sides (bzzzt!)
- Count the thirty-five seconds per side, don't try to estimate.
The first two attempts were placemats. Then I started getting better, and the last two were eased into the pan perfectly once I learned the way to coax them off the cutting surface. Then I found the griddles, which should make my next batch even easier, without stressing the seasoning on my cast-iron skillet. Five good tortillas from this batch, though -- that should make fajitas tomorrow night quite pleasant. :)
The skillet also ended up doing a sort of "self-clean" cycle -- it got so hot the accumulated lacquer around the edges flaked off. Not a bad thing to do every eight to ten years. However, I think a heat-sensor gun might be a good tool to have for this sort of exercise...
Lessons learned about making tortillas:
- The skillet needs to be hot, but there is such a thing as too hot.
- Use metal spatulas. (oops.)
- A two-inch ball makes an 8" tortilla.
- The tortillas can be rolled only once; re-rolling them after a flop results in a placemat.
- Roll them until they refuse to be rolled any thinner - yes, they will stop at a certain point.
- Use a flat griddle, not a skillet.
- If using a skillet, put the tortilla on a flexible cutting surface, then curve the surface into a half-circle to ease the tortilla onto the skillet. Don't touch the sides (bzzzt!)
- Count the thirty-five seconds per side, don't try to estimate.
The first two attempts were placemats. Then I started getting better, and the last two were eased into the pan perfectly once I learned the way to coax them off the cutting surface. Then I found the griddles, which should make my next batch even easier, without stressing the seasoning on my cast-iron skillet. Five good tortillas from this batch, though -- that should make fajitas tomorrow night quite pleasant. :)
The skillet also ended up doing a sort of "self-clean" cycle -- it got so hot the accumulated lacquer around the edges flaked off. Not a bad thing to do every eight to ten years. However, I think a heat-sensor gun might be a good tool to have for this sort of exercise...
