Flour Tortilla Recipe Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you put too much baking powder in flour tortillas? ›

However, the version I tested that had more baking powder resulted in a thicker, doughy tortilla that wasn't as pliable and was harder to roll when making a burrito or wrap. I also found that they got harder when stored compared to this recipe and the version that did not have baking powder at all.

Sodium Bicarbonate:

During tortilla production, it is necessary to have some of the leavening occur early in the process, enabling uniform distribution of gas cells. The sodium bicarbonate should then release carbon dioxide just prior to the press and oven.

All-purpose flour lacks the proteins to form a sturdy tortilla. High-gluten flour made a tough tortilla. Bread flour made a chewy, light tortilla and a stretchy dough that rolled out gloriously into thin-as-air rounds. I made tortillas with warm water, which helped the fat and flour mix smoothly.

If your dough is hard to manage (it falls apart) when you try to roll it into small balls or it cracks when you press it, then it's too dry. Test this by checking the edges of your pressed raw tortillas. If they're jagged and crackly, the dough lacks a bit of moisture.

Tips to nailing these homemade flour tortillas

Make sure you don't over knead– When we mix the ingredients together, only mix it until it's no longer shaggy.

Fat: To make our homemade tortillas soft and pliable, you need some fat in the dough. Use oil, lard, butter, or shortening.

Many cooks often miss an important step that can make a massive impact on the final product, though — resting their dough. The crucial process comes after cooks knead the dough. Tortilla preparers then rest the dough at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

The process involves cooking and soaking dried corn kernels with calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) or another alkali, which removes much of the grain's bran, significantly increases the availability of niacin in the corn, and delivers other nutritional benefits.

A common problem with homemade tortillas is cracked and jagged edges, a surefire sign that the dough needs more water. You can prevent cracked tortillas by pressing a test tortilla before you roll the rest of the dough into balls.

What temperature to cook tortillas? ›

While the dough rests, preheat an ungreased cast iron griddle or skillet over medium high heat, about 400°F. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into a round about 8" in diameter. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Fry the tortilla in the ungreased pan for about 30 seconds on each side.

Baking powder creates the bready, chewy texture. Cooking the tortillas on a very hot skillet results in maximum tenderness.

I use my hands to knead the dough until it's smooth and evenly hydrated. You'll know it's ready when the dough is moist to the touch but not sticky, similar to the texture of playdough. Then, I flatten small balls of dough using my tortilla press (watch me do this in our video).

Baking powder: Baking powder acts as a leavener, giving the tortillas a slightly pillowy texture. Salt: Salt enhances the overall flavor of the flour tortillas. Lard: Lard, a common baking ingredient in Mexican cuisine, adds flavor and helps create the perfect flour tortilla texture.

Too much baking powder can cause the batter to be bitter tasting. It can also cause the batter to rise rapidly and then collapse. (i.e. The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break causing the batter to fall.) Cakes will have a coarse, fragile crumb with a fallen center.

For every teaspoon of baking powder, you'll want to substitute in ¼ tsp of baking soda with ½ tsp of cream of tartar. If you don't have any cream of tartar, you can also substitute one teaspoon of baking powder with a mixture of ¼ tsp of baking soda plus ½ tsp of either vinegar or lemon juice.

If you do want to make a product that rises, like a cake, cookie, or bread, you'll need to add a separate leavening ingredient like baking powder, baking soda, or yeast. This ingredient will then activate during the cooking process and introduce gas bubbles to the mixture, which then causes the product to rise.

One of the most common misfortunes among bakers is that they are using too much baking soda or baking powder. Know that too much baking soda or baking powder in cakes will not just lead to a metallic and bitter taste, but it can also make a big mess in the oven as it will rise beyond expectations.