wryter2000
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Mon Jul-17-06 01:35 PM
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I made flour tortillas over the weekend |
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There's only me, and I hate the stale tortillas in the store. I found a recipe in one of Diana Kennedy's books, and I thought they came out good.
For two big tortillas or three standard size
4 oz flour (must be weighed) 1 oz lard 1/4 cup warm (not lukewarm and not hot) 1/2 tsp salt
Work the lard into the flour with your fingers. Dissolve salt in water. Mix/salt mixture into flour/lard mixture. Knead for 3 minutes. Wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
Knead one minute more. Break into rounds and roll out between two pieces of waxed paper. Cook in a hot cast iron frying pan, turning until there are brown spots on both sides.
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politicat
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Mon Jul-17-06 08:40 PM
Response to Original message |
1. Yanno, oil works real well, too.... |
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Great minds think, you know.... We made tortillas this weekend, too. The batch of 13-14 took 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup oil, 2 cups flour, and sprinkles of salt.
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wryter2000
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Tue Jul-18-06 01:58 PM
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Maybe I'll try that next.
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Gormy Cuss
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Mon Jul-17-06 09:33 PM
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2. You can make chapati if you have a gas stove. |
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They're very similar. Chapati is made with fewer ingredients and the dough tends to be a little sticky.
This is based on two different recipes, one by Madhur Jaffrey the other by a British author named Dharamjit Singh.
For 1/4 pound of flour, use 1/2 teaspoon salt and about 3.5 to 4 oz of water. Mix the flour and salt together and place on pastry board or in a wide shallow bowl. Add the water a little bit at a time, incorporating it with the four completely before adding more. Stop when the dough is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 7-10 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Knead again , then divide into about 5-7 balls. One at a time, flatten a ball and roll it out very thin.
Cook in a hot cast iron frying pan. When bubbles form, turn over the chapati. After about one minute, twirl the chapati in the pan a few times. Turn the gas on low on an adjacent burner. Place chapati directly on the burner. It should puff up in a few seconds. Turn over and let it sit on the flames for a few more seconds. Stack completed chapati on a cloth cover plate and fold cloth over the top to keep the chapati warm.
Chapati are best fresh too but leftovers. can be reheated.
Without a gas stove, the final puffing could be done on a hibachi or grill.
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wryter2000
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Tue Jul-18-06 01:57 PM
Response to Reply #2 |
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I do have a gas stove. Thank heaven.
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Warpy
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Tue Jul-18-06 01:18 PM
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I'm lucky to have my choice among many brands of exquisitely fresh locally made tortillas that use vegetable oil.
I haven't made flour tortillas since I left Boston. I still do corn tortillas because sometimes I like them even fresher than the stores here deliver.
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Dora
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Tue Jul-18-06 01:39 PM
Response to Reply #3 |
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I just had to put in my fond sentimental regard for homemade tortillas made with lard.
I remember well hanging out in the kitchen while my best-friend's mother and grandmother made their weekly batch of tortillas. The flour, the lard, the tupperware bowl. The smell of the tortillas and the smell of the griddle. Patsy and Nani were skilled at stretching their tortillas by hand, and their tortillas were thin, chewy, and delectable. They would give Jenny and me small balls of dough to practice stretching or rolling out, and we would use a biscuit cutter to cut tiny tortillas we would use for tea parties.
Tortillas these days never taste quite right to me.
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yellerpup
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Wed Jul-19-06 05:33 PM
Response to Reply #4 |
7. When I learned how to make tortillas I had to learn how to render lard |
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first. Fresh lard is heavenly (if you like pork chops, you will appreciate lard). To make authentic Mexican food, first you must kill the pig...
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wryter2000
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Thu Jul-20-06 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #7 |
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I'm a hopeless city hypocrite. I'm fine with meat if someone else kills it.
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yellerpup
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Fri Jul-21-06 09:03 AM
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11. I haven't had to participate in slaughter since I was a child on the farm |
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I learned how to make flour tortillas in NYC, so no pigs have been sacrificed by me to make tortillas in a long time. If I have lard on hand, I use it to refry beans but I never use bacon grease. I guess it's a matter of personal preference, and I just don't care for the taste of "smoke" in bacon fat.
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wryter2000
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Fri Jul-21-06 10:09 AM
Response to Reply #11 |
14. As long as you don't refry them in oil |
wryter2000
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Thu Jul-20-06 02:41 PM
Response to Reply #4 |
8. My grandmother used lard in pie crust |
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I don't go quite that far, but if I don't have bacon fat, I use lard to refry beans. Sometimes the grodiest, most cholesterol-laden stuff is the best.
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yellerpup
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Fri Jul-21-06 09:06 AM
Response to Reply #8 |
12. Lard makes the lightest pie crust |
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But it also can make it greasy. I use butter in a classic French pie crust recipe--it's kind of cookie-like, crunchy and delicious, but will toughen up for sure if you overwork it.
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wryter2000
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Fri Jul-21-06 10:10 AM
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15. I use a combination of crisco and butter |
yellerpup
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Fri Jul-21-06 10:18 AM
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NMDemDist2
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Thu Jul-20-06 05:02 PM
Response to Original message |
10. I had the best tortillas last night |
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the local grocery store makes them fresh right on premise
they were awesome!
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yellerpup
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Fri Jul-21-06 09:07 AM
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13. Now I'm just jealous. |
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Enjoy the Land of Enchantment. Best of luck to you in your new home.
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NMDemDist2
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Fri Jul-21-06 01:03 PM
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