Authentic Tortillas de Harina Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are traditional Mexican tortillas made of? ›

tortilla, round, thin, flat bread of Mexico made from unleavened cornmeal or, less commonly, wheat flour. Traditionally, the corn (maize) for tortillas was boiled with unslaked lime to soften the kernels and loosen the hulls. (This lime was the principal source of calcium in the Mexican diet.)

The flour tortilla is as ubiquitous in Northern Mexican cuisine as sourdough in San Francisco and as bagels in New York. It's a distinctly regional flatbread associated with the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, and Sonora, one that owes its existence to a turn in agricultural history almost 400 years ago.

Back lard is preferable for its very mild pork flavor, although more neutral tasting leaf lard or vegetable shortening can be substituted for great results.

Mexican tortillas are made with wheat or corn flour. Although they both belong to the Mexican and Tex-Mex culinary tradition, the corn tortilla is undoubtedly the most typical one. As a matter of fact, corn is the basic food in Southern America cuisine, handed down since ancient times, long before Spanish colonization.

My favorite restaurant made its tortillas fresh, and you could watch the pros roll, press, and cook them as you ate. Their speed and finesse at making those tortillas was impressive and the resulting tortillas they created were soft, yet sturdy, and also incredibly delicious.

The Aztecs took raw corn, dried it, and ground it to corn meal, eventually making it into corn dough or masa. They would then take a small ball of the masa dough and press it until it was about six to eight inches in diameter and place it on a griddle to cook quickly on both sides.

In Mexico we prefer white corn tortillas. Yellow corn has a sweet flavor and we prefer the white variety for tacos, enchiladas, etc. To make enchiladas, get some oil in a skillet or frying pan, get it hot (but not smoking hot), and heat the tortilla in the hot oil for a few seconds each side.

According to legend, tortillas were invented by a Mayan peasant for his hungry king. The first recorded use of tortillas dates to roughly 10,000 BC, and were made from corn. And when the Spanish arrived, they discovered native inhabitants like the Aztecs and others all ate some sort of maize bread.

Corn is a vital part of Mayan history—not just for making tortillas, but as a reflection of the human race. Learn all about this pivotal produce in all-new #WorldEatsBread, tonight at 10/9c on National Geographic.

Traditional flour tortilla recipes call for animal lard to be added to the tortilla mix, making them unsuitable for vegetarians. In any case, the use of lard is declining in Mexico and commercial flour tortillas are usually made with vegetable oil.

What does baking powder do in tortillas? ›

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.

Best oil for frying: If you are frying corn tortillas, corn oil is the best choice. You can also use basic vegetable oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, or sunflower seed oil. You want a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point. Make sure the oil is hot enough.

But a popular explanation is that the second tortilla can be used to make another taco with any fillings that spill out the side. Other reasons include preventing a tortilla from breaking, or if you have a particularly moist filling, & others do it because corn tortillas are delicious – can't argue with that!

Culinary and Social Tradition

Since earliest times, thin cakes of corn have been a staple of the Mexican diet. Made of kernels that have been lightly soaked in a lime mixture and then ground on a stone metate to form a dough or masa, fresh tortillas traditionally accompany each meal.

When it comes to nutrition, corn tortillas have the advantage of being made from whole grains, with fewer calories, sodium, and carbs but more fiber than flour tortillas. They're also gluten-free. As for cooking and eating, some people complain that corn tortillas break easily.

Corn tortillas are seen as more authentic to Mexican dishes, corn has been a staple ingredient in Mexican cooking for thousands of years. Wheat, on the other hand, has only been around since the Spanish brought the crop with them when they arrived in the Americas.

Spanish tortillas and Latin American tortilla are very different! Spanish tortillas (tortillas espanolas) are made with eggs and potatoes and are more similar to an omelet. They are much thicker than Latin American tortillas. Latin American tortillas are thin and flat, and are usually made from corn or flour.

Ingredients. Enriched wheat flour, Water, Palm oil shortening, Glycerin, Mono and diglycerides, Salt, Sodium aluminum phosphate, Baking soda, Potassium sorbate, Fumaric acid, Calcium propionate, Wheat starch, Amylase, Xylanase. Contains : Wheat.

Corn tortillas go well with Mexican dishes like tacos, enchiladas, and tamales. They are also perfect for use in tostadas, sopes, and quesadillas. Flour tortillas are often used in burritos, fajitas, and chimichangas. They are also great for making quesadillas, sweet dishes like dessert tacos, and breakfast burritos.