Tortillas de Harina

Tacos are good. Tortillas are good. Today I decided to make both. I have never attempted making tortillas, but after conducting a little research, I concluded that the process was not too confounding. I have made dough several times, and it has required practicing to learn the best ways to manipulate the dough. Each time is the same, and each time is a little different; this time hopefully easier and more efficient than the last.

Many recipes call for different kinds of flour. I use one kind of flour for everything: King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose flour. As the name states, it can be used for all purposes. Splendid. So I mixed flour, baking powder, salt, shortening and hot water together to make my big dough ball. I let that rest for a while, and then I cut the dough into chunks to be rolled into ping-pong-sized balls. After balling, I used a cast-iron skillet atop a piece of floured wax paper to squish them flat. I could roll the balls pretty well using this method, as I was rotating the pan around the edges of the dough, much like driving erratically might look. But to get them thinner, I had to twist harder and push harder with the skillet and this action was ripping the paper and causing the dough to stick to the skillet.

I had to get the dough rolled thinner since, through trial and error, I determined that quite thinly rolled dough cooked into a better tortilla, for my taste. So I broke out the rolling pin and rolled them not quite paper thin, but almost. Much better, yes.

To cook the tortillas, I placed them in a dry, heated skillet. Unfortunately, I did not dust the extra flour from my tortillas, and it burned onto the pan. I am still working to remove it. Reminds me of the time I told a student to use some elbow grease. The student promptly stood up and rubbed her elbow vigorously on the table.

These tortillas turned out pretty good for a first effort. I will make them again. But I also cooked taco meat for the tortillas. I started with my mirepoix, to which I administered the immersion blender after it cooked some. Then I added the ground beef and some chicken stock. Letting this cook, I gathered my spices: salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and cocoa. I thought I might have gone overboard with the cocoa powder, but adding a bit more chicken stock provided the needed balance. I scooped a bit of meat with my tortilla, and it was quite tasty. Later I'll make tacos with meat, cheese, cilantro, and more of the hot sauce I made yesterday.

Prep time today was approximately one hour, but measuring time in die Kuche is irrelevant. It is, as they say, time well spent.