Replies

No, but Jackie Clay has some good ones.

From her column:

“Corn tortillas

2 cups masa harina de maize (corn flour, not cornmeal)
1 cup (more or less) water

In a medium-sized bowl, mix enough water into the masa harina to make a very stiff dough. Add water slowly, mixing well with a fork. The dough will seem a bit dry, but will form a ball easily when worked by hand. You don’t want any dry flour left, but don’t want a wet dough. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Dampen your hands and pinch off a large walnut sized ball, and work it into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Using either a tortilla press, lined on both pads with waxed paper, or plastic, or a pie plate and cutting board with waxed paper on the board and under the pie plate, sandwich a slightly flattened ball of dough between waxed paper and press flat. I’ve found that when using the tortilla press you need to turn the pressed tortilla around a half turn and press again to get a uniform thickness.

Some folks cut each tortilla into a perfect circle, using a bowl as a cookie cutter. But I don’t mind irregular edges on the tortillas and dispense with the extra work.

Use a griddle or cast iron frying pan with no grease and heat it to a medium heat. Gently bake each tortilla about 30 seconds until edges seem dry, then gently turn and bake until it puffs slightly. Store in covered dish and use soon. This recipe makes a dozen tortillas.

To make taco shells, heat ¼-inch of grease in heavy frying pan. Fry each baked tortilla until limp. With tongs, gently fold tortilla in half and continue frying, holding the edges apart. Cook 1½ minutes longer, turning once, until crisp. Drain on a paper towel.

To soften tortillas to fill, heat 2 Tbsp. grease in a small frying pan. Holding a baked tortilla with tongs, dip each one in oil till limp. Drain on paper towel. Repeat, adding oil, when necessary. Fill.

Hint: I often add spices, such as chili powders, garlic, and onion to the masa harina before adding the water for different flavors. We like them this way.

Flour tortillas

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. shortening
½ to ¾ cups quite warm water

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening well. Add warm water until the mixture forms a medium dough. Add more water, if needed, but don’t let it get to a sticky dough. It needs to be able to be handled well. Let rest for 15 minutes; it rises some.

Divide the dough in half, then in halves again, eventually forming 12 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each into a ball, then roll out into a 7-inch round. Again, some folks trim them into a perfect circle. We prefer the appearance of irregular tortillas; they have character.

I pat each tortilla a bit with my hands and lay it on an ungreased griddle over a medium heat. Bake about 1½ minutes on each side, until lightly speckled brown. Hold hot under clean tea towel; serve or fill.

I hope you’ll enjoy these tortillas as much as we do.”

http://www.backwoodshome.com/ask-jackie-by-jackie-clay-issue-70/