Strange happy tortillas post

Please promise me now, before you begin reading, that you will come back to my blog!
"Why?" you ask.
Shifty eyed I respond, "Oh, no reason specifically, just looking for a little commitment from you."
Okay, I admit it, this post is a mess.
Working on this old computer is very frustrating because nothing, and I mean nothing works right in the blog program. So stick with me despite the hassle.
Now on to our post of the day.





Mmmmm Tortillas

Homemade wheat tortillas = happy, happy family.
I stopped buying flour tortillas at the store about a year ago. This was agony to my family. I refuse to intentionally feed my family transfat, and there is not a decently priced tortilla out there without it. So, homemade it is. Can I just say...it is well worth the effort and time. And I am back in good standing with my tortilla loving family!!



Hold on blogger friends, this post is gonna be "fun"!!

Yes, I did put that in quotes intentionally.
Our computer is still sitting diligently waiting for hookup...that is really all I can say about that right now.


I am certain you understand.




So, I thought I would really save myself some photo loading craziness and loaded them in two bunches; thinking they would simply go right on the page in order of how I placed them.



Oh they did alright....reverse order!!!



I just can't win.
So instead of starting over I am just gonna go for it in reverse.


You could really challenge yourself and read it from beginning to end and try to decipher it, or just scroll down to the big START HERE AND SCROLL UP which will be near the bottom of this post.
WAIT, don't go yet. I am not ready for you to scroll down, I was just saying you are gonna need to.



See, fun! I mean "fun".

This was my second attempt at homemade tortillas and I was very pleased with the outcome and the amount of effort required.
It did help that my middle child rolled out all but 3 of the tortillas. He is 9 and a skinny string-bean of a kid who really has staying power.
Not many adults, let alone kids have the staying power to roll out 30 tortillas!!

Here is the recipe.
I don't have to tell you that there won't be a printable.
You guessed that right?
Maybe later when....
here say it with me...
"The computer gets hooked up"



Wheat Tortillas
(makes approx. 32)
Ingredients:
Sift, then measure out 4 cups flour into a stand mixer.
(When working with flour always fluff it up a bit prior to measuring to get a more accurate measurement)
Add, 1-2 tsp. salt
(the current kosher salt I have is not very salty so I used 2 tsp this time. I could have bumped it to 3 I think and still been safe, your taste here is what matters)
melt 1/2 cup coconut oil (about 20 seconds on low in microwave)
boil 1 1/4 cup water
Add these two things simultaneously while the dough hook is stirring away.
Combine until all the flour is incorporated and the dough forms a ball pulling away from the bowl.

Let the dough cool a bit then wrap it in plastic wrap until you are ready to work it.

Dust a surface with flour and roll out each tortilla until very thin.
Cook each on a med-hi heat pan until browned yet still soft.
Let cool on a rack then pack away or eat!! These can be refrigerated or frozen...if you have any left that is!!

Okay, here is where you go to the bottom.
Go!




Flip them over. They should look something like this. Cool huh? When both sides are done, transfer them to a cooling rack if you are going to be packing them away for later use. If you are about to eat them, put them in a clean towel to keep 'em warm.
And there you have it, yummy happy tortillas.
I served them with black beans and rice.
I got accolades from all around.
I ate one with butter and honey.
Actually I two with butter and honey, one wasn't enough.
The End




When your griddle or pan is up to heat, throw on an appropriate number of tortillas and let them begin to cook. They will bubble up like this. There is really no way to know if the other side is done. I will tell you that a slight burning smell is not a good sign.

I love it that the little squished tortilla is still happy and is showing its love now in the rough shape of a heart. This is happy dough people, I think I have really proved this.

We started off using quite a bit of flour for rolling, but found with practice that less was needed.

Here is a square of dough and the final rolled out tortilla. They really stretch out quite a bit as the dough is very soft and pliable. Roll them thin, as they puff up a bit when cooking. I can't really say how thin this is...but it is 9 year old rolling thin, does that help?

cut the dough into balls.

Uh...okay, I cut them into squares.

I didn't thing the ball thing was necessary.

Actually, the truth is I had 6 minutes until I had to leave my house and I needed to form balls as well as hang a load of pants and shirts out of the dryer.
It really didn't end up mattering for the end result.

See, happy happy dough!! It almost looks like it is smiling and the bowl almost looks like I won't have to wash it.

Calm down....I will wash the bowl.

Mix and mix and mix until the dough forms a ball and the bowl looks clean and the dough seems happy with itself.

You've got this pattern right??? You will get to a point in time when almost all of the flour is incorporated, but some is stuck in the bottom of your bowl. Just squish it around and work it to the top so the dough hook will catch it when you start the mixer back up.

start Next measure out 1/2 cup coconut oil. I truly think this recipe could take less and next time I make it, I will try it with 3 ounces and work down seeing just how far down I can take it before the recipe fails. It is a semi solid, so I melted it in the microwave for about 20 seconds on medium heat.

(Coconut oil is a healthy fat. Read about it here. I want to experiment with using it more.)
I also had another measuring cup which I filled to just over 1 cup with boiling water. I poured these in simultaneously so they could incorporate together with the flour. Some recipes called for cutting in the oil, then pouring in the water. I didn't see the use in that extra effort. And actually after making this recipe many more times, I have found that boiling the water then stirring in the coconut oil till it melts is the best way to go. Then just dump it all in at once. end

Hey...start here first!!!! Measure out 4 cups of flour and 2tsp. kosher salt into your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. I know some of you are saying..."but I don't have a dough hook attachment, let alone a stand mixer" Well, I am sure sorry about that, you will have to do the kneading by hand. Save up your pennies and buy a mixer, you won't be sorry you did.

I love, love, love the King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour for this recipe. It makes them sweet and workable while still having the goodness of wheat. This flour is all my local grocery stores and I have never paid $4.50 for it. Yikes that is pricey!! end, now go to the next photo up.

START HERE AND SCROLL UP
but read this first Now, I didn't get all technical and write each section as though you were reading literally bottom to top. So, just expect to read each section, then scroll to the next section. I would love to have done it in that way but cutting and pasting....well it just isn't happening...though I have tried, and thrown a fit about it, and screamed and flung things.

Okay, I didn't fling things.

But I wanted to.

Ha, after reviewing this post I am thinking that you may want to. It is crazy!

Just go up to the first picture you come across and start there.