Making Tortillas

I've always loved baking. When Lena and I first got together, I used to make up recipes for baked goods and write them down in a cookbook that I called "The One Day Bakery Cookbook." I grew up thinking that baking "from scratch" meant using a box mix. Once I had my own kitchen, I found myself passionately learning how to really bake from scratch, making brownies and muffins and cakes over and over and over again until I felt (and Lena agreed) that I'd perfected the recipes. That they were professional quality and that I really could sell them in my very own bakery one day. I loved feeling like I could make delightfully tasty treats with just a few key ingredients that we'd generally have on hand (or that any of our friends would have on hand if we were at a party when the urge to bake hit).

Since having kids, I haven't felt the same kind of inspiration about baking sweet things, though we certainly do plenty of it what with all of the celebrations going on around here. Lately, I've instead been motivated to try baking different kinds of breads from scratch. It all started when I wanted to make quesadillas (one of our weekly staples) for dinner and I realized that I had forgotten to buy tortillas at the store. I was about to abandon that dinner plan when I realized that I could probably make tortillas. How hard could they be?

I consulted with chef google, and my first attempt turned out to be quite simple and delicious. Since then, I've been making the tortillas from scratch every time. Like most things you make with your hands, it's incredibly satisfying work.

Tortilla Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon oil
  
• 3/4 cup warm milk

Combine all of the ingredients and then turn the (sticky) dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a couple of minutes, until smooth. Divide the dough into 6 pieces (or more if you want smaller tortillas), and let the balls of dough rest for about 20 minutes (I usually prepare the remaining quesadilla ingredients during this time). Then roll out each ball into thin, circular sheets and cook them on a hot cast iron skillet (about a minute per side).

rolling out the dough

Jaz loves to watch them cook, and tells me when they need flipping.

When bubbles form, the tortilla is ready to be flipped.

Post-flipping

Once the tortillas are done, we use them straight away to make quesadillas. We usually include spinach (sauteed with garlic), chicken breast (also sauteed) and monterey jack cheese.

Jaz has been very helpful in the kitchen lately. On Saturday morning he even made us all the most delicious French Toast, completely by himself (he learned how at school!). He enjoys preparing the quesadillas.

All ready for a tortilla cover and some time on the griddle.

Finished quesadillas

I don't feel like this tortilla recipe is perfect yet (and Jaz would definitely agree, since at dinner tonight he complained that something wasn't quite right), so I've still been tweaking it. I think I might need to try using bread flour next. I'd also love to try and make a gluten-free version so that Lukas can eat more than just the fillings on quesadilla night.

And, after our fabulous outdoor hot dog roast this past weekend (it was just too beautiful out, we couldn't come inside), I'm thinking the next thing I'd like to learn to make from scratch is hot dog buns. How hard could they be? And then once I master sandwich bread (I'm suspect it's the trickiest of all), I'll never have to buy pre-packaged bread again. And that will be pretty cool.