astrobaja - 1-2-2007 at 11:22 AM
Hi all,
Last time my Wife and I were in Baja in the fall we stopped by Meling ranch on our way back from the observatory. We arrived around lunch time to
visit with Andrea who was in the kitchen with some of her staff. As is usually the case even when she has no guests she still has to make lunch for up
to 6-8 staff! This of course means lot-o-tortillas!
For those who have never been to Meling, Andrea cooks all of her meals on a vintage WW2 wood cook stove!!!! You can imagine what that must be like in
peak summer heat! Shes quite some lady!
Anyhow I have always maintained that her flour tortillas were some of the best I've had, you get a hint of the wood smoke in them! Yummy!
I've never had much luck duplicating Baja style flour tortillas when at home using regular flour no matter what I do!
This time I got to watch her make em from start to finish. She uses EL Rosal flour and agua.... thats it no manteca de cerdo just water! She gets them
to the desired consistency (not so wet that the flour sticks when you cook them) rols them into golf ball sized balls covers them with a cloth and
lets them rest for a while. (rests the gluten so that they don't spring back when you roll them)
She then rolls them with a small pin on the floured surface to 80% of the size she wants and then in a very deft manner hand stretches them to the
final size and right on the cook top they go! It must have been pretty hot cause all it took was 10 seconds or so per side! Hers are quite thin but
still very tender! I tried this same technique at home (mine are not as round as hers though
) after buying the RIGHT flour (I picked up some El Rosal in Ensenada on the way home) and BINGO real tortillas!!!! I suspect its in
the flour as the stuff we get in N. America does not have the right amount of wheat flour in it, thats why Baja tortillas have that slightly nutty
flavor that you just can't get with just white flour!
give it a try!!
Astro
[Edited on 1-2-2007 by astrobaja]