I learned to make tortillas!!!

Today, Sandy taught me to make tortillas from scratch and by hand!!!! This is so exciting. I learned last year how to make authentic Mexican re-fried beans, but they aren't so tasty without the real-thing tortillas! I have commented to Sandy that I want to make sure that I experience certain things that are natural to life in Mexico that I would otherwise never experience. I don't want to miss out on the real Mexico because I'm too focused on other things. Making tortillas is one of those things! So, here goes the process and pics!

You start by making the dough. You put in the desired amount of maseca, which is the corn flour, as well as a proportionate amount of regular flour (which makes the dough stick together better and also adds flavor to the tortillas). Then you add water and begin to knead the dough until it's the proper consistency. And you knead and knead and knead until nothing is stuck to the bowl anymore and the dough is all together in a nice, smooth ball.

Then starts the fun part. You take the dough in little balls in your hand and roll them around a little and then flatten them a bit. Then you put the little patty, which is called a testal (pronounced "test-ALL"), and you place it in the center of the flattening doo-dad (they call it the "machine"). Then you flatten it really good until it's about the diameter of the machine and not too thick.

A testal

The "machine"

The flattened tortilla ready to be "thrown" on the comal

Once you do this, you remove it from the machine and you put it on the comal, which is the special skillet that they use for making tortillas over an "open" fire. Now, this is the art of it. See, you have to lay the tortilla out without touching the comal and without allowing the dough to fold over on itself. So, you just have to trust that you aren't going to burn yourself and do it with confidence...otherwise it folds and looks ugly.

As you'll notice, I hold the doughy tortilla by the upper third with my thumb just slightly overlapping the edge. This makes for easier "throwing".

"Throwing" the tortilla

The other art to this has to do with the fire. Now, this fire is not propane-fueled. No, we're talking matches and firewood. So, one has to be able to control the heat of the fire under the comal. If it's too hot, they cook too quickly and burn; if it's too cool, they take too long and don't cool well enough. I have not begun the process of learning to manage the fire, but I definitely have a talent for laying the tortillas on the comal to cook.

Once the tortilla is on the comal, then you have to watch it so that you're flipping it and rotating it appropriately (according to the hotter and cooler areas of the comal and the speed of cooking) so that the tortilla cooks completely and evenly without burning. I'm not very good at flipping yet, but like I said...I have a special talent for laying them on the comal. The third art in all this is that you will always have 3-4 tortillas on the comal that you're watching, flipping, and rotating, while at the same time you are flatting out another to lay out on the comal as soon as you pull one off that is done! It's ridiculous! You know the tortilla is done when it inflates, though you'll deflate it a couple times before you take it off the comal.

Deflating a tortilla

Once the tortillas is done cooking, you put it in a pile on a tortilla cloth, and when all your dough is cooked into tortillas, you wrap the stack up in the tortilla cloth and put it on the table for eating.

My beautiful pile of tortillas!!

Sandy and I started to make tortillas after her parents left to take Mily to Cofradia for the start of classes for the week. So, her mom wasn't there to see how quickly I picked up the talent of "throwing" the tortillas. When she got home, she didn't believe us at first that those perfectly round and un-folded tortillas were actually mine!! But as she watched us finishing up, she realized we were telling the truth. Sandy did much of the flipping, since that is a definitely skill all on its own and requires a new level of coordination that I have not yet attained. So, that's why they didn't come out burned! But all in all, I'm told I did an excellent job for my first time making tortillas!! YEA!