Pre-Modern "Crackers"
A few weeks ago, a Mexican amiga showed me how to make tortillas from scratch, something I’ve always wanted to learn. It’s amazingly easy! Just mix masa harina (a corn flour that’s been treated with lime) with water and salt until it’s the right consistency, then shape into balls, press flat with a tortilla press, and fry over medium-low heat. ¡Qué fácil!
After a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond, however, I realized that finding a dang press was going to be a lot more difficult than using one…at least one that wasn’t muy caro. So I did the next best thing: I used two glass bowls — one turned upside-down and one rightside-up — instead of a press. If you have plates with a nice flat bottom (no ridges!), you could use those, too. Just be sure to place plastic wrap on the contact surface of each bowl/plate to prevent the dough from sticking. (It peels off the wrap beautifully and is very easy to transfer to the hot pan.)
It turns out that this technique of mixing a flour with water and salt and then pressing and cooking it works with any kind of flour–you can use chickpea flour to make a kind of Indian chapati, wheat flour to make more of an American cracker, teff to make something resembling Ethiopian injera, etc. Grinding your own flour and then using it right away results in the very grainy, old-fashioned kind of flat biscuit you see in this picture.
If you want to add a bit of puff to your crackers/chapati/injera, add about 1 tsp. of baking powder for every cup of flour. Then add 1/2 tsp. of salt to the flour and about 1/2 cup of water. Mush the mixture between your fingers until it is pliable but not too wet. If it’s too dry — different flours absorb water at different rates — add more water. You should be able to easily divide the dough into balls and then press them out between your bowls or plates. If it doesn’t press well (i.e., it’s too wet or too dry), just re-incorporate the dough, add more flour or water, and try again.
Fry the flattened-out pieces in coconut oil or ghee over medium-low heat until one side is light brown. Flip and brown the other side. Serve piping hot.
Enjoy!
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Tags: bowl, chapati, cracker, fried bread, kitchen tool, tortilla
Hi Lisa!!
If you’re looking for a tortilla press, try the stores in Mexicantown, specifically, the Honey Bee Market. I was in there recently and saw them there. Hope you’re having a nice summer!