Tortillas Are the Bread-Making Project You Should Tackle This Year

Sourdough was so last year — let Rick Martinez show you how to make the best flour tortillas you've ever tasted.

January 10, 2020
Rick Martinez Mexican 101, flour tortillas

Rick Martinez Mexican 101, flour tortillas

Photo by: Caitlin Ochs

Caitlin Ochs

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"Did you try the tortillas yet??" Rick Martinez asked me as soon as we were done filimg his flour tortilla class for the Food Network Kitchen app. "You have to have one now." Rick is a recipe developer and expert in Mexican cuisine, and I will basically eat anything he whips up; it is always next-level. And boy, was he right about these tortillas — they were so much tastier than any I've had out of a package. They were chewy, pillowy, somehow buttery, and just super comforting. I wish I could wrap myself in these tortillas.

In recent years, lots of other people seem to have come to a similar realization — at-home breadmaking is a hobby that everyone from casual cooks to professional chefs seems to be trying. And maybe you've tried a boule, a brioche, or a baguette and felt the pure joy in pulling it out out of the oven. But here's why tortillas just might be a better way to scratch that bread-making itch:

First, there's way less waiting around.

Unlike many yeasted breads, which require proofing (and proofing again!), or even days of fermentation (start that sourdough starter yet?), these tortillas only need an hour of resting time — which means you're that much closer to feeling like a bread-making master and eating something way better than store-bought.

Rick Martinez, Mexican 101

Rick Martinez, Mexican 101

Photo by: Caitlin Ochs

Caitlin Ochs

The fat component is flexible — which leaves room for experimenting, if that's what you crave.

Rick likes to use duck fat in flour tortillas for its richness and flavor, but admits he's being "kind of extra." Another fat, like shortening, lard, vegetable oil or even butter might provide the flavor you prefer, or feel easier to work with.

You don't need a tortilla press.

Unlike corn tortillas, which rely this special tool to flatten the dough, flour tortillas have gluten, which won't stretch by pressing. Instead, these tortillas get rolled, so all you need is a rolling pin (or a bottle of wine, in a pinch) to make them.

Feel inspired? Cook along with Rick in his class on Food Network Kitchen, and you've got a great start to dinner tonight. The toughest part just might be deciding what filling to make to go with the tortillas.

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