Chile Guajillo Flour Tortillas
Infuse your favorite dried red chiles into a fluffy flour tortilla!
Servings 18 Med. Tortillas
Equipment
- Griddle or Comal, Cast iron or non stick
- Blender
- Tortilla Warmer
Ingredients
- 3 large, dried chile guajillo( 30 grams) stems and seeds removed
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature water
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening or pork lard, plus 2 more tbsps separate
- 4 c all purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup reserved separate
- 1 1/3 tsps baking powder
- 1 1/3 tsps salt
Instructions
- While you gather and measure your ingredients, heat 2 cups of water at medium in a med. sauce pan. After removing the stems and seeds from guajillo peppers, transfer them to the pot of warming water. Cook for 8 minutes. Let sir for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl add the shortening(or lard). Using a spoon or your hand, cream the shortening for 2 minutes. To the bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk gently to combine the dry ingredients.
- Drain the water from the soaking chiles, then transfer them to the blender jar. Pour in 1 cup of water. Reserve remaining water. Blend on high until very smooth. If you have large chile skin pieces, you may strain the sauce through a wire strainer. I have a power blender and didn't have to strain.
- Pour in all of the blended chile guajillo sauce into the bowl. Mix and work the dough until it mostly comes together.
- Gradually mix in some of the remaining water. The water amounts may vary. I ended up needing 1/3 cup. At this point the dough should feel sticky. Knead the dough for 8-9 minutes or until it is mostly smooth and does not stick to your hands.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, divide and shape 18 dough balls. Place them on a baking sheet. Rub some of the reserved 2 tbsps of shortening on your hands and fingers and press a light coat on the tops of all the dough balls. Cover again with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Before the 10 minutes is up, start preheating your cooking surface. You want to start it on medium low and then turn up the heat slightly as you get closer to rolling out your first tortilla.
- When you are ready, dip the dough ball in the reserved flour. Place on flat work surface. Using a rolling pin, gently begin to roll up, slightly rotate, roll up, then down. The key is to rotate slightly to achieve a more round shape. When needed, dust lightly with flour if pin begins to stick. As the tortilla begins to extend, apply more pressure as you roll out for thinner tortillas.
- Cook on preheated griddle for about 30 seconds on the first side. You should see bubbles and hear sizzling sounds as soon as you lay the tortillas on the hot surface. When there are a lot of bubbles, flip the tortilla. Cook for another 25-30 seconds. Some will inflate more than others. If the spots are too dark, reduce the heat slightly. Place cooked tortillas in a tortilla warmer lined with a kitchen towel. The stacked tortillas will steam and help soften the tortillas. Store cooled tortillas in a plastic storage bag on the counter for a few days or refrigerated for 7-8 days.
Notes
You can use any combination of dried red chiles for this recipe as long as it is 30 grams total weight.