Tortillas for Everyone!
Tortillas in some cultures are a vital piece of food. They hold everything together, they provide much needed starch, and they're just plain tasty. However, for those of us who can't have wheat or corn, tortillas are off the table, literally. Now, many people can have corn and thus will just eat corn tortillas. BUT, flour tortillas (in my humble opinion) just taste better. They can be heated up and lathered in butter, which makes them automatically a win. Even if you can have corn but miss flour tortillas, this recipe will help you to make tortillas that satisfy that craving as well as heed your body's food allergies.
These tortillas are nice because they are foldable, hardy and fairly easy to cook. They also have flavor wheres as many other tortilla recipes leave your mouth dry and, these don't leave you wishing you could have regular tortillas.
I have made many, many, many different kinds and types of tortillas but none of them really did it for me. Until this one. Also, the other best part of this recipe is that it is completely allergen friendly to just about everyone!
Growing up in Texas, especially southern Texas, tortillas were a staple in my family’s diet. I remember running cross country in high school and, sometimes when we were released to run off campus for long runs we would go and eat breakfast tacos. I know, we were bad kids because we ate tacos instead of running but, there was this little taco shop at the bottom of the hill right out the back gate of my school and, they had the BEST tacos I’ve ever had. The only down side was once you got to the bottom of the hill and enjoyed chowing down on those delicious tacos, you had to run back up the hill. And I mean run. We could sit in the taco shop like we were undercover and enjoy breakfast in peace but if we were out on the hill, all the other students and teachers would be driving to and from school and , they would rat us out if we were seen walking. So, bellies full and with big smiles on our faces, we would run back up that hill and most of us kept our food down alright but not everyone. It was after all an acquired skill and those with weak stomachs had a long trip back.
That taco shop was also a popular hangout spot for our cross country team even when we weren’t at practice. We’d often meet for breakfast just to chat, push tables together and be those obnoxious teenagers that everyone dislikes at places like restaurants or movies. Plus the people who owned and operated the store didn’t speak any English and that’s how you know you’re getting good tacos. When the cook and the cashier are named Juan and Maria and, they’ve been in Texas less than a month, you’ve hit the jackpot.
For people with food allergies, finding tortillas, or any kind of usual bread product for that matter that we can eat, is hard. Nothing quite substitutes for bread, at least not easily. For Texans, who eat tortillas often, an allergy test can be a death sentence. However, tortillas can now be for everyone, regardless of your allergies, no matter how much time you have. You can now welcome tortillas back into your life. So, without further ado, here is how to make the recipe.
RECIPE FOR TORTILLAS:
First heat up the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and get any allergy friendly baking sheet ready by placing parchment paper over it. (Note: Do not use wax paper as it melts in high temperatures, only parchment paper, which looks the same and is sold next to wax paper in the supermarket. I made this mistake one time and it was funny but awful.)
Next mix all the ingredients together except for the gelatin egg substitutions. Mix the ingredients in a decent sized bowl. Although the amount isn’t that much, arrowroot flour tends to poof into the air and create dust clouds and fly all over the counter so the bigger the bowl the less likely that is to happen.
You may mix these by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer (or don’t want to get yours dirty) or you can mix it by stand mixer on low. You will know it is done mixing when it looks chunky and is rolling itself into balls but well mixed. It shouldn’t be extremely dry nor should it be goopy.
Next is the egg substitute which has to be done after the other ingredients are fully mixed because it must be used as soon as it is ready. Boil a forth cup of water (or 4 tablespoons). It’s easiest to just pop it in a microwavable bowl for 30 seconds. For each egg that would be in the recipe you will use one tablespoon of water with one tablespoon of gelatin. So put two tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of gelatin in a bowl. Stir them slightly although there will not be enough water to mix completely. Then add the boiling or extremely hot water (careful not to burn yourself). Stir quickly until it is fully mixed and all clumps have dissolved.
Then pour this into the other mixture and continue to mix. It will still look clumpy but it should hold together better and you should be able to form balls of it in your hands without it crumbling.
Roll them into balls. This recipe can make more or less depending on the size you want. I prefer a little bit larger ones so that they are closer to regular tortilla size because it just makes me feel more like I’m eating regular tortillas. Also they hold up fairly well so they are able to be a bit bigger without crumbling. You can also get more inside them when they are a bit bigger.
Once they are fully mixed and rolled into balls, take two and put them on the pan. It does not need to be greased because the parchment paper will keep them from sticking as well as keep your pan relatively clean.
You can either roll them out with a rolling pin or you can just use your palm to flatten them. Either way you should place them on the parchment paper one at a time in the middle. Fold over a piece of the parchment paper (you don’t need to crease it) and cover the other side of the tortilla ball. It should look like a ball sandwiched between two pieces of parchment paper. Then you can use your rolling pin or your hand to flatten them. This will keep it from sticking to your rolling pin or hand.
Once two have been rolled out, place them at opposite ends of the tray on the parchment paper and bake for 6-9 minutes depending on how thin you have made them. Before baking, I sprinkled mine with salt but you don't have to. I just liked the taste better. Mine were perfectly done at seven minutes and they were about the thickness of a corn tortilla. They will be done when the middle is not squishy anymore and the edges are slightly crispy. You may continue to cook them longer but, they will lose their flexibility.
Take them out of the oven and repeat the process until all of your tortilla balls are cooked. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
HERE IS THE RECIPE:
Ingredients:
2/3 cup arrowroot flour
2/3 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil (I used peanut but olive, peanut or anything of a similar texture would work)
1/2 tsp baking soda
A dash of salt
1 tablespoon of lemon juice (optional but helps balance out the coconut flour)
3 tablespoons of nutrional yeast (also optional but I like a little bit of cheesy flavor)
Any spices you'd like to add to enhance it
2 gelatin eggs
!. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and cover a cookie tray with parchment paper
2.Boil 1/4 cup of water
3. Mix ALL ingredients EXCEPT the gelatin eggs
4. Make gelatin eggs but mixing two tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of gelatin. Mix briefly then add the 1/4 cup of boiled water and stir quickly until all the clumps have dissolved.
5. Mix gelatin eggs with the other ingredients.
6. Roll the dough into balls (it should not be extremely sticky or dry)
7. Take two and roll them flat into the tortilla shape/size, sprinkle the tops with salt
8. Bake for 6-9 minutes depending on thickness. The middle will not be sticky any more and the edges will be slightly brown.
9. Take them out of the over, remove the tortillas and repeat steps 7-9 until all are cooked.
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