The first need arose on Sunday- I wanted tacos. I had no tortillas. I did have corn flour, and an astonishing amount of moxy. I had never made tortillas before. After pulling up a recipe on allrecipies.com, reading the ingredients and procedure, I decided to go for it.
Tortillas seem to be a very simple thing- They only have a few ingredients, don't need time for proofing, and can be ready quickly. My yeas as a line cook allowed me to witness tortillas being made by the adept hands of skilled Mexican ladies. I was confidant that their method had stuck with me. I was wrong.
My first issue was ingredient-related. I did not have masa harina (corn flour), but rather a very fine corn meal. Not to be dissuaded, I went ahead anyway. Issue #2 came in procedure- I used tepid water instead of hot. The result was a thick polenta-like mass. Desperate to remedy this situation, I referred to the recipe, which stated that the proportion of wet-to-dry may need to be adjusted until the dough is "pliable and smooth". So I sprinkled in more "masa", and kneaded away. My mixture became like floam- noisy, jagged, and not like the playdough consistency I had envisioned. So I tied on my thinking cap, and frantically started dumping gluten-y things into the mix... it came together, and seemed to be more willing to become flat and hold its shape. Satisfied, I wrapped the dough-wad and set it to rest in the icebox.
And now the big dilemma part comes in. I do not own a tortilla press, nor would I know how to use one. The recipe said the mixture could be rolled flat between two sheets of plastic, so this was the approach I decided to take. Epic. Fail. My mixture was super sticky- it wouldn't come off the plastic. So I tried waxed paper- it couldn't hold up to the moisture content. So I decided to treat it like pie crust, sprinkled some masa on the counter, and rolled the little buggers flat. After a spin around a hot enamelware skillet, the end result was a chewy, corn-tastic disc that vaguely resembled a thick tortilla. They're definately edible, and I will try this one again in the near future.
The second need arose yesterday afternoon- I wanted crackers. After my tortilla adventure the day before, Crackers seemed like an easy followup. Again, I scanned the interwebs for a suitable potion, and came back to the trusty allrecipies.com, who provided a recipe for a basic wheat cracker.
Much like the tortilla, the cracker has very few ingredients, doesn't need time for proofing, and can be ready quickly. Unlike the tortilla, the cracker is made en-masse and doesn't require too much skill. The dough for crackers is INCREDIBLY dense- denser than pie-dough, and really needs to be kneaded (no pun intended...) to get all of the glutens working. When you roll it out, thinner is much better, and will glean a shorter baking time. What's fun about crackers is "cracking" them apart after baking- I just did a standard square shape, but i suppose you could get real creative and do other shapes, as well. Just be SURE to put your "crisper holes" all the way through the dough- otherwise you'll end up with something chewy.
Was my thrift worth the effort? Sure. I saved a few bucks, kept myself busy for a couple afternoons, and get to enjoy some preservative-free versions of some of my favorite munchies. Most of all, I'm glad I got to poke around in my pantry and use the raw product that I found there- it can be fun to unleash the potential of flour. It's like one of those capsules that turn into a dinosaur- except not quite as cool....
