The Gehrels Adventures: Tortilla Making

After a girl turns 15 she is eligible to be married (dads live in fear of that day.) Tradition also has it that the woman must be able to make a thin, round corn tortilla. This is a sign that they are able to take up the household responsibilities. You'll often hear the tap tap of tortillas being prepared around meal hours as the women put this time tested art to good use. Some use a press for convienence, but for parties the good old fashioned way is used.
So with Jay's parents in tow we headed over to our adopted family's home to give it a try. Well they say that practice makes perfect, so we all have a lot of work to do!

Following are the basic steps involved in making the tortilla and they are mostly illustrated by our photos.

Water is added to the corn dough (pre-purchsed, but typically made by grinding kernels of corn) and then made to a smooth, sticky consistency by kneading it out with a stone rolling pin on a stone surface.

A small glob of dough (about the size of a pingpong ball) is made into a ball.

The ball is then flatten in your hand, so it is about 1 cm wide.

The dough is placed on a piece of plastic that is about the size of a small dinner plate. This helps to ensure it doesn't stick to the counter.

With the palm of your hand you flatten the tortilla, starting from the center out, while gently spinning the tortilla or the plastic. Ideally you want a thin, circular tortilla.

Place tortilla on pre-heated griddle (ceramic or metal) by peeling the plastic away from the tortilla. Transfer tortilla to your other hand with about half of it resting on your palm only.

Lay it down gently, while removing your hand as the tortilla touches the hot surface.

Monitor your tortilla by how it smells. It is ready to be flipped to the other side when it is lightly cooked. It will be golden coloured.

When ready to flip, gently grasp an up-turned edge with your fingers and switch sides.
Repeat if necessary to ensure both sides are evenly cooked through.