{"id":2921,"date":"2014-01-09T11:58:55","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T16:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/?p=2921"},"modified":"2014-01-09T12:02:08","modified_gmt":"2014-01-09T17:02:08","slug":"homemade-corn-tortillas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/01\/homemade-corn-tortillas.html","title":{"rendered":"Major Mom’s Back to Basics Campaign: Homemade Corn Tortillas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"No,<\/a>

No, not pretty, but so tasty!<\/p><\/div>\n

My husband and I made a radical change to our diets this new year. We are attempting a Gluten-Free lifestyle. We aren’t allergic to gluten, but we are trying to see if some lingering ailments subside: joint discomfort, congestion, and (for Dave) IT band<\/a> problems. I’ve not had arthritis in my hands or knees for the past week (a problem I’ve had in cold climates for many years) so I think we might be on to something.<\/p>\n

This isn’t as hard as one might think. There are two ways to go about a GF-lifestyle.<\/p>\n

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  1. Simply cut those foods that ordinarily have gluten out of your diet. By this I mean, no more wheat bread, rolls, cakes, doughnuts, flour tortillas, or other wheat-containing products (such as soy sauce). But also cut the idea of those kinds of foods out of your life as well. There are other ways to receive complex carbohydrates (if you want them), such as potatoes, corn, and oats.<\/li>\n
  2. Attempt to make or buy substitutes for those products. This means looking for gluten free cake mixes, breads, brownies, and the like. Using Udi’s bread for sandwiches.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These days, option #1 is tricky because you have to keep an eye out for additives in things as innocuous as Quaker oatmeal (NOT gluten-free, by the way!). If you have a legitimate gluten allergy, this is a concern. If you’re trying to significantly reduce gluten, you can get away with the small amounts in the foods without danger. But in principle, I don’t want it there.<\/p>\n

    Option #2 is a problem because many of the easy-to-buy GF cakes and breads are filled with additives and chemicals that simply aren’t natural. With some research and investment in the proper ingredients, it’s possible to do homemade versions of these items, the same way you might want to make wheat bread to keep things real. However, with some research, you can find something like Glutino non-GMO double chocolate brownie mix. They’re delicious, and I recognized every ingredient printed on the box<\/a>. I plan to try Pamela’s<\/a> next.<\/p>\n

    Today I’m going to discuss tortillas. In our family, homemade tacos is a very popular dinner option. It’s super quick, the kids can help me make it, and everyone in the family eats it enthusiastically. In the past, I’d use flour tortillas. I recently became fond of La Favorita-brand tortillas<\/a> because they’re local.<\/p>\n

    Dave and I felt it was easy to make the switch to corn tortillas. The flavor’s different, sure, but we aren’t into tacos for the taste of the tortillas.\u00a0Because Mission-brand corn tortillas<\/a> are labeled as “Gluten Free”, I picked up a package for enchiladas. Along with a couple cans of Hatch-brand GF enchilada sauce<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Corn tortillas dry out in the hurry. They always have for me. Coming to Colorado made things even worse, where a slice of plain bread here becomes toast in an hour. It was a nightmare making the enchiladas last weekend…I was better off not trying to roll them up and simply going for an enchilada pie. But I tried traditional enchiladas, and I failed.<\/p>\n

    I decided to look into making my own corn tortillas in an attempt to have non-dry corn tortillas. It seemed simple enough.<\/p>\n

    First, I invested in a basic tortilla press. Some will use a glass pie pan, others will use a rolling pin<\/a>. I picked up a basic cast iron tortilla press through Amazon.<\/p>\n