I usually avoid anything with soy or canola in it, because 1) Soy is tough on an already compromised thyroid (which I have) and 2) canola & soy are usually genetically modified. There is however one area where I let myself compromise…flour tortillas…I love flour tortillas. I have tried to make the break from them, but my love runs deep. I’ve tried brown rice tortillas, sprouted tortillas, and I even tried organic corn, but there are times when a soft white (or even wheat) flour tortilla is the only tortilla to fill the need (or should I say, desire). Show me a flour tortilla that doesn’t have soybean oil, canola oil, hydrogenated oils, soy flour, high fructose corn syrup, and a host of preservatives and I will forever be indebted! The fact is, I have yet to find one and the brown rice and sprouted ones are expensive and usually have 6 in a package, in our family that leaves one person lacking.
But then comes The GMO Challenge. One month, no genetically modified foods, one woman with a flour tortilla problem. Solution? Make my own. Recipe? All the recipes I found used crisco, but then I came across this YouTube video that said you could substitute the crisco for 7 tablespoons of oil, and then my brain kicked in. Duh? I could use extra virgin olive oil, and for that matter lard. I didn’t have any lard on hand, so my first shot at homemade flour tortillas was with olive oil. An extra note: Be careful about the baking powder you use, most baking powders contain cornstarch, often genetically modified. I use Rumford’s, it says its GMO free right on the can.
So were they light and soft and pliable? Ummm, not exactly, did they work fine for huevos rancheros on Saturday morning, yes, quite well! I have some refining to do and am looking forward to making some with some good lard (grass fed, can get some pork fat at my meat co-op, may need to render my own, there was a time when I laughed at my friend for having me pick her up some pork fat for lard, I’ve come a long way) but this is definitely a step in the no GMO direction, and I feel satisfied.
Oh yes, I feel satisfied!
8 comments
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April 27, 2009 at 8:17 am
maria
you know i love being laughed at for such things;) the kids will love the chichirones, the torts are going to be alot softer w/ lard although i’m sure they were amazing!
April 27, 2009 at 8:25 am
lo
Bet these were delicious.
It’s true — tortillas can be a challenge. We’ve FINALLY found organic flour tortillas, which we buy when we’re not opting for the sprouted grains.
Will be looking forward to your lard-filled adventures
Hope you’ll share!
April 27, 2009 at 9:29 am
FoodRenegade
We had the same problem! I eventually settled on making my own corn tortillas from real organic masa (flour made from corn soaked in lime). It was a LOT easier than making decent flour tortillas.
Glad to see you’re joining in the No-GMO challenge.
Cheers,
KristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)
April 27, 2009 at 11:49 am
Rose
Yum! That looks good. I’ve made some whole wheat ones a few times but they weren’t super soft either. They “kind of” rolled around burritos… but got a lot of cracks. But yum, were they fresh
April 28, 2009 at 6:22 am
CHEESESLAVE
I love it! I’m a Texan so I fell in love with tortillas as a child.
Like Food Renegade, I recently started making organic corn tortillas from scratch. I buy organic corn and make the masa. So delcious.
I’m going to fool around with making some flour tortillas from sprouted flour.
Tortillas fried in lard are so yummy! I want to try making tortilla chips fried in lard.
Thanks for joining in on the No GMO Challenge. I am going to stumble this post and tweet it!
June 2, 2009 at 11:41 am
Jocelyn
I found your blog through spud! and it’s delightful! By the way, spud! sells a wonderful non-hydrogenated, organic palm oil shortening from Spectrum Organics. Give it a try!
June 2, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Girl Gone Domestic
Jocelyn,
Yes, I’ve tried the palm oil shortening in other recipes, and it just might work for tortillas. Good idea. Thanks for visiting and the input.
September 24, 2009 at 4:59 am
Dana
FYI, I got really finicky about my baking powder because I didn’t particularly want to deal with cornstarch either. Well, there are recipes on the Internet for making it with baking soda and cream of tartar. That can sometimes get expensive, because they want your right arm, left leg, and third grandchild for a little bottle of cream of tartar, but it’s probably less expensive in bulk and I was lucky enough to find it on sale.
Anyway, it works. I wish I had the proportions right here in front of me, I’d share.