Tortilla Press and a Give -Away

Being Gluten-Intollerant (Celiac) has been a challenge for me.  I love breakfast burritos and Chicken Enchilladas (which I make with flour tortillas).  I have tried several brands of GF Tortillas and found them to be the texture of card stock and probably about the same flavor.  They were just not the tender flour tortillas I was used to and then there is the issue of the additives that must be present in store bought products.  Being from the old school I wanted to make my own.  The recipe I tried was good enough and made acceptable tasting tortillas but the smoke, mess and time it took to prepare them was way out of even my league.

Enter the TORTILLA PRESS.  I had recently purchased my NUTRAMILL from PLEASANT HILL GRAIN so I could experiment with using various seeds and rice to blend a nutritious flour blend.  As I gazed through their site I noticed the TORTILLA PRESS and put it on my wish list.

I finally was able to take the plunge and purchased the press, some great bread bags to package my freshly made bread in and a book on baking Gluten Free.  I love the bags and the book (watch for experimental recipes coming from the book) and I've been experimenting on the TORTILLA PRESS.

The first time I tried it I followed the instructions in the book that came with the press, just substituting my flour blend.  No success.  Didn't like the flavor and just couldn't get a good tortilla.

Today I blended my current version of Grandma Farmers GF Flour Blend (Freshly ground brown rice, and sorgum plus tapioca starch, Arrowroot, and Coconut Flour).  I mixed up the tortilla mix, divided it into 8 balls, covering it with a wet towel to keep them moist (important in GF cooking). 

This time I gently rolled each ball out to a 6" circle then placed it on the TORTILLA PRESS that had been pre-heated.  I pressed gently checking each time to be sure I've not pressed to hard (it will split and crack if you do) and pressing harder each time until I could get the tortilla as big as I dared without making them split.

 This takes practice but I finally was creating a very acceptable tortilla.  They are not paper thin and a tiny bit thicker than the store.  I then let them cook until they began to brown with the lid open, flipped and did the same on the other side.  I placed a small piece of waxed paper between the tortillas so they wouldn't stick and put them in a sealed container in the refrigerator. I got eight 8" tortillas out of the recipe. 

Recipe:  2 cups GF all-Purpose Flour Mix, 1 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum, 1/2 teaspoon Guar Gum, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil. 1 cup hot water.  Mix the dry ingredients together, all the oil and water and stir.  Seperate immediately into 6-8 balls.  Cover with wet towel and make as above.

Becareful that you don't burn yourself on the TORTILLA PRESS and you'll be fine.  Got the job done from blending flour to mixing and making the tortillas in less than 30 minutes.  I love the flavor and soft texture.  I think I'll make me a Breakfast Burrito...........

BUT FIRST

I want to share with you may experiences with PLEASANT HILL GRAIN.  This is just about the greatest company you'll ever do business with.  Shipping is usually the same day if you call early enough in the day and because it is a Nebraska company I get my products faster than you can blink an eye.....well almost anyway.

When I got the order they had accidently sent the wrong book.  I called them up and told them what happened and representitive pleasantly took my information.  They promptly sent me the right book along with a packing slip and mailing sticker to mail the wrong book back.  Even with errors they did an excellant job.

You can get just about any gadget or machine you would dare to want or need for a REAL FOOD kitche plus you can get a wide variety of grains.......even GF things!  I highly recommend you check with PLEASANT HILL GRAIN before you buy.  The prices are the best I've found and the service can't be beat!

PLUS this great company has graciously offered to send a kitchen gadget of your choice up to $15 to one of our blessed readers!  It could be you.  Enter today!  This Give - Away will end Sunday evening, March 18th



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