Tortilla alternative..

[peanut]

Is there a frugal healthy alternative to tortillas? Tortillas are made with a lot of lard. When I was on vacation I saw a lady with a rectangular type of flatbread. She claimed it was lower fat and healthier than regular tortillas. Anyone know what this might be? She used it just like a tortilla.

Jean

[Juto]

I buy the low carb tortillas from Costco (7 grams Fiber, no trans fats no saturated fats). I also use whole wheat pitas.

[betharoo0]

Actually most store-bought tortillas are made with oil. I do not know anyone who really uses lard anymore.

[leezza]

Hi Peanut,

What Juto said, about tortilla's if you like them....I also like the wrappers with added flavors like garlic and herb, ect....

You could try Pita bread but it is thicker.

Also you could use lettuce, and make lettuce wraps....

I think the bread that you are asking about is "Lavash" it is a very thin flat bread in middle eastern style food......it taste good I think, but it is a little dry for rolling things up in it.

leezza

[tink]

I have been seeing naan (Indian) at the stores recently. Packaged, flat and rectangular. Maybe that was it.

[Kabocha Girl]

There's also a brand called Flatout bread. It's like a tortilla but rectangular and usually sold in the deli section. Actually, tortillas are very easy to make, too. We use 1 1/2 c. wheat flour, 1 1/2 c. white flour, 1/3 c. oil, 1 tsp. salt and 1 c. warm water. That makes 10-20 tortillas depending on how big you want them.

Here's the actual recipe:

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil or shortening
1 cup warm water but not boiling

Directions:
Combine the flour, salt, and shortening in a large bowl and mix together until crumbly, as for pie dough. Add water and mix until you can gather the dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

To form the tortillas, divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion between the palms of your hands to make a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball into an 8 inch circle. Layer the circles between sheets of plastic wrap as you go.

To cook the tortillas, heat a heavy skillet, griddle or comal over high heat until beginning to smoke. Place a tortilla in the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Turn and cook on the other side until slightly puffed and speckled brown on the underside but still soft enough to fold, about 30 seconds. Remove and continue until all the tortillas are cooked, stacking them as you go. Serve right away or cool, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The best homemade tortillas by far!


My husband and I made these about once a week in Japan since we couldn't buy them there. They are awesome! You can also add all sorts of herbs, etc. for a different twist.

[peanut]

Thanks everyone! i went to the grocery store tonight and scoured the shelves. I found it. It was Lavash. I'm going to try it and see how it works. thanks for the lard free tortilla recipe too! I normally make my own, but just don't have time this week.

Jean

[thegemreaper]

To cook the tortillas, heat a heavy skillet, griddle or comal over high heat until beginning to smoke.

I'm feeling really stupid here ...When I married my husband he had a kitchen full of gadgets that he had never used. One of these gadgets is a cast iron ( I think), it is the size of a tortilla,it has two identical round sides with handles, is loosely hinged, and weighs way more than it appears that it might.Anyway, he went to Mexico many times before I met him. When I found this thing in the kitchen, I assumed he bought it in Mexico and that it was some sort of tortilla "smasher" LOL I have never used it. After reading this thread I got to thinking that maybe this thing is used to COOK the tortilla and you actually flip the pan over to brown the other side of the tortilla... From my horrible description, can anyone enlighten me ?

[GFNancy]

We use one of these to make a type of scandinavian cookie.

Is it anything like that?

Nancy

[cadamsgis]

the thing you described is a tortilla press

you cover both sides with plastic (cut from shopping bags) and you press the dough inside of the discs

then you cook it on a flat skillet

[zakity]

Yep, you can use whatever fat you want in tortillas. I made a batch with bacon grease once. Oh, my... They were heavenly. there is a reason I only did it once though.

[sinopa27]

we eat tortillas everyday and it is only corn masa and water. No lard at all.

[zakity]

Oh yeah, I have heard of people using olive oil in them. I want to do this at some point but haven't yet.

I did buy a 5 gallon bucket of coconut oil to use instead of shortening. We haven't needed it yet and so it is still unopened. I can't wait to see how it works for things like tortillas and biscuits and such.

[shoiji]

I always used olive oil when making tortillas.

[Incognito]

The recipe can be used unleavened or leavened for quick flatbread too. Olive oil gives it a delicious taste. I vary my recipe, sometimes using more cornmeal and more water for a flatter wrap.
I add herbs like basil, chives and crushed caraway seeds, sometimes onion powder.

It's really nice to be able to make a flatbread immediately (10 minutes), when I'm out of bread.