Wheat Tortillas - Tortillas de harina

I have never made any sort of flat bread before. I have been researching the internet for tortilla recipes for over a year, but became a little overwhelmed thinking I needed a special tortilla maker to shape the darn things.

Over at Orangette, my prayers were answered. The recipe is simple, although I find it is a little easier to shape the tortillas into closer to perfect circles using a little more dough, dividing it into 12 or 10 rather than the recommended 18.

Wheat Tortillas

Ingredients:

4 cups of flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
6 Tablespoons Vegetable Shortening (Vegetalina in Argentina)
2 cups boiling water

Directions:

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the Vegetalina, using your hands rub into the flour mixture until it becomes like cornmeal. Make a well in the center add about 1 1/2 cups of the water, stir in with a wooden spoon. Ojo! It is quite hot, when it starts to form, you can start to use your hands. Knead for 2 to 5 minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut ball into 2, and further divide each of these balls into 6 or 9, whatever. Roll out each of these into a thin circle, using a little flour to prevent sticking.

In a pan, cook for about a minute on each side until lightly golden on a medium heat.

Finally! I lost my virginity!

The virginity of using yeast in baking. I have been very intimidated forever, but after reading Orangette´s blog and following her recipe to a T, the Cinnamon Buns turned out perfectly, well except the first batch burned slightly, as we only have two temperatures on an Argentine Stove, Hot and Hotter!

Also, I do not have any fancy kitchen equipment, and a simple tablespoon sufficed in place of the stand mixer. We even had Philadelphia Cream Cheese in the refrigerator, so having the Cream Cheese Glaze ending made losing my baking with yeast virginity complete.

Dough:
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For dough:
Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

For glaze:
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.