That’s a great video and you’ve actually addressed my frustrations in trying to use my tortilla press and questioning my dough my heat. I’ll be in the kitchen this afternoon with more confidence. Thanks to you. I appreciate it.
I appreciate you so much!! I laughed and agreed and just had a good time watching this video. Thank you for your scientific cooking experiments! And for being lighthearted! Don't let random people's comments get you down. You are the creator of your content, and they are just admires. But they would never tell you that. lol
This video was like watching me struggling while making tortillas. I come from a country where we don’t eat tortillas whatsoever, but I married someone that eats tortillas in each meal. Believe me when I say the struggle is real. I always wondered if I needed to add hot water to the corn flour, was it my “comal”, was it the heat???? I never understood what the problem was, until now. Thanks for the video!!!!!!
OMG! The suspense, the mystery, the waiting and hoping, and praying! I was on the edge of my seat! Literally! Well done! Liked and liked.🤣 Now let's see if it works in real life.
flour absorbs hot water better then cold, that's why you scold whole wheat flour when baking bread to get a higher hydration in your dough without it becoming soup.
Thank you so much for these videos!! I love learning the *science* behind it all, and you did a fantastic job of Controlling for all of the different Variables, and then DISCUSSING them and their effect, especially e.g. with your cross-check with your IKEA skillet to see whether it might have been the dough. Incredible explanations, and I am hoping that what I've learned from YOU will fix my tortilla issues I've been having for years!
Thank you for your persistence in using the cast iron. I'm new to making corn tortillas I've only been making them for about a month I learned a lot of valuable tips in your video. such as how to tell your dough is moist enough. I've been using a cast iron skillet on a med-high heat and the puff has been lacking, only little ones. One thing I haven't been able to find much information about is tortilla Shrinkage when cooking. I may be cooking them too long but they seem to shrink significantly. Thank You again got some great tips here.
(pausing at 6:14 before you probably explain it, to speculate... ) As an avid cast iron user, but someone who has struggled to get worthwhile corn tortillas in mine, something I've become more Mindful of recently is Heat Capacity with cookware: with thin aluminum cooking devices, the instant you set a room-temperature item on it, it sucks all that temperature away, then the cookware builds back up (maybe like your issues with the rectangular griddle in the previous video with 3 different cook surfaces; its heating rings coming from the outside), whereas since cast iron is comparably thicker, it RETAINS its heat better, instead of dropping down towards room temperature as far. I've been meaning to experiment more with *this* aspect and feature of cooking with a thicker skillet (cast iron) which is less susceptible to fluxuations in temperature as aluminum tends to be
Have you tried this with nixtamalized maize? There's something romantic about just adding water to the traditional style flour, and letting the tortillas turn out how they will as a newbie at tortilla cooking, but I'm curious if you've tried the same! Working with nixtamalized blue corn flour, and I will die happy eating them regardless, but if you know how to get them at the perfect consistency with just water and flour, you'd be doing a great service!!
I luv your videos! They're informative and the humorous commentary and the science behind them equals perfection! I'm going to try your tortilla making tips & maybe they'll finally puff!
Defintely a great video, nice and "over" informative, Which is exactly how i like it!!!! A lot of other videos out there dont go into as much detail. Im an american living in Los Mochis and am attempting tortillas, not so well up to this point...lol, but i follow directions well, so i think FINALLY im going to get some nice tortillas! Gracias amigo y sigan trabajando!
45-90-45 seconds...the puff is SO satisfying! Keep dough balls covered while cooking. I've used my electric skillet successfully. Aloha and Mahalo from Maui!
Haha! Good! Just watched the puff video then this video popped up and I did't have to make my own 'non stick is toxic, I need a video w/ cast iron' comment! 😆😆😆
I have very little experience making tortillas but I have been cooking with cast iron my whole life and I think the state of the pan might have been the main thing that was holding you back. The bottom looked really rough and I imagine it wasn't heating very evenly and looked like it may have been sticking a bit. Good news is the pan should improve as you cook with it. No need to stress too much over manually seasoning it just cook a lot of greasy/fatty food in it and over time it'll develop a good surface. Also for what it's worth you definitely seem like an expert to me, I couldn't get tortillas to puff like that in my dreams.
i use a well-seasoned 30 year old lodge 10" round griddle for tortillas but i've found if you try to use it totally dry, the tortillas will stick. so what i do is get it hot then coat it slightly with oil, then wipe all of it off with a paper towel. wait a minute or so for the smoking to stop then cook the tortillas. zero issues with sticking if you do that.
You just perfectly described the 7 stages of corn tortilla making hell 😂 Just keep going and playing with the heat and water in your dough and you'll get there! Not every tortilla will be perfect. Just save the boo boos and use them for enchiladas, tostadas, or totopos.
Very interesting! I’ve always cooke on cast iron and with mixed results like your first batch. Need to try your fixes. One thing about the pans, cast iron is relatively poor at conducting heat while the aluminum in your non stick pans and griddle is an extremely good heat conductor. The tortillas in the non stick are getting a lot more thermal energy much more quickly than the ones in the cast iron. That said, a cast iron comal is probably what most abuelas are using.
I always cook my tortillas on my cast iron griddle. The first few never puff but the last two or three do. I'm wondering if the cast iron needs to heat up longer for even heat--like when you bake bread in a dutch oven it needs to heat in the oven for an hour before putting the bread in it...
Dude, get an instant-read infrared thermometer. The dancing water is cute, but once you know the optimal surface temperature you can achieve it with whatever heat source and pan you use.
^^^THIS^^^ This video and the how to puff video are one of the two best I seen on UA-cam but nobody in all the videos I've watched has used an instant infrared thermometer. I use it at home 380 to 415 Fahrenheit and the pita will float like it's on an air hockey table.
Dude, that will mean thousands of years of cultural learning erased! No! It is a sin and you can go to hell for that (it's in the Bible, I think) 🤣. Seriously, let culture be. I'll take the dancing bubbles anytime.
@@breal7277 To each his own... I don't see "dancing water" as culture, anymore than I see dial telephones, tube radios, or horses and buggies as culture. I do see turning out good food that's not overcooked or undercooked or burnt, etc. as a great way to live. I make good use of modern tools like instant-read thermometers, wireless thermometers, and IR thermometers as a way to enjoy cooking and enjoy the results. If someone wants to use a horse and buggy, it's fine with me. I think a teacher should teach modern methods however.
You are awesome. Been thought the same thing - and my remedies were the same. I am 73 - we made our our masa when I was a kid - and I wanted that so bad again. ... Of course, making your own masa from corn will be different. But, it is close enough. (It was the boiling water - I use the hot water out of my coffee maker. .... Happy life to you and yours!!!
nice video, thanks. But since you asked... the third and last tortilla in the end, you say to cook that first flip well and that it might take 45 seconds, but real time was almost 2 minutes.
Thank you....ive tried make corn tortillas and havent had that much luck. I wasnt raised with gma or mom making fresh corn. Its sad i know But, i am determine to learn and get it right! Have you tried a flat top stove?? Thats what i have and i know the temp does not stay even.
Hah! That was me today.....I think I had the comal too hot and was burning leaky holes in the tortillas. Still tasted great, but can't wait for next time armed with your 'hot' tips!! PUFF time!
Aquí Naomi! Vas muy bien! La primera volteada de la tortilla perfecta pero la siguiente toca dejarla tantito mas a que agarre color en el cast iron, y con lumbre tienes que tenerlo abajo de medio, y tienen que tener color así que no fueron un desastre como imaginas, solamente que las tortillas tienen que hacerse en algo flat y no muy grueso, como los comales, o el nonstick por eso el cast iron ni el wok son la mejor forma. No eras tú, son ellos 😜
My Grandma only made flour tortillas with a rolling pin from what I remember and mpther only made sopes in a dry skillet, so all my attempts at corn tortillas (by hand, no press) so far have been too thick. I just make thin sopes now, lol. 😅
If they don’t puff they will taste a little like uncooked corn flour dough. Puffing is a sign of thorough cooking. Some people like the taste of masa so even if they don’t puff they’re good to eat.
Hey bud. Love the vids. In the future. just put it in the oven with a bottle of V8 tomato juice for an hour or two. the acid should cut right through your seasoning.
I got a kick out of your video. I am one of those old abuelas who has been making tortillas since i was 8 or 9. I have a 13" x 24" cast iron griddle. Very old. It makes beautiful tortillas but only if the recipe is correct. .... in the beginning of your video your cast iron was not nearly hot enough. Your water droplets should have danced in solid balls on the surface. You did correct with very hot water and let it rest 30+ minutes. In the end it is a learning process. Now others will learn.
What you were doing wrong was following youtubers instead of enjoying what you were doing. I bet those tortillas still tasted better than anything one can buy from the shop, puff or no puff. At any rate if the water fizzles in any of those materials it means the surface is not hot enough. Now to the rest of the video...thank you for your efforts.
Te pudiste haber ahorrado todo el sufrimiento si 1) hubieras puesto atención a la abuela cuando te pendejaba en la cocina. Y 2) te hubieras puesto el suéter cuando tu abuela te lo dijo. Ahh, pero no. Nos gusta ser rebeldes...
That’s a great video and you’ve actually addressed my frustrations in trying to use my tortilla press and questioning my dough my heat. I’ll be in the kitchen this afternoon with more confidence. Thanks to you. I appreciate it.
I appreciate you so much!! I laughed and agreed and just had a good time watching this video. Thank you for your scientific cooking experiments! And for being lighthearted! Don't let random people's comments get you down. You are the creator of your content, and they are just admires. But they would never tell you that. lol
This video was like watching me struggling while making tortillas. I come from a country where we don’t eat tortillas whatsoever, but I married someone that eats tortillas in each meal. Believe me when I say the struggle is real. I always wondered if I needed to add hot water to the corn flour, was it my “comal”, was it the heat???? I never understood what the problem was, until now. Thanks for the video!!!!!!
Have HIM make the tortillas! After all, they're from his culture! lol.
OMG! The suspense, the mystery, the waiting and hoping, and praying! I was on the edge of my seat! Literally! Well done! Liked and liked.🤣 Now let's see if it works in real life.
Fabulous! I just learned so much!!! Thank you ❤
flour absorbs hot water better then cold, that's why you scold whole wheat flour when baking bread to get a higher hydration in your dough without it becoming soup.
Best tortilla making video out there.
Thank you so much for these videos!!
I love learning the *science* behind it all, and you did a fantastic job of Controlling for all of the different Variables, and then DISCUSSING them and their effect, especially e.g. with your cross-check with your IKEA skillet to see whether it might have been the dough.
Incredible explanations, and I am hoping that what I've learned from YOU will fix my tortilla issues I've been having for years!
Amazing video. Had me cracking up. Great stuff man
Thank you for your persistence in using the cast iron. I'm new to making corn tortillas I've only been making them for about a month I learned a lot of valuable tips in your video. such as how to tell your dough is moist enough. I've been using a cast iron skillet on a med-high heat and the puff has been lacking, only little ones. One thing I haven't been able to find much information about is tortilla Shrinkage when cooking. I may be cooking them too long but they seem to shrink significantly. Thank You again got some great tips here.
(pausing at 6:14 before you probably explain it, to speculate... )
As an avid cast iron user, but someone who has struggled to get worthwhile corn tortillas in mine, something I've become more Mindful of recently is Heat Capacity with cookware: with thin aluminum cooking devices, the instant you set a room-temperature item on it, it sucks all that temperature away, then the cookware builds back up (maybe like your issues with the rectangular griddle in the previous video with 3 different cook surfaces; its heating rings coming from the outside), whereas since cast iron is comparably thicker, it RETAINS its heat better, instead of dropping down towards room temperature as far.
I've been meaning to experiment more with *this* aspect and feature of cooking with a thicker skillet (cast iron) which is less susceptible to fluxuations in temperature as aluminum tends to be
I FIND YOU TO BE CREATIVE AND FUN! I HOPE YOU GET A LOT MORE SUBS!
Have you tried this with nixtamalized maize? There's something romantic about just adding water to the traditional style flour, and letting the tortillas turn out how they will as a newbie at tortilla cooking, but I'm curious if you've tried the same! Working with nixtamalized blue corn flour, and I will die happy eating them regardless, but if you know how to get them at the perfect consistency with just water and flour, you'd be doing a great service!!
Awesomeness! Thanks for the lesson and the laughs!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I luv your videos! They're informative and the humorous commentary and the science behind them equals perfection! I'm going to try your tortilla making tips & maybe they'll finally puff!
Brother, your narration skills are good. Keep doing what you do saludos from Florida
Defintely a great video, nice and "over" informative, Which is exactly how i like it!!!! A lot of other videos out there dont go into as much detail. Im an american living in Los Mochis and am attempting tortillas, not so well up to this point...lol, but i follow directions well, so i think FINALLY im going to get some nice tortillas! Gracias amigo y sigan trabajando!
Yeah MON! I have been trying to do this for a while now.
Great Vid!
45-90-45 seconds...the puff is SO satisfying! Keep dough balls covered while cooking. I've used my electric skillet successfully. Aloha and Mahalo from Maui!
Nice video , and the tone of your voice make it sound like fun to do.
Haha! Good! Just watched the puff video then this video popped up and I did't have to make my own 'non stick is toxic, I need a video w/ cast iron' comment! 😆😆😆
Nicely done instructive video with entertaining editing.
I have very little experience making tortillas but I have been cooking with cast iron my whole life and I think the state of the pan might have been the main thing that was holding you back. The bottom looked really rough and I imagine it wasn't heating very evenly and looked like it may have been sticking a bit. Good news is the pan should improve as you cook with it. No need to stress too much over manually seasoning it just cook a lot of greasy/fatty food in it and over time it'll develop a good surface.
Also for what it's worth you definitely seem like an expert to me, I couldn't get tortillas to puff like that in my dreams.
i use a well-seasoned 30 year old lodge 10" round griddle for tortillas but i've found if you try to use it totally dry, the tortillas will stick. so what i do is get it hot then coat it slightly with oil, then wipe all of it off with a paper towel. wait a minute or so for the smoking to stop then cook the tortillas. zero issues with sticking if you do that.
I was trying to make them on a cast iron too and could never get it to work! This is what I needed!
You just perfectly described the 7 stages of corn tortilla making hell 😂 Just keep going and playing with the heat and water in your dough and you'll get there! Not every tortilla will be perfect. Just save the boo boos and use them for enchiladas, tostadas, or totopos.
Very interesting! I’ve always cooke on cast iron and with mixed results like your first batch. Need to try your fixes. One thing about the pans, cast iron is relatively poor at conducting heat while the aluminum in your non stick pans and griddle is an extremely good heat conductor. The tortillas in the non stick are getting a lot more thermal energy much more quickly than the ones in the cast iron. That said, a cast iron comal is probably what most abuelas are using.
I always cook my tortillas on my cast iron griddle. The first few never puff but the last two or three do. I'm wondering if the cast iron needs to heat up longer for even heat--like when you bake bread in a dutch oven it needs to heat in the oven for an hour before putting the bread in it...
Sure going to try this looking so good.
Dude, get an instant-read infrared thermometer. The dancing water is cute, but once you know the optimal surface temperature you can achieve it with whatever heat source and pan you use.
^^^THIS^^^
This video and the how to puff video are one of the two best I seen on UA-cam but nobody in all the videos I've watched has used an instant infrared thermometer. I use it at home 380 to 415 Fahrenheit and the pita will float like it's on an air hockey table.
Dude, that will mean thousands of years of cultural learning erased! No! It is a sin and you can go to hell for that (it's in the Bible, I think) 🤣. Seriously, let culture be. I'll take the dancing bubbles anytime.
@@breal7277 To each his own... I don't see "dancing water" as culture, anymore than I see dial telephones, tube radios, or horses and buggies as culture. I do see turning out good food that's not overcooked or undercooked or burnt, etc. as a great way to live. I make good use of modern tools like instant-read thermometers, wireless thermometers, and IR thermometers as a way to enjoy cooking and enjoy the results. If someone wants to use a horse and buggy, it's fine with me. I think a teacher should teach modern methods however.
@@emmgeevideo It's a joke. You know, dry humor. Yes, we should value traditional methods while we evolve and use modern tech.
Is it necessary for the water to be hot? Ive always used cool water. No wonder mine never puffed.
Yay. It puffed.
You are awesome. Been thought the same thing - and my remedies were the same. I am 73 - we made our our masa when I was a kid - and I wanted that so bad again. ... Of course, making your own masa from corn will be different. But, it is close enough. (It was the boiling water - I use the hot water out of my coffee maker. .... Happy life to you and yours!!!
Well done my friend!
nice video, thanks. But since you asked... the third and last tortilla in the end, you say to cook that first flip well and that it might take 45 seconds, but real time was almost 2 minutes.
Hilarious and helpful
FINALLY! This gringo FINALLY got a balloon! Thank you x infinity!
Hahaha yes
Cast iron was not hot enough, water was not dancing
I loved this video so honest....now all I can think of is that song ..Tequilla
Thank you....ive tried make corn tortillas and havent had that much luck. I wasnt raised with gma or mom making fresh corn. Its sad i know But, i am determine to learn and get it right!
Have you tried a flat top stove?? Thats what i have and i know the temp does not stay even.
Day 1 is an exact re-enactment of my first attempt at making tortillas, so bad lol.
Hah! That was me today.....I think I had the comal too hot and was burning leaky holes in the tortillas. Still tasted great, but can't wait for next time armed with your 'hot' tips!! PUFF time!
Aquí Naomi! Vas muy bien! La primera volteada de la tortilla perfecta pero la siguiente toca dejarla tantito mas a que agarre color en el cast iron, y con lumbre tienes que tenerlo abajo de medio, y tienen que tener color así que no fueron un desastre como imaginas, solamente que las tortillas tienen que hacerse en algo flat y no muy grueso, como los comales, o el nonstick por eso el cast iron ni el wok son la mejor forma. No eras tú, son ellos 😜
I wish I could give this video more than 1 like!
My Grandma only made flour tortillas with a rolling pin from what I remember and mpther only made sopes in a dry skillet, so all my attempts at corn tortillas (by hand, no press) so far have been too thick. I just make thin sopes now, lol. 😅
Thank you.
Cook it twice. Once at low temp to set, then a second time at high heat and you’ll get better results
My guess is no oil in the pan. I use a cast iron pan and I think it sticks a lil too much.
I was wrong. It was temperature.
very good video. i will retry my failed attempts. thanks.
You can do it!
Putting it into a self cleaning oven will burn off all the black in one go. Lye also works well.
Corn flour .. is this cornstarch? Those cracks that look like stretch marks... Do they mean the dough is too dry or is the skillet too hot?
corn flour as in masa
How does the puffing up effect the taste of the tortilla??
If they don’t puff they will taste a little like uncooked corn flour dough. Puffing is a sign of thorough cooking. Some people like the taste of masa so even if they don’t puff they’re good to eat.
Can't beat a hot comal. Torts need charred edges. 😋
Hey bud. Love the vids. In the future. just put it in the oven with a bottle of V8 tomato juice for an hour or two. the acid should cut right through your seasoning.
I got a kick out of your video. I am one of those old abuelas who has been making tortillas since i was 8 or 9. I have a 13" x 24" cast iron griddle. Very old. It makes beautiful tortillas but only if the recipe is correct. .... in the beginning of your video your cast iron was not nearly hot enough. Your water droplets should have danced in solid balls on the surface. You did correct with very hot water and let it rest 30+ minutes. In the end it is a learning process. Now others will learn.
a Panasonic toaster will do it every time
What you were doing wrong was following youtubers instead of enjoying what you were doing. I bet those tortillas still tasted better than anything one can buy from the shop, puff or no puff. At any rate if the water fizzles in any of those materials it means the surface is not hot enough. Now to the rest of the video...thank you for your efforts.
TLDR: 13:00
Your masa is not wet enough ,no cracks in masa is the trick compa
Welcome to "Mexican 101 for americans immigrants"
Te pudiste haber ahorrado todo el sufrimiento si 1) hubieras puesto atención a la abuela cuando te pendejaba en la cocina. Y 2) te hubieras puesto el suéter cuando tu abuela te lo dijo.
Ahh, pero no. Nos gusta ser rebeldes...
No soap on cast iron 😞