| Country: | Mexico |
| Type: | Flatbread |
| Main Ingredient: | Wheat flour |
A flour tortilla or wheat tortilla is a type of soft, thin flatbread made from finely ground wheat flour. Made with flour- and water-based dough, it is pressed and cooked, similar to corn tortillas.[1] The simplest recipes use only flour, water, fat, and salt, but commercially-made flour tortillas generally contain chemical leavening agents such as baking powder, and other ingredients.[2]
Although it has its origin in Mexico, the flour tortilla was invented once the Spanish introduced wheat to Mexico in the 16th century. According to historical sources, the Spanish first introduced wheat to the lands around Mexico City in 1523. Having found great success, the cultivation of wheat soon spread beyond the Central Mexican Plateau through Catholic monks. It reached the region of Michoacán in the 1530s with the Franciscans, while the Dominicans brought it to Oaxaca in the 1540s and gave grain to the inhabitants of that region to produce flour and prepare unleavened bread, which was traditionally prepared for religious ceremonies in the Catholic Church.[3] The wheat growing region of Mexico was in the temperate and cold regions between 4000 and 6000 ft to 9000 ft above sea level.[4] The majority of wheat was produced in Central Mexico, with the main wheat growing regions being the Lerma Valley (Toluca Valley),[5] the Atlixco[6] and San Martin Valleys in Puebla, and the Bajío region; these areas produced the most valued and esteemed wheat in the country.[7] [8] Within these regions, the largest producing states were Jalisco, Guanajuato and Puebla.[9] The top six wheat producing states in the 1890’s, based on the median yield measured in hectoliters, were: Jalisco, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Chihuahua, Puebla and the State of Mexico; with the exception of Chihuahua, all in Central Mexico.[10]
An 1884 report on the commerce between the United States and Mexico, states:
Considering that most wheat production was in Central and Southern Mexico, not in the North, it is probable that wheat flour tortillas may have originated in this region. Flour tortillas could be found in places like San Luis Potosí, another of the wheat regions of Mexico, but which is no longer considered an area where flour tortillas are considered a “staple”.[11] A recipe for flour tortillas appears in the Mexican Cookbook -Diccionario de Cocina o el Nuevo Cocinero Mexicano en forma de Diccionario (1845)- a cookbook with recipes mainly from central and southern Mexico.[12]
Based on historical records, corn tortillas were the main staple “bread” in Northern Mexico and what is now the South Western United States in the 19th century, just as in Central and Southern Mexico. In fact, we very rarely find mentions of flour tortillas, and when one does, they’re usually second to corn tortillas as the main tortilla. Corn tortillas were the staple “bread” in New Mexico,[13] [14] [15] [16] Arizona,[17] [18] California,[19] [20] [21] Texas,[22] [23] [24]
From the early years of the Spanish Colonial era, corn and corn tortillas were the basis of the diet of the inhabitants of the so-called “borderlands”. French explorer, Pierre Marie François de Pagés, who visited Texas in 1767, details the humble diet of the inhabitants of Los Adaes, then the capital of the province, consisting mainly of corn tortillas. Wheat was unavailable in Texas:
The same was true in the province of Sonora, where the German Jesuit missionary, Ignaz Pfefferkorn, described in 1756 how corn tortillas were the staple “bread” of the Sonorans, even in the wealthiest homes:
While in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1840’s, American explorer and merchant, Josiah Gregg, wrote:
Pierre Fourier Parisot (1827-1903), a French Catholic missionary in 19th century American Texas, wrote similarly about the corn tortilla in the state 1857:
Central Mexico started to lose its status, as the country’s largest wheat producing region, to Northern Mexico, until the 1930’s, after the Mexican Revolution, when Coahuila became the largest wheat producer in 1931, replacing Guanajuato, which had been the largest producer until that point.[25] It is probable that wheat flour tortillas only became the main “bread” around this time.
The name itself comes from Latin. Tortilla is the diminutive of torta, a shortened form of torta panis (twisted bread), which has cognates in different romance languages such as tourte in French or torta in Italian. These words have different meanings but all of them refer to a cake-shaped bread or preparation.[26]
One of the most common folk origin stories is that flour tortillas were invented in Northern Mexico, based on the erroneous belief that wheat could only be grown in the north while corn could only grow in the south. Some argue that hot and arid climates, like that of Sonora, are less supportive for growing corn,[27] thus, it grew poorly while it was more suitable for wheat.[28] Because of this, some argue that the Spaniards did not know how to make corn tortillas in the North, so they decided to make them from flour.[29]
But the evidence proves the opposite, as most wheat was grown in Central Mexico until the mid 20th century. While corn was plentiful in Northern Mexico and the American Southwest, and constituted the main dietary staple of the inhabitants of the region, and was, in no way, hampered by the harsh, hot and dry climate.
German Jesuit priest, Ignaz Pfefferkorn, who lived in Sonora from 1756 until 1767, wrote that Sonorans depended on corn for most of their diet and ate it in many forms, stating that besides tortillas:
Others attribute the origin of flour tortillas to the Jews, specifically the Crypto-Jews and Conversos, the exiled Spanish Jews that lived in Mexico.[30] According to this hypothesis, these Jews invented or introduced the flour tortilla as a substitution for Matzah or unleavened bread,[31] supposedly because they considered corn as non-kosher since it was fed to pigs.[32] But the Spanish Jews were mostly Sephardic, and had a completely different diet and never followed such restrictions, thus, corn was considered kosher.[33] [34] In fact, evidence from the 17th century Mexican Inquisition, in the Archivo General de la Nación, shows that Jews in northern Mexico were consuming corn tortillas because they had no access to wheaten unleavened bread[35] [36] and, in many cases, their consumption was used as evidence against them, as was the case of Salomón de Machorro, a Sephardic Jewish man who was denounced and tried in 1650 for having consumed corn tortillas with fish and vegetables during Passover.[37] [38]
Some writers argue that the reason flour tortillas are rarely mentioned in 19th century texts, specially those from Texas, is because of racism, segregation and the "ethnic cleansing" of the Tejano people after the Texas Revolution of 1836.[39] But, there’s no evidence to support this and, on the contrary, there’s evidence that show that corn tortillas were the only tortilla mentioned in texts even before the secession of Texas from Mexico.[40] In fact, some evidence shows that wheat was extremely scarce in Texas before it seceded from Mexico in 1836,[41] [42] Pierre-Marie-François de Pàges, for example, couldn’t find wheat bread in Texas until he reached Saltillo in the 1760’s.[43]
Tortilla, from Spanish torta, cake, plus the diminutive -illa, literally means "little cake".
Tortilla in Iberian Spanish also means omelette.[44] [45] As such, this wheat flour flatbread tortilla is not to be confused with the Spanish omelette or any other egg based one.
Wheat tortillas are a staple of the northern Mexican states[46] (such as Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihuahua) and throughout the Southwestern United States.
Tortillas vary in size from about 6 to over 30 cm (2.4 to over 12 in), depending on the region of the country and the dish for which it is intended.
Industrially-produced tortillas typically contain numerous chemicals in order to ease the production process, control texture and flavor, and to extend shelf life. Work has been done at Washington State University to develop methods for producing tortillas on a mass scale while still using only whole-wheat flour, water, oil, and salt, with a fermented flour-and-water sourdough starter replacing chemical leaveners.[47]
Today, personal and industrial (Mexican-style) tortilla-making equipment has facilitated and expedited tortilla making. Manually operated wooden tortilla presses of the past led to today's industrial tortilla machinery, which can produce up to 60,000 tortillas per hour. Tortillas are now not only made from maize meal, but also from wheat flour; home-made and store-bought tortillas are made in many flavors and varieties.
Tortillas remain a staple food in Mexico and Central America, and have gained popularity and market share elsewhere. In the U.S., tortillas have grown from an "ethnic" to a mainstream food. They have surpassed bagels and muffins, and have now become the number two packaged bread product sold in the U.S (behind sliced bread). The Tortilla Industry Association (TIA) estimates that in the U.S. alone, the tortilla industry (tortillas and their products – tortilla chips, tostada shells and taco shells) has become a US$6 billion a year industry.[48]
Soft wheat tortillas use wheat instead of masa as the primary ingredient. The Mission Foods brand lists the following ingredients: enriched bleached wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, vegetable shortening (interesterified soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil and/or palm oil), contains 2% or less of: salt, sugar, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum sulfate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate and/or sodium acid pyrophosphate, calcium sulfate), distilled monoglycerides, enzymes, wheat starch, calcium carbonate, antioxidants (tocopherols, ascorbic acid, citric acid), cellulose gum, guar gum, dough conditioner (fumaric acid, sodium metabisulfite and/or mono- and diglycerides), calcium propionate and sorbic acid (to preserve freshness).[49]
The recipe recommended by American chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine uses just four ingredients: flour, lard, salt, and water.[50]
The nutritional information for the Mission brand 49 g wheat tortilla is:[51]
Wheat flour tortillas have been used on many American spaceflights since 1985 as an easy solution to the problems of handling food in microgravity and preventing bread crumbs from escaping into delicate instruments.[52]
The word "tortilla" in these countries is used to refer to the ubiquitous corn tortilla, made of maize. In Mexico burritos are made with wheat tortillas. Flour tortillas are also very popular in Tex-Mex food and plates like fajitas. Flour tortilla with beans and eggs was very popular in northern Mexico and in the Southwest. The origin of the flour tortilla was northern Mexico and this is why so many plates are made with it like quesadillas as well as burritos, chimichangas and fajitas served with flour tortilla and bean taco or chorizo taco. The flour tortilla is the sister to the corn tortilla which was created first. From Mexico City southward the corn tortilla is more popular but in northern Mexico, where it originated, the flour tortilla may be as popular, if not more popular, than the corn tortilla.
Flour tortillas are commonly filled with meat, chopped potatoes, refried beans, cheese, hot sauce and other ingredients to make dishes such as tacos, quesadillas and burritos (a dish originating in the Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico/El Paso, Texas area).
In Northern Mexico and much of the United States, "tortillas" mean wheat-flour tortillas. They are the foundation of Mexican border cooking. Their popularity was driven by the low cost of inferior grades of wheat flour provided to border markets and by their ability to keep and ship well.[53]
In Guam, it is called and it is paired with .
Tortilla art is the use of tortillas as a substrate for painting. Tortillas are baked and then covered in acrylic before they are painted.[54]
Tortillas in Central America sometimes differ somewhat from their Mexican counterparts, although are made similarly. In Guatemala and El Salvador, the tortillas are about 5 millimeters thick and about 10 centimeters in diameter, thicker than Mexican tortillas, but similar in size to Mexican gorditas. Like the Mexican tortillas, the maize is soaked in a mixture of water and lime (or lye), then rinsed and ground. In El Salvador, they sometimes use sorghum (called maicillo there) to make tortillas when there is not enough maize.[55] Also in El Salvador, there is a particularly large and thick tortilla called a "chenga"[56] on top of which food is placed, like an edible plate, to serve food to the labourers in coffee plantations and farms.
Honduras is well known for using wheat flour tortillas to make baleadas, which consist of a wheat flour tortilla, folded in half, with various items (beans, cream, scrambled eggs) put inside.
Maize and wheat tortillas can often be found in supermarkets in El Salvador and Costa Rica produced by Mexican companies.
Stuffed tortillas known as pupusas are also a famous dish of traditional Salvadoran cuisine.
Tortillas are widely used in the United States, in recipes of Mexican origin and many others. As a testament to their popularity, the Tortilla Industry Association (TIA) estimated Americans consumed approximately 85 billion tortillas in 2000 (not including tortilla chips). They are more popular than all other ethnic breads such as English muffins, pita bread, and bagels.[57]
Tortilla chips –made from maize tortillas cut into wedges, then fried – first gained popularity in the 1940s in Los Angeles, California, and were mass-produced there. The ingredients in maize tortillas are maize, lime, and water. Fried chips add salt and vegetable oil.
Flour tortillas are commonly used in burritos. They are also used to make fajitas,[58] wraps, sandwiches, quesadillas, casseroles and stews, and there are numerous other uses.
Many people from both Northern Mexico and throughout the Southwestern United States eat tortillas as a staple food. Many restaurants use wheat flour tortillas in a variety of non-Mexican and Mexican recipes. Many grocery stores sell ready-made tortillas.[59]