Gorditas/Flour Tortillas

In Spanish, gordo means fat.  If you want to say someone is just a bit chubby you would say he is, gordito. No offense to us women, but this recipe means “chubby ladies!”  The dough for this recipe is the same dough for wonderful, fresh flour tortillas.  Unlike flour tortillas which have to be rolled out very thin and are hard to keep round (mine end up looking like puzzle pieces sometimes!) gorditas are supposed to be just that – CHUBBY!  You hardly roll them out at all!  This recipe only makes enough for one, hungry adult:

1 C all-purpose flour

1 heaping tablespoon of shortening (oil may be substituted)

1/2 tsp salt (this may be too much or too little for your taste – I don’t measure I just throw in what looks right)

a pinch-1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 C water – heated as hot as you can stand (you won’t use all of the water)

Cut the shortening into the flour, salt and baking powder.  Add some of the water and stir quickly with a fork.  Keep adding water until the mixture can be formed into a ball and kneaded.  Knead a little while.  You don’t add so much that you need a lot of flour later to roll it out.  You don’t add so little that the dough is stiff.  You’re looking for soft and pliable. Divide the dough into five balls by squeezing the dough through the hole made by your thumb and index finger and pinching it off by closing the hole.  (You can divide how you like, but this method forms beautiful balls which will make prettier tortillas or gorditas.)  For best results cover and let the balls set for a few minutes, especially when making tortillas.

For gorditas: Roll the balls to form SMALL, CHUBBY tortillas, using a bit of flour when necessary.  You are looking for a pita-type bread NOT a tortilla.  Only roll them out to about two and a half inches in diameter.  Heat a dry griddle or frying pan.  Cook on the griddle until the bottom side starts to brown.  Flip.  As the gordita cooks on the second side press down on it with the bottom of a stiff spatula.  Press hard.  Ivonne (see “Introductions”) uses an old-fashioned iron that looks like an antique clothes iron.  This helps the insides of the gordita to cook and encourages it to balloon with air.  When the second side is golden, remove from heat and immediately make a slit around 1/3-1/2 of the gordita with a serrated knife.  These directions seem lengthy since gorditas are very easy to make!

For flour tortillas form 3-4 balls out of the dough.  Roll into large, thin tortillas.  Cook on the griddle pressing as you press gorditas (This is not as important with tortillas).