Spinach Tortilla Wrap With Special Chicken Filling

Spinach Tortilla Wrap With Special Chicken Filling

   November 11, 2020       Lyn Alina

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I've been actively working with bread dough lately, one reason is because Mr Hubby is a fan of all sorts of breads and so do my mum.

Another reason is I bake for my YouTube channel.

I don't know why but somehow my breads and cookies videos get a lot more viewers than my other videos.

While I'm actively exploring to figure out new ideas to create yeasted bread recipes, I'm also intrigue to improve my skills in making non-yeasted breads such as flat bread and tortilla.

We're absolutely love to enjoy tortillas, from making wraps, quesadillas or as pizza base!

Tortillas are versatile flat-bread version that you will never get boring!

This time I made tortillas with freshly blend spinach juice.

These tortillas was a total hit, everybody liked my spinach tortillas, especially Mr Hubby.

I made tortilla wraps with delicious, savory chicken filling that I will share the recipe later on.

These spinach tortillas were so soft, even when they've already cool.

Adding plain yogurt into the tortilla's dough will surely added moisture to your spinach tortillas.

I'll make sure to add plain yogurt into my tortillas and naan bread recipes in the future.

As for the filling, instead of chicken, you can also fill your tortilla wraps with shrimps, beef or a mix of vegetables and beans such as edamame, chickpeas and so on.

You can also add fragrant rice or cooked pasta into your tortilla wraps.

Be limitless when it comes to cooking, alright!

To watch step-by-step on making these spinach tortillas, you can watch the video here:

Written recipe is as per below.

Please note that there will be slight difference regarding the amount of spinach leaves and water to make the spinach juice in my video and the written recipe here.

Actually, I made extra spinach juice to be used for my spinach dinner rolls that I will share the recipe in my next blog post.

Stay tune 😁

Good luck and happy cooking!

SPINACH TORTILLA WITH CHICKEN FILLING

Category:  Tortilla, Healthy Breakfast & Dinner

Yield: 10 tortillas

Preparation Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Spinach Wrap:

4 cups of all purpose flour | 500 grams

1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder  | 6 grams

1 & 1/2 tsp salt | 9 grams

1/4 cup of plain yogurt  | 70 grams

30 grams of spinach leaves

3/4 cup of warm water  | 177 ml

1/2 cup of vegetable oil | 110 grams

Chicken Filling:

400 grams of boneless chicken (1 used 1 piece of chicken breast)

1 lemongrass  - thinly slice

1 cm of ginger

1 cm of turmeric

1 inch of galangal

1 tablespoon of coriander seeds (biji ketumbar)

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds (jintan manis)

1/2 teaspoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of plain Yogurt

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of honey

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil for cooking

Other Ingredients:

Cucumber (I prefer Japanese cucumber) - cubed

Tomatoes - cut into chunks (remove the center part)

Salad  - chopped

Mayonnaise

Chili sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

Making Spinach Wrap:

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Whisk to combine.

Blend spinach leaves with warm water until smooth.

Pour spinach juice into the bowl containing flour mixture.  Add vegetable oil and plain yogurt.

Mix until it forms a rough dough with a spatula or a wooden spatula.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a few minutes, just to make the dough smoother (no need to knead until it is elastic).

Shape into a ball and put into a clean, lightly oiled medium bowl.

Cover and allow the dough to rest for 1 to 2 hours, just to make the dough relax for easier rolling process.

Divide the dough into 10 portions with each portion weigh around 90 grams.

Shape each portion into a ball and roll into a thick disc first.  Make sure to sprinkle flour sufficiently to prevent the dough from sticking to the work surface and the rolling pin from sticking to the dough when you roll it.  Cover the unrolled dough discs with a clean towel or plastic until you are ready to roll it thinly.

When you're ready to cook the tortilla, roll each disc thinly and transfer onto a floured baking pan or surface. Use a rolling pin to move the tortilla onto the prepared baking pan or work surface. You can stack the rolled tortilla but not for too long. Make sure to sprinkle flour sufficiently between each tortilla to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Preheat a non-stick flat pan over medium high heat.  Brush some cooking oil onto the pan.  While waiting, take one tortilla and roll it once again to make it thinner.  Once the pan is hot, carefully move the tortilla with a rolling pin into the pan and cook over medium high heat for about 1 minute, until you see the tortilla starts to puff, then flip it to cook on the other side for another minutes, until brown patches appear on both sides.

Once cooked, place cooked tortilla on a plate and cover with a clean towel, to prevent it from drying.

Repeat the above step for the next nine sheet of tortillas.

Tortillas are ready to be used for making wrap when they turned warm.

Cooled tortillas can be stored in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate or frozen to prolong it's shelf life.

Making The Chicken Filling:

Soak coriander and fennel seeds for 5 to 10 minutes to soften then strain.

In a food processor, add strained coriander and fennel seeds, garlic, ginger, turmeric, galangal and sliced lemongrass.  Grind finely.  Alternatively, you may use mortal and pastel to grind these ingredients.

Clean boneless chicken thoroughly (I washed my chicken with lime water) and cut into chunks or cut into 3 inches strips.  

Mix together chicken chunks/strips with the spices in a bowl.  Then add in plain yogurt, honey, chili powder and salt to taste.  Mix well, cover the bowl with cling wrap and marinate for at least 30 minutes.  You can left your chicken marinated at room temperature (if you opt to marinade only for 30 minutes) or refrigerate until you're ready to cook the chicken.

To cook the chicken marinade, heat vegetable oil in a non stick pan.  Once hot, add in the chicken chunks/strips and cook over  medium high heat until lightly charred and cooked through. 

Chicken chunks/strips is ready to be use.

Assembling Spinach Tortilla Wrap:

Lay warm tortilla on a chopping board or flat plate.  Make sure the tortilla is warm and not cold to ensure it is pliable enough so as not to easily break when you roll it up.

Put a small amount of chopped salad at the center and top with a few pieces of chicken chunks/strips lengthwise.

Put some cubed cucumber and tomato chunks then drizzle with mayonnaise and chili sauce. (You may use mustard or any dressing of your choice).

Then, tuck in the sides and use your thumbs to bring up the bottom of the tortilla.  Keep rolling tightly until the end.  

You can cut the wrap in half if you like.

The wrap is ready to be serve!

*NOTES*

I know you may be tempted to overfill your wrap, but overfilling your wrap will make the wrapping process difficult, and you could end up eating messy wrap as the fillings may spill out as you roll it.

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Steamed Chicken Roulade | Rolade Ayam Kukus

Steamed Chicken Roulade | Rolade Ayam Kukus

   September 09, 2020       Lyn Alina

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This is another delicious snack treat for chicken lovers!

This dish is so easy to be made yet it is so yummy!

I can't remember how many times I have made chicken roulade before I decided to share the recipe here in my blog.

These chicken roulades are made of ground chicken breasts, chopped green onions, carrot, onion, garlic and spices of your choice.

I like to use coriander and fennel seeds powder to make the chicken filling for my chicken roulade since I love the fragrant aroma of those spices.

Actually, the aroma of these spices is more fragrant if you're using the seeds, which are roasted until fragrant and finely ground to become powder.

The ready made spices that come is powder form are usually added with rice flour and other ingredients, that's why the flavors are less intense.

I used white instead of black pepper powder for this recipe.

We both are not a fan of spicy food, since we cannot tolerate intense spiciness.

So, our chicken roulade is made with only a hint of pepper. 😄

If you prefer your chicken roulade to be more spicy, you can add paprika or chili powder into the chicken filling mixture.

In my chicken roulade recipe, the chicken filling is wrapped in egg crepe and then steamed for about 30 minutes, until the chicken filling is fully cooked.

I added some flour into the crepe batter, which is the combination of all purpose and corn flour.

To obtain smooth-textured egg crepe, strain the crepe batter before cooking.

The small lumps of flour did not bother me much, so I skip the straining process 😅

Watch my video on how to make steamed chicken roulade through this link :

STEAMED CHICKEN ROULADE

Category : High Protein Recipe, Healthy Breakfast & Dinner, Egg Based Breakfast Ideas, Snack

Yield : 6 rolls of Chicken Roulade

CHICKEN FILLING:

Ingredients:

2 pieces of chicken breasts  | 600 grams

1/2 carrot  - diced

4 to 5 green onions - chopped

1/2 onion - diced

4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped

1 teaspoon of white pepper powder

1 teaspoon of coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon of fennel seed powder

1 teaspoon of salt/ salt to taste

3 tablespoons of corn flour

Egg white from 1 large egg (keep the yolk for the egg crepe)

Instructions:

Cut chicken breasts into small chunks.  In a food processor or dry blender, grind the chicken chunks until they become smooth, paste-like.  Transfer ground chicken into a mixing bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Cover the bowl and set aside while we are preparing the egg crepe for the roulade skin.

EGG CREPE

Ingredients:

5 large eggs

1 yolk 

Salt to taste

1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons of all purpose flour

1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons of corn flour

1/2 cup of milk/water

Vegetable oil for cooking

Instructions:

Crack in 5 large eggs into a medium bowl. Add the yolk and season with salt.  Whisk the eggs until smooth.

Add all purpose flour and corn flour and whisk until well combined. (It is okay if there will be small lumps of undissolved flour in the mixture).

Lastly add milk or water and continue to whisk for another few seconds.  Strain the egg mixture if you want. 

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and lightly grease the pan with vegetable oil.  Pour about a ladle of egg mixture into the pan a quickly swirl the pan until the bottom of the pan is fully covered with egg mixture.  Cover to accelerate cooking process and allow the egg crepe to cook over low heat until it set, about 1 minute, depending the thickness of your crepe.  The crepe is cooked on one side only, no flipping is required.

Transfer the egg crepe on a plate and repeat the step until the egg mixture is finished.  You can stack the crepe as they will not stick to each other.

MAKING THE CHICKEN ROULADE

Instructions:

Have the steamer ready by bringing water to boil in the steamer over medium heat. 

Place a sheet of aluminium foil on a chopping board or a flat plate, make sure the aluminium foil is enough to wrap the roulade.  Brush some oil on the aluminium foil to prevent sticking and then lay a sheet of egg crepe on top.

Spread chicken filling on top of the crepe and carefully roll the crepe tightly.  Tuck in the end sides of the rolled crepe and wrap it with aluminium foil.  Fold in the end sides of the aluminium foil to neatly wrap the roulade.  Continue the step with the remaining 5 crepes.

Steam the chicken roulade for 30 minutes over medium heat.  Make sure to frequently check the water level and add hot water once the water is reduced.

Transfer the cooked chicken roulade on a plate and allow to completely cool before cutting.

Cut chicken roulade into 1.5 cm thick with a sharp knife.  You can fry with little oil on a non-stick pan to crisp the surface of the chicken roulade pieces or dip them in a flour batter and deep fry until golden brown if you like.

Enjoy chicken roulade with you favorite dipping sauce!

STORING CHICKEN ROULADE

The leftover can be stored in referigerator for a 2 to 3 days and can be frozen up to a month.  

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Low Carb Oat Banana Pancake (Sugar free, Gluten Free)

Low Carb Oat Banana Pancake (Sugar free, Gluten Free)

   July 21, 2020       Lyn Alina

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It's been quite some time since I posted in my blogs.

With a lot of things happened recently, I have to re-organize my priorities.

Lately I'm quite busy with developing new recipes for my Youtube channel, which means I have less time to sit and write.

Since I don't prefer to simply copycat other people's recipes and make them like my own, I need to go through the hard way-  the try and error episodes!

For me, though it may seem stupid for some people, I take it as an opportunity to gather as much knowledge in baking as possible.

I'm indeed an INFJ after all...

Learning isn't a big deal for me as I'm always a passionate and curious learner.  Hihi..

I have to admit that the past traumatic events that happened in my life has led me to begin my binge eating again because food is some sort of my comfort and my "best friend."

It was just that my eating habit now is not as bad as four years ago, while I was still working in my first company with my Hubby, where 60% of our meals were fast foods.

Our ignorance to take care of ourselves for these past few years take a toll in our health, and mindless eating has caused me to gain some kgs.

But my hubby's recent blood glucose reading, that is higher that normal really makes me worry.

This is a wake up call for me to re-program our eating habits and to practice a healthier lifestyle.

I decided to not take rice and simple carbs in our diet.

I have tried several diet plans but low carb diet worked for me so far.

While aiming to reduce my Hubby's blood sugar level back to normal, I can lose weight as well!

I made healthy, low carb version of banana pancake for our today's breakfast.

Banana is one of my favorite fruit when I'm dieting, even though it contains sugar and carbs, banana has a lower GI, so eating banana in moderation won't cause your blood sugar to spike.

But for those who are diagnosed with pre-diabetes and diabetes shouldn't consume banana daily.

Banana is also packed with other nutrients and vitamins that are beneficial for overall health.

Potassium in banana can help lower blood pressure.

Since this low carb banana pancake doesn't contain flour in the batter, I would suggest you to use a non-stick pan to cook the pancake due to it's soft texture.

You can reduce egg amount and use only one egg instead for this recipe, so that the batter will be slightly thicker and it'll be easier to flip the pancake, especially if you're using overripe bananas.

You can add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup if you want your banana pancake a little sweeter.

We both prefer the natural sweetness from the bananas, so I didn't add additional sweetener in my pancake.

You can add chia seeds in your pancake if you have any.

On top of it's health benefits, adding chia seeds will also add crispy texture in your pancake.

To maximize it's benefit and not ruining your diet plan, enjoy your pancake with fruits rather than drizzling your pancake with sweeteners or butter spread. 

Alright! Here it is..my low carb version of banana pancake..

OAT BANANA PANCAKE

Category: High Fiber Recipe, Healthy Breakfast Recipe, Diabetic Friendly Recipes

Serving Size : 2 to 3

Ingredients:

3 medium size bananas

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2/3 cup of rolled oat

1/3 cup of almond milk

Instructions:

Place peeled bananas in a medium size bowl.  Mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher.  

Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and lightly oiled the pan.

Once hot, pour a ladle, or a small portion of the batter at the center of the pan.  Do not spread the batter thinly to prevent the pancake from falling apart as you flip it.

Cover the pan with a lid and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes on one side and once the side begin to firm up, carefully slip a heat proof spatula under the pancake and quickly flip it to cook on the other side.  (You may use two spatulas to do the flipping).  Cook until brown patches appear on the pancake's surface.

Transfer cooked pancake on a prepared plate.

Repeat the steps for the remaining batter until finish.

Ready to be served!

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Siakap Fish Kuew Teow Soup

Siakap Fish Kuew Teow Soup

   August 22, 2019       Lyn Alina

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I know how you weird and surprise you might feel when you heard the name of this dish.
It's completely come to no surprise if you hadn't come across the name of the dish before.
Normally, kuew teow soup is made of chicken, seafoods or beef.
This comfort food when prepared with those ingredients, added with anchovies, the taste of the soup is better enhanced too.
So, this version of kuew teow soup, cooked with siakap fish should be a kind that cannot be found elsewhere.

I have to admit that it was my first trial making kuew teow soup with siakap fish as the main condiment.
My original plan was to prepare siakap fish soup for our dinner last night.
While preparing to cook, my endless desire to create-and-modify dish and my way of cooking brought me to make something different that I've never made before.
It was the consequences of my super active right brain activity that constantly encourage my artistic creativity to be channeled through cooking.
It is not uncommon for me to suddenly change my cooking plan whenever my creativity is activated. 😉
This is how the dish is created.

In many restaurants exclusively serve Chinese or Penang cuisines that I've been before, one thing I noticed is that, most of their soup dishes, whether their wanton noodle soup, kuew teow soup or yong tau foo soup, they did not add in red onion.
Unlike the common Malay soup whereby the red onion is one of the important element that must be added.
It's totally a different variation of soup based dishes from what is common to us Malay.
I genuinely like the taste the soup, it's light and flavorful despite of limited ingredients being used.
Yep I know, one of the secret ingredient is of course no other than MSG!
But still, it's different kind of soup version that is a must for me to learn since I need to adapt my hubby's food culture in my cooking.

Before this, I had once made yong tau foo soup, and that was about 2 years ago.
For the broth, I saute large onion, ginger, crushed garlic (with skin on) and anchovies (ikan bilis), then I added water, salt and chicken stock, simmering the soup slowly to let all the flavors diffuse.
Then the soup is strained, removing the particles to obtain a clear soup for my yong tau foo.
You can also try this method, I think the taste is closed to the yong tau foo soup that we normally eat in restaurants.

But for my siakap fish kuew teow soup that I made yesterday, I was still using almost similar ingredients, but I added oyster sauce.
And guess what, it was absolutely delicious and perfect!
I was so happy with the outcome of my first trial and my hubby liked it very much!
This healthy, light dish is so comforting and satisfying and I 'll certainly be making the dish again.

So, if you like to adventure and expand your creativity and add variety in your cooking style, you can try this recipe out.
Instead of siakap fish, you may use red fish.
Please do not use mackerel and any other strong fishy smell fish.
I cannot guarantee it'll turned out to be as delicious as when you use siakap or red fish.

I didn't plan to make kuew teow soup with half of my frozen siakap fish, the leftover of making steam siakap fish the other day.
I fall short of fish cakes and bean sprouts, but thankfully, I bought a small packet of fish balls during our groceries shopping recently.
Another think I like about this version of kuew teow soup is it's easy to prepare.
Sometimes, the simplest food tends to be the most comforting one, isn't it?
And it's economical too!
So, after this, you don't have to head to the hawker or restaurant to get a share of this simple yet comforting dish from now on.

Lets go through the recipe.

SIAKAP FISH KUEW TEOW SOUP

Cuisine : Chinese

Course : Ala Carte

Serve : 4

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons of cooking oil

2 garlic cloves - crushed

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

1 1/2 liter water

1/2 chicken stock cube /1 tablespoon of chicken stock powder

1/2 anchovies stock cube / 1 tablespoon of anchovies stock powder

salt to taste

200 grams of siakap fish flesh - debone and cut into chunks

1/2 carrot - halved and sliced

1 tomato - cut into thin wedges

1 small packet of fish balls

1/2 small packet of fried fish balls - optional

2 to 3 sticks of fried fish cakes - thinly sliced

For Kuew Teow:

1 small packet (or about 400 -500 grams) of kuew teow

Water 

Salt

1 to 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Condiments:

Bean sprouts - tails removed 

Chopped green onion

Fried garlic 

Spicy soy sauce - sliced bird eye chili add with light soy sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To prepare the kuew teow, in a pot, bring water to boil.  Add in oil and salt.  Once boil, blanch kuew teow until tender but al dente (about 2 minutes or less). Drain and transfer into individual serving bowl.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pot.  When hot, saute crushed garlic until brown.
3. Add in water, oyster sauce, chicken and anchovies stocks.  Bring to boil.
4. Add in sliced carrot, fish balls and fish cakes.  Let it simmer until carrot is soft. You can also remove the fish balls and fish cakes using slotted spoon once they float to the surface and place in the serving bowl.
5. Lastly add in siakap fish chunks and tomato wedges and cook until the fish is no longer translucent (it shouldn't takes longer than 10 minutes).

To Serve:

Together with the blanched kuew teow, fish balls and fish cake slices in the bowl to serve, sprinkle bean sprout and pour in soup.  Garnish with fried garlic and chopped green onion.  

Serve hot immediately.

If you like to add spiciness in your siakap fish kuew teow soup, enjoy it with spicy soy sauce.

#NOTE#

If you like to prepare your own chicken broth, instead of using ready made chicken stock like me, you can simmer chicken carcass with chicken feet in a large pot of water for a painstaking 10 hours or more on the gas stove until the chicken bone disintegrate and the color of the broth turns milky.

Keep the chicken broth lefover in a container and keep it frozen for future use.

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Chocolate Banana Snack Cake (Vegan)

Chocolate Banana Snack Cake (Vegan)

   August 07, 2019       Lyn Alina

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Back in the day, chocolate banana muffins were so regular at our home when I was obsessed with my low carb diet program.
Well, those days are gone.
Thinking back those memories remind me of making them again, but into different version.

Chocolate banana snack cake is going to be one of my favorite sweet treat and will be regular in my house later on.
When you look at this cake at a glance,  it looks exactly like brownies.
It depends on how wide your cake pan is.
Use a smaller cake pan if you prefer it to be taller like typical cake's height.
It is rich in chocolate-banana flavors, with soft and moist in texture.
I made it yesterday and even though my cake was flatter than the original recipe (perhaps it was due to some adjustment of the ingredients.  Plus, I used a bigger cake pan), but it wasn't compromise the taste and in fact, it was so good and relaxing!

What's more, this cake is does not contains egg, so it is suitable for vegan and those who are allergy to it.
Frankly speaking, I've never made eggless cake before.
I was just afraid that my cake will be a complete disaster if I omit egg.
Egg provides stability to the cake's structure and by adding egg, it helps the cake to rise even more while enhancing it's flavor.
But this one is a total exception, because your cake is not going to be dense and hard as long as you add baking powder or baking soda and oil into it.
On top of that, the meshed bananas will help to soften and moisten the cake.
Just do not expect this cake will rise as much as when you add in egg into it.

I referred to the recipe from Katie to make this chocolate banana snack cake.
According to her, this cake is best to be prepared ahead of time as it tastes better on the next day.
I can't help but to have a try at that instant it was baked.
The cake was ambrosial, scented with mouth-watering aroma of cocoa powder and fruity flavor of ripened bananas.
It was perfect for almost any occasions.
And it do best for breakfast on the go too and as a quick tidbits.
My hubby is so fond of this cake and within a minute, he gobbled three slices without any interval between bites! 😅😅😅

The recipe called for granulated sugar, but I used honey as sugar substitute.
Honey is sweeter than granulated sugar, so make sure to reduce the amount when using.
To add it's nutritional value, I added two tablespoons of chia seeds.
These tiny seeds are enriched with healthy fat.
You can grind them to get the ground chia, but I prefer to add them in the raw form to add some crispiness in my cake.
Chia seeds are rich in fiber, so they would aid in your digestion.
If you are interested to learn more about how chia seeds can benefit your health, you can read my article on the benefits of chia seeds here.

The best part is, this cake, even having with just one slice, is sufficient to relief my hunger strike in between meals.
The secret is, you have to take time to chew your cake, enjoying every single bite whilst helping your digestive organs do their job at a more relax pace.
I was wonder if this cake would really taste better when I keep it to the next day like what Katie said in her post, so I had to hide a few slices and had them refrigerated.
This morning, before I had my main dish for my breakfast, I took out a slice to be eaten as appetizer.
And guess what, it did tasted even better!
It was richer in flavors.
You should try it yourselves.
Next time I'll double the ingredients and have them refrigerated for my sweet treats.

Chocolate Banana Snack Cake (Vegan)

Adapted From : Katie

Yield : 16 small slices

1 cup of white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of chia seeds

2/3 cup of water

2 tablespoons of natural honey

2 large overripe bananas - mashed

1/4 cup of coconut oil/melted butter/nut butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

chocolate chips - optional

Methods:

Line a 8 x 8 square pan with baking/parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 180℃.

In a large bowl, add in all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, chia seeds) and whisk to combine.

Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Bake at center rack for about 30 to 40 minutes or until inserted wooden skewer comes out clean.

Let cool completely and cut into small slices.

Keep the leftover in an air-tight container and refrigerated.

#NOTE#

The recipe above is based on my own version of chocolate banana snack cake after doing few alterations according to my preference.  
For original recipe you may refer to Katie's blog in the link provided earlier.

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Easy Whole Wheat Tortilla (Vegan & Egg Free)

Easy Whole Wheat Tortilla (Vegan & Egg Free)

   July 27, 2019       Lyn Alina

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Tortillas aren't a big part of my family culture.
Being living in an Asian country; Malaysia, our staple carbohydrate source is rice.
Then..migrating to live my adult life in the city of Malaysia has helped me to explore different food choices from all over the world.
Whats more, internet makes our life so convenient that helped to resolves our curiosity on various eating cultures by just a quick search on the search engines.

So this is how I am able to create my own whole wheat tortillas.
I found a few whole wheat tortilla recipes from websites with very simple preparation.
This is my third time I was making my own tortillas and the previous two I made two years ago by using plain flour.
I can't recall how my previous tortillas looked like.
I was so excited to share on the outcome of my homemade whole wheat tortillas that I can't wait to blog about it!
After making few mistakes, especially during the dough resting time, I finally managed to overcome excessive dough retraction when I cook my tortillas.
All I can say is it is easy to prepare yet challenging to produce the perfect outcome.
Here, I am going to share with you on how to reduce your tortillas from excessive retraction when you rolling or cooking them.

I am sure you are familiar with the magical word of GLUTEN.
What does gluten do and how it can affect the shape of your dough?

Gluten is a kind of protein that form elastic network when flour is moistened and manipulated.
It helps to shape and hold the structure of baked goods.
Without gluten, your cookies may crumble at the touch.
RESTING is another important factor in getting the perfect structure of any kind of baked goods and and tortillas aren't an exception.
Resting allows the gluten to relax and easily reform the protein strand for the final dough shape.

During my tortillas making experiment yesterday, I had my dough well rested for 1 hour.
But I was still struggling to shape my dough into a thin, round layer tortillas-like shape.
I wonder what was wrong with my tortillas dough (I felt really frustrated at that time!).
After struggling to shape two portions of the dough, even though the rolled dough is not as thin as I wanted, I still proceed to cook them.
And guess what, both of them were severely retracted during the cooking process and became much smaller in size!
Then, I tried to flatten the rest of the portions into a small disc-shaped like with my palm and have them rested for another 10 minutes.
And finally, I was able to easily shape my dough thinly and my tortillas weren't retracted when I cooked them.  Yeah!

Next time, when I make tortillas, I'll make sure to flatten the dough first before put it to rest.
When you flatten the dough, the protein stands are adjusted into that shape so when you roll your dough, it won't retract.

I added 1 cup of all purpose flour as I don't want my tortillas to be too dense in texture.

Easy Whole Wheat Tortilla

Course : Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Dinner

Yield : 12

2 cups of wholewheat flour

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Approximately 1 cup of warm water

Methods:


In a large mixing bowl with attached flat beater, add whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt.  Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Slowly add in vegetable oil and warm water while mixing. Knead the dough until a soft, non-sticky ball is formed.  Add in more flour or water when necessary.

Alternatively, if you are using bread machine maker, pour in all the ingredients and select the menu to "dough" and press the "start' button.

Floured your working surface with flour.  Take the dough out of the mixer and transfer it onto the floured surface.



SHAPING THE DOUGH

NOTE: This picture was taken before I flatten the dough. For easy shaping the dough later, flatten the dough balls first.

Divide the dough first into two, then cut each portions with another six small portions like cutting a pizza.  Roll them into round shape balls and flatten the balls with your palm. Store the flatten dough in a container or ziplog bag and let rest for at least 20 minutes.  (To prevent them from sticking, coat each of the flatten dough with flour).

Dust the surface with generous amount of flour and place one dough at the center.  Dust a wooden rolling pin and the top surface of the dough with flour and roll into a thin, round shape.



COOKING THE TORTILLAS

Heat a flat pan or cast iron griddle to medium low heat.  Grease with little oil if necessary.

When the pan is hot, add tortilla. Flip to the other side when bubbles start to formed.  For eating tortillas on the spot, cook until brown spots have formed on the surface.  To make tortillas for storage, cook for about 20 seconds for each sides, just until light brown spots have formed.

Cover the tortillas with a towel to prevent exposure to the air and the cooked tortillas from getting stiff.

Serve warm with favorite toppings and gravy.




STORING THE TORTILLAS

Keep the leftover in a ziploc or air-tight plastic bag and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

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