Ingredients For Homemade Tortillas

Flour: All purpose flour makes the softest tortillas. I sometimes to 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat for the added health benefits of whole wheat flour. You can also do 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 mesa flour for a half corn half flour tortillas.

Water: Just enough water to make a nice elastic-y dough.

Oil: Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, any cooking oil will work for this recipe. I prefer avocado oil best, but it really dose not matter which one you use for your tortillas.

Salt: Salt for flavor. These tortillas with be flavorless without salt. Enhance the flavor with good salt like Redmond Real Salt. If you are looking for a unrefined natural salt with multiple minerals and electrolytes harvested in the United States of America, then look no further. Redmond Real Salt is full of flavor and nutrients and harvested out of the ancient seabed deep beneath Central Utah

Baking Powder: Baking powder is the key to soft fluffy tortillas. The raising agent creates little air bubbles all throughout the tortilla when cooking to bring a soft texture rather than a flat dense tortilla.

Do Not Oil Your Pan

You want to cook your tortillas with dry heat. No oil. Oil on the pan will fry your tortillas making them crunchy and fragile.

To avoid a smokey bits of four leaving burnt flour on your tortillas clean you pan with a dry rag or paper towel between each tortilla.

How To Make Homemade Tortillas

Mix all ingredients together

In a bowl mix together the flour, water, oil, salt and baking powder. Mix and kneed together for a few minutes till the dough starts to show some elasticity.

Let the dough rest

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step. As the dough rest it will create a workable stretchy dough able to be rolled out to a thin tortilla.

Divide and roll out

Cut and divide your dough in to 12 equal parts. On a floured surface roll out each piece into a circle.

Cook

Heat your pan on high then turn down a little to medium high. Do not add oil to your pan. Cook each tortilla for 1-2 minutes on each side. Clean your pan with a dry rag or paper towel after each tortilla in avoid leaving flour bits burning into your next tortilla.

Can you freeze homemade tortillas?

YES! you can make a large batch and place in the freezer or refrigerator for later use. You can store your tortillas in the freezer for up to 6 months. In the refrigerator homemade tortillas can be store for about 2 weeks sometimes longer.

How to store tortillas in the freezer

Cook your tortillas lightly, half cooked on each side (30 sec -1 min). This will help keep some moisture in your tortilla so it does not dry out while in the freezer. Once completely cooled down. Store your tortillas in an air tight freezer zip-lock bag.

When you are ready to use take out of the freezer and leave on the counter top for about 10-20 minutes. Once thawed you can heat back up on the stove for fresh warm homemade tortillas.

These tortillas are go great with….

• Tacos. Chicken tacos, asada tacos, fish tacos, veggie tacos…. every type of taco will be elevated with homemade tortillas.
• Burritos. Instead of dividing your dough into 12 pieces you can cut into 8 or even 6 pieces for large tortillas that are perfect for burritos.
• Quesadillas are such an easy lunch for kids. A few tortilla with some cheese makes a yummy quick easy lunch or snack.
• Enchiladas. Chicken enchiladas are one of our favorites with my very own verde enchilada sauce.
• Tortilla Wraps. Make healthy lunch with your homemade tortilla wraps. Gathering Dreams has some great tortilla wrap ideas and recipes.
• Cinnamon and Honey. One of my favorite snacks growing up is a tortilla with honey and cinnamon. Its such a simple snack that is great for kids.

Flavored Tortillas (optional ingredients)

Sweet Tortillas

For a sweet tortilla simply add a tablespoon or two of honey or sugar to your dough. Sweet tortillas make great dessert quesadillas. Cinnamon and honey, Chocolate chip and marshmallow or nutella and fresh fruit.

Parmesan Cheese and Herbs

1/4-1/2 a cup grated parmesan cheese with a few fresh basil leaves chopped up and added to your dough will add great flavored tortillas to your chicken or veggie wraps. You can also substitute the basil for rosemary, oregano or even garlic powder. Make it your own to fit your desired flavors.

Cheesy Tortillas

Add a cup of your choice of grated cheese your your dough for extra cheesy tortillas that are great for enchiladas, burritos, and tacos!

Tortillas

Yield: 12 medium tortillas

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

1. In a bowl mix together the flour, water, salt and baking soda. Mix and kneed together for a few minutes till the dough starts to show some elasticity.
2. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Don't skip this step. As the dough rest it will create a workable stretchy dough able to be rolled out to a thin tortilla.
3. Cut and divide your dough in to 12 equal parts. On a floured surface roll out each piece into a circle.
4. Heat your pan on high then turn down a little to medium high. Do not add oil to your pan. Cook each tortilla for 1-2 minutes on each side. Clean your pan with a dry rag or paper towel after each tortilla in avoid leaving flour bits burning into your next tortilla.

The post Homemade Tortillas appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Ingredients For Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Pumpkin Puree

You can use canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin for this recipe. I like to cook a pumpkin or two at the beginning of the fall season and freeze my pumpkin puree for all my pumpkin recipes throughout the festive months. If you are using a whole pumpkin check out my post on how to make pumpkin puree.

Plain or Vanilla Yogurt

I use Greek Plain Yogurt, I use yogurt in replacement for oils or butter in most of my muffins and bread. It has more vitamins and protein then oils and butter and less fat.

Eggs

Eggs are the binding agent in this recipe also adding 6.5 grams of protein per eggs. Whole Eggs also contain vitamin B12, selenium (anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and stimulates the immune system) and iron.

Blackstrap Molasses

Full of flavor, nutrients and keeps my breads moist and delicious! Oh how I love molasses! It is so rich in so many vitamins and minerals and such a fun ingredient to add to my recipes. Molasses contains, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, copper and more. healthy for your heart and nervous system. Read more on the Benefits of Molasses here!

Flour

I use a combination of organic whole wheat and organic all purpose flour. Whole wheat is full of a wider range of vitamins and minerals such as, manganese, calcium and selenium, then all purpose or even enriched flours. It also has more flavor but is also a bit more dense. So I do half and half whole wheat and all purpose.

Sugar

You can substitute sugar with honey or maple syrup. Both of those would also add a lovely flavor to this recipe but I typically bake with sugar and save my honey and syrup for smoothies, pancakes, teas, oatmeal and such.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the chosen spice in order to add another layer of flavor to this recipe. Nutmeg, cloves or allspice would also be great additions but this recipe already seem complex with so many textures that I left those out for now.

Salt

Salt is going to help bring out all the flavor in this recipe. You can use table salt or pink Himalayan salt or another sea salt will also works great.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder

Both of these are a rising agent. The original recipe just had baking soda but as I adapted and added all these heavy grains I found the baking powder was also needed.

Vanilla

I like to use vanilla powder rather than extract. You can find the vanilla powder on amazon. This powder is a 1:1 ratio for vanilla extract so you don’t have to do any extra math when substituting. I like the flavor a lot and its been a great addition to my pantry.

How To Make Pumpkin Gingerbread

Mix Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl mix together pumpkin, yogurt, eggs, and molasses.

Add Dry Ingredients

Next add your sugar, flour, spices and baking soda. Mix together with a whisk, spoon or spatula.

Prepare Your Loaf Pan

Butter or oil, your loaf pan and sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on in the pan to give the crust a sweet crunchy texture. Pour the gingerbread batter into the prepared pan.

Bake

Bake at 300 degree for 60 minutes. Due to the molasses the bread will be dark and a little hard to tell when its done. Insert a toothpick to see if your loaf is done. If it comes out clean it is done, if it comes out with batter or crumbs stuck to it, it needs to bake longer.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Yield: 1 Loaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract/powder

Instructions

1. In a large bowl mix together wet ingredients. pumpkin, eggs, molasses, yogurt,
2. Next add the sugar and then the rest of the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, vanilla,
3. Prepare your loaf pan by spreading butter or oil and sprinkling 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake at 300 for 60 minutes.

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Ingredients For Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Pumpkin Puree

In these dinner rolls I use a good amount of pumpkin but the flavor of pumpkin actually not very strong. Most of the time when you think of pumpkin flavors you think of the spices that normally complement the pumpkin and bring the flavor out. Also most fall pumpkin recipe have a lot of sugar making it seem like pumpkin is naturally sweet like fruit but its actually not super sweet, just a little…

The pumpkin in the recipe real job is to add moisture and texture to our dinner rolls. The pumpkin holds on to the moisture without making it soggy but a warm, soft dinner rolls.

You can use canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin for this recipe. I like to cook a pumpkin or two at the beginning of the fall season and freeze my pumpkin puree for all my pumpkin recipes throughout the fall and holiday months. If you are using a whole pumpkin check out my post on how to make pumpkin puree.

Flour

In most of my recipes I like to use 1/2 all purpose 1/2 whole wheat but for these rolls I choose to use 100% All Purpose Flour. All purpose has a much lighter texture insuring a good rise and lighter dinner roll. When I’m feeding my own family I’ll use 1/2 whole wheat but if I’m making them for Thankgiving or Christmas or a potluck I’ll stick to 100% all purpose.

Yeast

Yeast is our rising agent. You could also use sourdough starter and just give the rising time 8-12 hours rather than 1-2 hours… At this time in my life I’m using yeast to rise my dough. I use Fleischmann’s Yeast, The photos say bread machine yeast but that’s just the jar I continue to refill with their larger bag of normal dry yeast. I keep the yeast in the refrigerator and activate it with warm water for about 5 minutes before adding other ingredients.

Warm Water

Warm water is needed to activate the yeast. It the water is cold you risk the yeast not activating during the rise time. If the water is hot your risk killing the yeast, stopping the rise, before its entered the oven. The yeast likes a warm temperature to do it job.

Sugar/Honey

Yeast feeds off of sugar and honey and will activate faster if you add your sugar or honey in with the warm water while the yeast is activating. To add a little more flavor as well as sweetness to you dinner rolls I prefer honey for this recipe but sugar will work just as well.

Oil

Fats actually slow down the and can even stop the activation process of the yeast so it is important to not add the oil until its already activated and right before or even while you add in the flour. We add a little oil to our dinner roll to keep them from drying out and maintaining their soft texture.

Spices

In this recipe I use ginger and cinnamon. The pumpkin flavor is not super strong in these rolls so adding these two complementary flavors bring out some of the pumpkin flavor. I like these rolls because they are not over powering with spice and pumpkin flavor but a nice complement to fall dinner.

Salt

Enhance the flavor with good salt like Redmond Real Salt. If you are looking for a unrefined natural salt with multiple minerals and electrolytes harvested in the United States of America, then look no further. Redmond Real Salt is full of flavor and nutrients and harvested out of the ancient seabed deep beneath Central Utah.

How To Make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Activate Yeast

Add yeast, warm water and sugar/honey together in your mixing bowl to activate the yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. The yeast should get foamy and bubbly. On warm days the yeast will activate faster on cooler days it might look like the photo below. That’s okay, its still active.

Add Oil and Pumpkin

After a few minutes add the oil and pumpkin to the yeast mixture. Stir together.

Add the Dry Ingredients

Next you can add the flour, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Add the flour slowly into your bowl. If you are using a KitchenAid use the bread hook attachment and begin on low (2-4) while you add in the flour.

If you are mixing and kneading by hand, use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix in the flour slowly until its not as sticky then start using your hands but don’t forget to flour them.

Knead

Knead the dough until it forms into a nice ball at the end of your hook (or in your hands). You want the dough to no longer stick to the sides of the bowl (or stick to your hands). This can take 5-10 minutes of kneading.

Rest and Rise

In a large bowl, let the dough rest and rise until double in size. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. In a warm house this might take 1 hour a cooler house this may take 2-3 hours.

Cut and Form Into Small Rolls

When the dough has double in size, fold it a few times over and cut in half, then cut those halves in half and those halves in thirds to create 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a nice round ball and place on a baking sheet.

2nd Rise

Cover again with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise for a second time for an hour or until double in size.

Bake

Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and enjoy with butter, honey, soup or stews or a turkey sandwich!

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Yield: 12 rolls

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Additional Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 33 minutes

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar/honey
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In a bowl mix together the warm water, yeast and sugar/honey. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to let the yeast bubble up and activate.
2. After a few minutes add the oil and pumpkin puree to the mixture.
3. Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Mix them in slowly till all combined. Knead for 5-8 minutes until the dough forms a nice round workable ball.
4. Let rise for 1-3 hours till double in size.
5. Cut into 12 pieces and form into nice round balls. Place an a baking sheet and let rise again for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
6. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
7. Let cool and enjoy your pumpkin dinner rolls!

The post How To Make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Ingredients for Vegan Irish Soda Bread

Flour

This recipe turns out best with 100% All-Purpose flour but I often use a 50/50 mixture of All-Purpose and Whole Wheat Flour. The bread still turns out wonderfully. When using just All-Purpose

Baking Soda, Baking Powered & Salt

Baking soda and powdered is a raising agents. The baking soda creates little air bubbles when activated by acidic ingredients like apple cider vinegar or buttermilk. To make this recipe vegan I use vinegar to activate. Baking powder is also activated partly by acidic ingredients but also heat. So to insure a even continually rise I use both. You can substitute them for each other if you need.

Don’t forget to enhance the flavor of everything you make some good ol’ salt.

Sugar

This bread is somewhat bland but with the right amount of sugar can easily turn into a dessert! You don’t need to much sugar to make it perfect for a dinner side or snack bread.

Chia Seeds

We will use chia seeds as an egg substitute. Chia seeds soaked in water create a gel like texture simmilar to an egg white. The chia seeds are also filled with good omega-3 fats that also help bring out bread together so it wont crumble and fall apart.

Water or Plant Based Milk

You can use water or a plant based milk for our liquid. Be sure to soak your chia seeds in some water to create our egg substitute.

Coconut Oil

Melted coconut oil will also add to our fat based ingredients to help keep our bread soft and held together. You can use olive oil or another favorite oil to bake with. My favorite is coconut.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is used to help activate the baking soda and baking powder and create a nice fluffy soft bread. Without the vinegar the baking soda will not be activated and your bread will be dense. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar you can substitute with lemon juice.

How To make Vegan Irish Soda Bread

Step 1: Prepare Pan and Preheat Oven

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pan. One the baking soda and apple cider vinegar mix the bubbling and rise affect begins. We want to get the batter in the oven quickly so have your pan prepared by oiling it or parchment paper lining the pan.

Step 2: Chia Seeds Egg Substitute

Mix chia seeds in water and let soak for about 5 minutes till the water and chia seeds create a thick, gel like texture.

Step 3: Mix Dry Ingredients

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Step 4: Mix Wet Ingredients Together

Mix the apple cider vinegar, melted coconut oil and chia seeds and water/milk together.

Step 5: Combine Wet and Dry and Bake

Mix together wet and dry ingredients together. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Step 6: Cool and Enjoy!

Check if the bread is done by inserting a toothpick, if it comes out clean the bread is done. Let cool before cutting into it. Serve with a little butter, some honey and enjoy!

Vegan Irish Soda Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

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Ingredients

• 3 Cups Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 Cups water or milk

Instructions

1. Prepare baking pan by greasing or lining with parchment paper or and preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together dry ingredients then in separate bowl mix together wet ingredients (and chia seeds)
3. Combine the two when oven is preheated and the pan is prepared. Once the baking soda is activated by the apple cider vinegar you want to get in the oven quickly to ensure and nice even, fluffy raise.
4. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. Let cool before cutting in. Enjoy!

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