A few days ago, one of my colleagues offered me fajitas that she made out of homemade tortilla.
That was really sweet of her until I took a bite of it, and all the fillings started dripping over my skirt. Well, no wonder she failed to wrap and fold the tortillas keeping them snug and taut.
I won’t brag, there was a time when I kept on watching videos on how to wrap and fold a tortilla yet it took me a year to finally master the skill!
So today, I have lined up an in-depth article on this topic so that you stop hitting into the Starbucks and make your own burritos! (also, I hope my colleague sees it ????)
Let’s get started!
Before Anything Else
Do you know what would be a grave mistake while adding fillings to your tortilla?
Well, if your tortilla is cold and hardened for the room temperature and you do not heat it on both sides, it will start cracking when you start folding.
So the secret of soft and tender tortilla wraps is to “warm the tortilla” before anything else.
The heat helps to bring the moisture down and prevents crinkles on the tortilla edges as you distribute most of the pressure on the fringes when you try to coat the fillings.
Also, if you are yet to learn how to make a tortilla by yourself, then don’t forget to check out our tortilla press that can make instant and edible tortillas promptly.
Now, what can be the easiest way to make your tortillas moderately hot? Below I have lined up two effective and quickest ways to do the math! Check ‘em out!
The Traditional Method – Conventional Gas Stove or a Steaming Skillet
I have grown up in a brown household, and here we can make anything in the gas stove! Even baking! Some people think gas stoves are too obsolete to use and time-consuming as well. But most of the peoples are accustomed to the traditional methods because of the organic and mild flavor it brings.
So this is how you are going to warm up your tortilla on a gas stove!
- Take the skillet and put it on the stove at low heat.
- Once it starts producing smoke, embed the tortilla in the center of the skillet where most of the heat surrounds.
- Let it sit for 5 to 6 seconds or until it starts getting the puff.
- Flip to another side using a spatula and wait for another 5 to 6 seconds.
- Make sure you don’t overheat the stove as it can cause brown blemishes over the tortilla. Also, overheating will soften the tortilla excessively, so it’ll eventually scatter.
- When you are done heating all the tortillas, turn off the gas stove and store the tortillas in a bowl.
The New Generation Method- Oven Heat
No wonder it’s one of the quickest ways to warm up anything effortlessly. Now there’s an array of competent oven available in the market. Make sure you get one with a precise instruction manual so that it can educate you about the temperature settings and safety precautions.
Here to warm the tortillas in the oven incorporates three easy steps!
1. Plugin the oven into the power source.
2. Set the preheat option at 375 degrees.
If you don’t want to warm the tortillas one by one, then you can take a foil paper to wrap the stack of tortillas and settle them inside the oven tray. Make sure that the tortillas don’t stick to each other and lay even and flat.
3. Set the timer for 8 to 12 minutes and once heating is done, bring them out and separate them gently from the foil paper.
How to Keep Your Tortillas Warm?
If you don’t want the hassle of perpetual heating or getting back to the salt mines, then you can get yourself a tortilla warmer, which drags a constraint to the humidity and chillness so that your tortilla remains hot and ready to devour.
The Quickest and Universal Technique to Wrap and Fold a Tortilla
Perhaps you all are trying hard to fold and wrap a tortilla, but it never fails to disappoint you as, after all the amateur efforts, the fillings fall apart. So here, I am going to share the quickest and universal technique to do the “ close wrap”!
- Prepare your fillings; it can be your leftover chicken curry or vegetable. Now, as you have the stuffing for your wrap or burrito, take a tray or use a flat cutting board where you have to place the tortilla. Now, add the fillings using a spoon from the bottom of the center.
- Don’t spread the fillings exactly in the middle of your tortilla. Also, make sure you don’t make a pile of fillings on one side; instead, keep it even and consistent in a straight line. Avoid laying them too close to the edges.
- Now it’s time to wrap. To progress, fold the bottom and top edges over, rotate the tortilla, and roll up from the bottom, keeping them taut. To settle the tortilla edges tight and secure every time you proceed for a fold, pull the roll backward, creating a firm yet mild motion.
- And you are done! That’s how you make an open wrap.
Note:
- Do not compress too much fillings or do not overstuff
- Keep a rough distance of 1-inch form both edges if you are using a small-sized tortilla, and for the larger ones, 2 inches would be appropriate.
Posh Restaurants Wrap and Fold a Tortilla
For edible fajitas or burritos that don’t give you a blowout of fillings, most of the posh restaurants keep the stuffing snug and secured inside each layer of the folds.
So that’s how they do it!
- Spread the fillings in a straight line at the bottom third of your warm tortilla.
- Start folding the tortilla coating the filling like a blanket. Follow the previous technique as stretching the third bottom line backward to keep the fold taut.
- As you have left enough room on either side, fold both of the larger sides from the edges, keeping a tinge of distance. It will create an illusion of envelope shape.
- Now roll it up from the bottom side, and once you reach the top edges, use your thumb to squeeze in and shove the fillings inwards like a stiff barrel or cylinder.
- This process keeps the burrito open from one side and closed from the bottom side, so it’s easy to eat without dreading of dripping the fillings.
End Quote – That’s a Wrap!
So that was all about how you wrap and fold a tortilla. Well, if you are hesitant to buy readymade tortillas from the store and prefer homemade ones, then a quality tortilla maker can provide you uniformly round tortillas in a matter of minutes.
However, don’t be impatient while folding your burritos; with time, you’ll master the skill anyways. Also, don’t forget to share your insights regarding this article. I hope it helps!