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Authentic Cafe Rio Tortilla Recipe

Authentic Cafe Rio Tortilla Recipe


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4.5 from 25 reviews

  • Total Time: 34 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x

Description

Mexican-inspired Cafe Rio tortilla brings homemade comfort to dinner tables with authentic southwestern flavors. Warm flour tortillas deliver simple ingredients that create restaurant-quality results you can easily master at home.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups (480 ml) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsps (30 ml) olive oil
  • ¾ cup (180 ml) cold water
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Dry Ingredient Integration: Thoroughly mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a spacious mixing bowl, ensuring uniform distribution.
  2. Fat Incorporation: Introduce olive oil to the flour mixture, blending with a fork until the texture transforms into coarse, sandy crumbs.
  3. Dough Formation: Carefully add cold water, stirring consistently until a cohesive, smooth dough emerges, avoiding overmixing.
  4. Dough Preparation: Transfer dough to a floured surface, kneading energetically for 4-5 minutes to develop a silky, elastic texture with robust gluten development.
  5. Portioning and Shaping: Segment the dough into 12 equal portions, gently rolling each into a symmetrical sphere with smooth edges.
  6. Tortilla Crafting: Flatten each dough ball using a rolling pin, creating translucent, thin rounds between 6-8 inches in diameter by rotating and stretching methodically.
  7. Cooking Surface Preparation: Preheat a non-stick skillet or griddle to medium-high temperature, lightly coating with cooking spray to prevent adhesion.
  8. Tortilla Transformation: Cook each tortilla for 45-60 seconds per side, watching for golden-brown speckles and subtle surface bubbling, indicating perfect doneness.
  9. Serving and Preservation: Transfer cooked tortillas to a clean kitchen towel, stacking to maintain warmth and soft, flexible texture, ready for immediate consumption.

Notes

  • Flour Selection: Use high-protein all-purpose flour for better elasticity and texture in tortillas.
  • Water Temperature: Cold water helps create a more tender, flaky tortilla with less gluten development.
  • Kneading Technique: Vigorous kneading develops gluten, ensuring a smooth, stretchy dough that rolls out easily.
  • Resting Period: Allow dough to rest for 15-20 minutes before rolling to relax gluten and improve workability.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 24 minutes
  • Category: Lunch, Dinner
  • Method: Sautéing
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 8
  • Calories: 210
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Sodium: 300mg
  • Fat: 8g
  • Saturated Fat: 1g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 7g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 31g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 4g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg