Flour tortillas (Northern Mexico wheat tradition)
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The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
I
Origin
Sonora, Chihuahua, and northern border states — wheat flour introduction c.1600 by Jesuit missionaries
II
Description
Flour tortillas are the bread of Northern Mexico — introduced by Spanish wheat agriculture and adopted as the native bread of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahuila. Made with wheat flour, lard (or shortening), salt, and hot water. The lard is the critical fat — it creates the characteristic layers and flavour impossible to achieve with vegetable oil. Cooked on a comal until lightly blistered. Sonoran flour tortillas are thinner and larger than US commercial versions; Chihuahua tortillas are smaller and thicker.
III
The Thread
—Indian chapati (wheat flour flatbread on tawa)
—Middle Eastern lavash (thin wheat flatbread)
—Central Asian jupka (griddle-cooked wheat bread)
IV
Flavour Context
Milky, lard-rich, slightly chewy with char blisters — neutral carrier that complements strong fillings like carne asada
Pillars V — VII
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