A disproportionately large portion of my excitement visiting Mexico was directed towards the tortilleria. I just love the idea of a bakery set-up for the sole purpose of tortillas.

The tortilleria is where a Mexican would go to buy fresh tortillas, this being one of the Mexican staples. The tortillas in Mexico are unlike those found in Australia, Europe and the other North American countries, as they are made from corn, not wheat. While it is possible to find corn tortillas outside of Mexico, these are usually cheaper corn/wheat flour blends. This gives them both a different flavour and texture. The tortillas in Mexico are also generally smaller than found elsewhere.

On my first day in Mexico Oziel took me to two torillerias. It was obvious that neither of them had ever had a customer take so much interested in the tortilla manufacturing process.

The first was the more exclusive gourmet producer (photos 1-2). Here a tortillera used a tortilladora to flatten dough into shape, before cooking each tortilla on a large hotplate. Notice how the tortillas fill with air, and actually have air gap in the middle like pitta bread. Here the tortillas were 12 MXN (1.20 AUD or 7 SEK) for the dozen. These tortillas will most probably be used for special occassions or by more expensive restaurants.

The second operation was a more industrial outfit, and would be where most villagers purchase tortillas for their daily needs. The owner of this establishment seemed happy to adopt me, as I obviously showed more interest in the family business than his son. He walked me through the process of making tortillas, which is documented in the remaining photos.

The tortillerias buy corn that has been removed from the cob in large bags. This needs to be cooked, before it is ground into the flour meal. This flour meal is then used to make the corn dough. After kneading the dough is placed on an automated torilladora, which flattens, cuts, cooks and stacks the tortillas. Here the tortillas are sold for 12 MXN per kilo.

But my tortilla education did not end in the tortilleria. While preparing my tortillas for breakfast one morning Oziel’s mother raised her voice in disbelief. I was obviously doing something wrong, but my poor Spanish could not work out what. Oziel and Brenda helped explain that while Tortillas have two sides, these are not equal. The tortilla filling should be placed on the side where the pastry is thinner (remembering there is an air gap in the middle).

Tortilleria: Place where tortillas are made.
Tortillera: Person who makes tortillas in a tortilleria.
Tortilladora: The machine used to make tortillas.