Bread dough could be rolled thin and baked as a flatbread.

Flatbreads are a staple in so many cultures and are among the oldest types of bread.

They are popular especially in low resource settings as they are usually cheaper and easier to make compared to other types of bread.

Flatbread could be made from a variety of grains including wheat, barley, sorghum, corn and rice. Some flatbreads are also made from tuber crops and legumes

There are so many varieties of flat breads from all over the world including tortilla which is a type of flatbread that is a staple in Mexican cuisine.

Tortilla can be found in various recipes where it is used in a variety of ways; it is often used as a wrap for fillings containing meats and vegetables, or it can be topped with different ingredients.

In this post we discuss tortillas as well as other varieties of flatbreads.

What is Tortilla?

Tortilla is a Mexican flat bread that is part of many dishes in Mexican cuisine.

It is a soft flat bread and usually circular in shape. Depending on the type of flour used to make tortilla, there are two types of tortillas.

Tortillas that are made from corn flour are known as corn tortillas while the others that are made with wheat flour are called flour tortillas.

They are commonly used as wraps where they are filled with a variety of other ingredients and eaten together.

Tortillas are used to make tacos, tostadas, enchiladas and burritos.

They could also be fried to make a snack known as tortilla chips.

Tortillas could also be flavored using tomatoes and spinach to give red tomato tortillas and the green spinach tortillas.

Corn tortilla

Corn was originally used to make tortillas before the European brought wheat to Mexico.

The corn kernels are first nixtamalized to produce hominy.

Production of these nixtamalized corn kernels involving soaking the corn kernels in limewater or calcium hydroxide.

Hominy is then ground into a corn flour known as masa harina that can be molded into in dough.

Corn tortilla is also gluten free and unleavened.

Corn tortillas are usually yellow in colour but may be white depending on the corn used.

Flour tortilla

Flour tortilla is a type of tortilla that is made with wheat flour.

It has more gluten which also makes it tougher.

The wheat flour used to make corn tortilla could also be refined or whole wheat.

The dough is made out of water, fat, salt and wheat flour, and the flat bread can also be leavened with baking powder.

The tortilla dough is then flattened until it becomes thin and circular in shape.

Other types of flatbreads

Across different cultures there are many different types of flatbreads.

Each flatbread has its peculiarities; things that make them different from the other types of flatbreads such as the type of grain used to make the flatbread, how they are prepared, and perhaps additional ingredients that makes them distinct.

Flat breads are usually made using the local grains in a particular region.

Yeast or baking powder could also be added to the dough to make a leavened flat bread. There are also flat breads that are unleavened.

Some flat breads have many layers while some other are single layered.

Here are a few examples of flatbreads:

Naan: naan is a flatbread popular in india, it is made from wheat flour, it is also small in size. The dough of naan is leavened with yeast and cooked in a tandoor.

Roti: It is also an Indian flatbread that is made from wheat flour, however, the dough of roti unleavened

foccaccia: It is an Italian flatbread that is similar to pizza. It is also a leavened flatbread.

Pita: It is a flatbread of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean origin. Pita is a double layered flat bread that is made from wheat flour and leavened with yeast.

Paratha:  A flatbread that is made using wholewheat.

lavash: A type of flatbread  of Asian origin that, it is a leavened flat bread.

lefse. It is a Norwegian flatbread that is made with potato flour, it is very large in size and also very thin.

In conclusion

The flat shape of these breads may not be the most exciting; however flatbread has its benefits.

Flats breads are easy to prepare compared to the larger loaves of bread, also they are cheaper and could be made with small amounts of ingredients.

Like other breads, flat breads are made from different types of flour, a liquid which could be water and salt.

There are many types of flatbreads such as tortilla which is a flat bread made from wheat flour or corn flour and is a staple in Mexican cuisine .

Flatbread could be used in many ways in different recipes.

These flattened breads can be eaten alone, topped with other ingredient as in pizza, and they can also be used as wraps and eaten with a filling.