Lesson Nine Tortillas, Pizza and Flat Breads Correspondence Course APPLIED BAKING TECHNOLOGY TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Ingredient Functions—Flour Tortilla Processing Flour Tortillas. Processing Corn Tortillas Com Flour in Tortilla Production .. Programmed Exercises Production of Pizza Crusts .. Dough Preparation Wholesale Production Retail Production Baking Pizza/Pizza Crusts .. Pizza Crust Formulas Basic Pizza Sauce Programmed Exercises Classification of Flat Breads Processing Flat Bread .. Programmed BXetCise sercnunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Summary Glossary of Terms Self-Check Q ‘© Copyright, American Insitute of Baking, 1997 Allright reserved — Lesson NineLesson Nine Tortillas, Pizza and Flat Breads Introduction 9.01 Tortilla is an expanding segment in the food, industry and, in some select regions of the United States, itis the fastest growing segment. With the promotion of natural fiber-enriched foods, the tortilla fits this mold quite well. In the production of corn tortilla, whole~ kemel com is steeped, cooked, ground with stones of volcanic rock origin, made into a dough and then finished off to a versatile and highly nutritious food. ‘The discussions that follow address the ingredients used in the corn and flour tortillas as well as the methods employed to produce the various types found in today’s food stores. Ingredient Functions—Flour Tortilla 9.02. Wheat flour is the major ingredient of the flour tortilla and influences both processing and the finished product. The flour should be of patent grade with a protein content of 11-12%. Vital wheat gluten is used where supplemental protein may be needed to strengthen a weaker protein flour of, in many cases, to improve pliability when the tortilla is prepared for consumption 9.03 Water, depending upon its type (hard, soft or alkaline), can have a significant effect on the processing of the dough as well as on the quality of the finished. product. Slightly hard water (50-100 ppm mineral content) is preferred. Soft water (15-50 ppm mineral content) will produce a soft, slack dough with poor handling characteristics. A water that is high in alkalin- ity (above pH 8) will produce a dough with a slower fermentation rate because of a rise in the dough’ pH. Alkaline water can be adjusted by the addition of acidifying agents (lactic acid or monocalcium phos- phate). A soft water can be corrected by the addition of mineral yeast food. 9.04 — Salt contributes to dough strength as well as to flavor and, in addition, exerts some control over the rate of fermentation, 9.05. Fat is used in tortilla production in the form of either lard, shortening, oil or various combinations, of the three. 1. Lard has a tenderizing effect on the tortilla and will generally impart a characteristic flavor to the finished product. Lard may vary considerably according to the part of the animal from which it is rendered. However, when refined, deodorized, bleached, etc, it becomes a very clean and constant product. 2. Shortening may be of either animal or vegetable origin, or it may be a combination of both. All types will work well by contributing to overall tenderness and extended shelf life and by improv- ing machinabitity during the makeup process. 3. Oil will also contribute to the product’s tender ness and will do so at a lower level of use than that of solid fats. Vegetable oils are used for nutritional purposes where there is concern with saturated fats. Vegetable oils contain unsaturated fatty acids, a desirable feature when promoting a product’ nutritional attributes. 9.06 Baking powder is the essential agent required for leavening. Tt also can impact pH and color. Yeast is optional and is sometimes used for flavor and dough relaxing, Lesson Nine —