Baleadas

Baleadas

Honduras's everyday handheld: a thick handmade flour tortilla folded around refried beans, salty hard cheese, and crema, with avocado and egg as you like. Simple, filling, and traditionally eaten any time of day.

Prep

30 min

Cook

25 min

Total

55 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •300 g (10½ oz) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• •5 g (1 tsp) baking powder
• •3 g (½ tsp) fine salt
• •60 g (¼ cup) lard or unsalted butter, traditionally lard; butter works fine at home
• •180 ml (¾ cup) warm water
• •400 g (14 oz) cooked red or pinto beans, drained, with a little of their cooking liquid
• •30 g (2 tbsp) lard or neutral oil, for frying the beans
• •1 small white onion, finely chopped
• •1 clove garlic, minced
• •1 g (¼ tsp) salt
• •120 g (4 oz) Honduran queso duro or cotija, salty, dry, aged cheese; cotija is the closest common substitute
• •120 ml (½ cup) Honduran crema or sour cream, crema is slightly thinner and saltier; thin sour cream with a splash of milk and a pinch of salt
• •1 medium ripe avocado, sliced, optional
• •2 large eggs, fried or scrambled, optional

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: whisk flour, baking powder, and 3 g (½ tsp) salt in a bowl. Cut in the 60 g (¼ cup) lard/butter until the mix looks like coarse crumbs. Add the 180 ml (¾ cup) warm water and bring together into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and rest 15 minutes.
2. 2 While the dough rests, make the refried beans: warm 30 g (2 tbsp) lard/oil in a skillet over medium heat, cook the onion 3–4 minutes until soft, add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the drained beans with a splash of their cooking liquid and 1 g (¼ tsp) salt. Mash with a fork or potato masher to a coarse, spreadable paste; cook 3–4 minutes more, stirring, until thick. Keep warm.
3. 3 Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (about 55 g / 1.9 oz each). Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a thick disc about 13 cm (5 in) wide and 4–5 mm thick — noticeably thicker than a Mexican flour tortilla.
4. 4 Cook the tortillas in a dry heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal) over medium-high heat, about 1 minute per side. They should puff slightly and show light brown spots; do not let them crisp — they need to stay soft so they can fold. Stack and keep warm in a clean kitchen towel.
5. 5 Grate or crumble the cheese. Whisk the crema (or thinned sour cream) so it is pourable.
6. 6 Assemble each baleada: lay a warm tortilla flat, spread a generous layer of warm refried beans across the center, scatter cheese over the beans, and drizzle crema on top. Add avocado slices and/or a fried egg if using.
7. 7 Fold the tortilla in half like a taco and serve immediately. Baleadas are meant to be eaten right away while the tortilla is still soft and pliable.