Archive | 11:13 am

Flour Tortillas

28 Nov

There are some food items that I have always bought at the store, with no second thought.  It never entered into my mind that you could make from scratch- flour tortillas.  One of my friends was talking about making them and it blew my mind a bit.  Of course you can make flour tortillas, right?  I mean how hard could it be?

Here is the recipe I used.  The hardest part was planning ahead a tiny bit (I usually start making dinner when my stomach starts grumbling) since you have to let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (you can get creative with your flour choices like whole wheat, spelt, soy, or a mixture of flours)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening or 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup warm water (may possibly need to add more, up to 3/4 cup) or 1/2 cup milk (may possibly need to add more, up to 3/4 cup)
Directions:

1.  Sift the flour, salt & baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
2.  Into the dry ingredients cut in the shortening, or add oil if you are using this option, & mix with your fingertips to combine.
3.  Add the milk or water, working the liquid into the dough until a sticky ball forms.
4.  Wrap in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
5.  Divide the dough into 8-10 balls (for small tortillas) or 6-8 balls for larger ones, cover them again with the damp cloth.
6.  Lightly dust a counter or pastry board w/flour & roll out each ball of dough into a circle or oval approximately 1/4″ thick. If you want nicely rounded tortillas, trim off any ragged edges & discard. Don’t roll the dough out more than once or the tortillas will be tough.
7.  Heat a dry griddle or heavy skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Cook the tortillas 30 seconds on each side or until the dough looks dry & slightly wrinkled & a few brown spots form on both surfaces. Do not over cook or they will be hard. Butter and roll up and wrap in damp tea towel to keep warm as you cook the other tortillas.


The girls LOVE cheese and homemade flour tortillas are a healthy vessel for them to be able to eat some more cheese.

pardon my husband, he never wears shirts

You gotta give it a try, they were delicious, easy and about a million times better than the store bought version.