Homemade Flour Tortillas

By arkeu50

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 cup Lard Or Vegetable Shortening
• 2 Tablespoons (additional) Lard Or Vegetable Shortening
• 1 cup Hot Water

Details

Servings 16
Preparation time 90mins
Cooking time 100mins
Adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

Preparation

Step 1

Try these sometime! They’re a real treat, and after you get through the first handful, they’re a cinch to make. Note that I use lard in my recipe (it’s sold in supermarkets next to the Crisco), but you can use Crisco if the word “lard” makes you want to hurl.

Here’s what you need to make the tortillas.

Into a bowl, combine flour with the baking powder and salt.

Stir the mixture together…

Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to combine the flour mixture with the lard.

Keep going until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Next, pour in hot (not boiling; just hot) water.

Stir it until it all comes together…

And no, that isn’t my hand. That is the hand from the alien in the movie “Signs.” He’s alive, well, and stopped by to help me make flour tortillas yesterday.

When it’s time to roll out the tortillas, begin by pinching off ping pong (or slightly smaller) sized pieces of dough. Roll them into balls, cover with a towel (see possible towels you can use in the list above) and let them sit for about 20 to 30 minutes. Letting them rest like this will make it easier to roll out the tortillas.

The first few tortillas you roll out and brown will make you crazy and you’ll immediately think you’re a failure and that all you’re going to wind up with are a bunch of flat, tough pancakes. You’ll tell yourself you should just run to the supermarket and buy the mass-produced ones because even they will be better than the ones you’re churning out.

Then throw the tortilla on a griddle over medium-high heat. The key is to “cook” them (brown them) so that they’re no longer raw and slightly golden…but NOT crisp. This is part of the learning curve that’ll make you doubt yourself at the beginning. (While we’re on the subject, this was the first tortilla I browned. It was clear to me immediately that my griddle was not hot enough; the brown parts should be dark brown, not light golden.)

* Make sure the water you pour in is very warm.

* Get the heat right on your stove: Too hot, and the tortilla will burn in spots. Not hot enough, and the tortilla will begin to crisp before you can get it to brown. I get my stove between medium and medium high heat; that seems to do the trick.

(additional) Lard Or Vegetable Shortening

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large wooden bowl. Stir together.

Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons), then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. Cut mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. Lightly knead dough 30 to 40 times, or until it becomes a cohesive ball of dough and is less sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest for at least an hour.

Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes.

When you're ready to make the tortillas, head a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin. Throw tortillas (one by one) onto the griddle. Cook on each side for 20 to 30 seconds, removing while tortillas are still soft but slightly brown in spots. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm. Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing tortillas in a container. To warm, nuke tortillas in the microwave, or wrap in foil and warm in the oven.

* Make sure the water you pour in is very warm.

* Get the heat right on your stove: Too hot, and the tortilla will burn in spots. Not hot enough, and the tortilla will begin to crisp before you can get it to brown. I get my stove between medium and medium high heat; that seems to do the trick.