These special little discs of dough remind me of being a little girl and visiting my Great Grandma. She was this little Mexican woman no taller that 5 ft. Handkerchief in hair and apron on she would shuffle to the fridge and pull out a couple balls of dough. Hand roll them out with a pipe that my Grandpa Ernie had fashioned for her at work. Nothing made me happier than seeing that plate of fresh tortillas.
Sadly, I never learned to make them as a child. So I took to the interwebz for inspiration and direction. Years and years of trial and error and horribly misshapen and bad tasting tortillas were bestowed on my poor family. And then I stumbled onto it. The recipe. The Pioneer Woman had the closest recipe that I had seen. I still do some tweeking to it but I have found what seems to work best for me. Now I know what you all are thinking: "this is NOT organic/nutritious". Agreed. But there are some things you just don't mess with. I like Lard in my tortillas. Its the only way to make them if you ask me. You try it out and let me know what you think!
Flour Tortillas
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 (Please don't use Vegetable Shortening. Its insulting to the tortillas)
- 1 cup Hot Water
Preparation Instructions
1.) Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large wooden bowl. Stir together.
2.) Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup) then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. I doubled the recipe. That's why there are two hunks of Lard. We go through a ton of tortillas in my house. Cut mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3.) Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. I use my hands to do this. Slowly scooping and folding inward until all are incorporated. 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. The original recipe says to let it rest for one hour but I never do. Mama's hungry!
4.) Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray. Again the recipe says to rest and I only let it go for about 5 minutes. Just long enough for me to line up my pans and get prepared to roll. I've never had a problem with this.
Now If you are so lucky to have really awesome Grandfather who works as a machinist and can fashion you a great tortilla roller than I highly recommend it. But if not, a regular rolling pin will work beautifully. But seriously.....get you a roller ;-)
5.) When you're ready to make the tortillas, heat a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin.
6.) 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. I find the brown spots give them the most awesome flavor. But try not to go overboard. Like.....don't burn them. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm.
Now go get a pat of your favorite fresh butter and slather it on while still warm. Roll it up. Savor.
2.) Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup) then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. I doubled the recipe. That's why there are two hunks of Lard. We go through a ton of tortillas in my house. Cut mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3.) Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. I use my hands to do this. Slowly scooping and folding inward until all are incorporated. 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. The original recipe says to let it rest for one hour but I never do. Mama's hungry!
4.) Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray. Again the recipe says to rest and I only let it go for about 5 minutes. Just long enough for me to line up my pans and get prepared to roll. I've never had a problem with this.
Now If you are so lucky to have really awesome Grandfather who works as a machinist and can fashion you a great tortilla roller than I highly recommend it. But if not, a regular rolling pin will work beautifully. But seriously.....get you a roller ;-)
5.) When you're ready to make the tortillas, heat a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin.
6.) 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. I find the brown spots give them the most awesome flavor. But try not to go overboard. Like.....don't burn them. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm.
Now go get a pat of your favorite fresh butter and slather it on while still warm. Roll it up. Savor.
Yay! I have been looking for a really good tortilla recipe! Will have to try soon!
ReplyDeleteHope you like it! This is definitely a staple in our house!
DeleteNow that I have your tortilla recipe, I am making these, and may never stop!
ReplyDeletehaha DOOOOO IT!!!! I promise you will never go back! Store bought just taste.....sad to me ;-)
DeletePS that actually from Anna, under Nick's Google acct!
ReplyDeleteI love how you said you'd insult the tortillas if you use shortening! haha! I'm loving your blog, keep it up! Thanks for the tortilla tutorial!
ReplyDeleteHey Thanks!! Its true.....vegetable shortening is no bueno.
Delete