Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Homemade Flour Tortillas



I've got to admit that homemade flour tortillas are one of my weaknesses in life. They rank right up there with other weaknesses like chocolate (mmm...), striking blue eyes (sigh...), and shopping (no comment necessary). My mom didn't make them very often when I was I kid, but the memory of smell of flour tortillas is forever imprinted in my brain. I know this sounds strange, but I actually used to beg my mom to let me eat some of the raw dough!
I knew it would take at least ten tries to extract the recipe from my mom because she never really uses measurements, she just dumps stuff into a bowl and starts mixing and then adds more and more and more of the same ingredients that I already wrote down measurements for, until I put my pen and paper down and give up. I'm usually not disappointed enough to care because I'm getting tortillas, yah!

Well, I finally got a recipe. They are really easy to make, I promise. I made this in about an hour yesterday and they were so delicious! The recipe makes a dozen so I had more than enough for today... although, they are better right off the stove.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

3 cups flour (I used 2 cups unbleached all-purpose and 1 cup wheat, but you can use any combo)
5 tablespoons butter (I use Earth Balance because it's vegan)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup hot tap water (may need a little more)

1. Dough - Combine the flour and salt thoroughly. Next add in softened butter using your hands to get rid of lumps. Add water in slowly and mix with your hands. Keep adding water until most of it is dampened. Then, get the dough out of the bowl onto a work surface where you can knead it and work on making it into a ball.



2. I usually knead about ten minutes before I get a perfect ball that is about medium-stiff consistency. Divide the ball into 12 smaller balls and let them rest covered for at least 30 minutes (45 is better if you're not in a hurry).



3. Heat a griddle to medium high heat. Make sure your work surface is lightly floured, and flatten out one of the dough balls. Roll back and forth on it and keep rotating it until you get about a 6-7 inch diameter circle. (**NOTE: Expect your tortillas to be shaped like Texas the first time you do this. 50% of my tortillas still do not look like circles and I've been doing this a while.) Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle. If your griddle is hot enough, it should only be on it for about 30-40 seconds each side. When it's done, remove and cover with a towel to keep in the heat.



Get creative with your tacos... the ones pictured at the beginning of the post have refried beans, Mexican-style rice, lettuce, and sliced avocados on top. Many times, I seriously just eat the tortillas alone, with nothing else. So reminiscent of the good ol' days! I hope you enjoy them half as much as I do!

8 comments:

tc said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rico said...

I make flour tortillas all the time and those ones look awesome really nice and well prepared. cheers :) xx

janet said...

Those look simple and yummy, Thanks for sharing!

Nicole said...

I never knew they were so easy!

Ann said...

I make them all the time and I love it with Indian veggie curries :) Yumm .. Pic looks so perfect and tempting.

Anonymous said...

okay so I needed tortillas for supper tonight and of course my 2 little ones where sleeping and I couldn't go to the store..well thank god for that cause these tortillas turned out so good that I don;t think I can go back to the store brand! My 6 year old was my tortilla test subject and he loved them! So, simple and yummy but I am wondering why they were a bit chewy? I rolled them out until they were nice and thin, could it be that my pan was not hot enough?

tc said...

The pan needs to be pretty hot, like medium/high. Homemade tortillas though, are a bit chewier than the store brand, though. I'm glad you enjoyed them!

Veera B said...

Hi there,

these tortillas Rocks! thanks for the recipe and my sister swears by it...she just luvs just on its own..
never knew it would be this easy and thanks to you...
ps: added 2tsp of baking powder and it was soft and great...