Homemade Tortillas

 

Making soft delicious tortillas at home is surprisingly easy. In fact, once I started making my own suddenly all our dinners and lunches were rolled up in fresh tortillas.

 

The dough is made from flour, shortening, water, and salt. I had all the ingredients on hand but the shortening.. which ended up only costing two dollars and has lasted through many many batches of tortillas. Considering how cheap the ingredients are and how delicious they taste it just doesn't make sense to pay for the much more expensive packaged ones.

To make the dough you first work the shortening into the flour. You want to incorporate it entirely so that no pieces of shortening remain un-mixed. I just use my hands to rub it completely into the flour.

 

Next some hot tap water and salt is stirred in with a fork until a dough forms. Then the dough is kneaded briefly until it smooths out a bit and comes together.

 

To make sure that the tortillas are the same size the easiest thing to do is roll the dough into a log and then cut it into equal pieces.

Since the dough is a medium-stiff consistency it might be easier just to squeeze it into a log shape rather than roll it.

 

I was making a half recipe so I cut my log into six equal pieces and rolled each one into a ball shape.

 

The balls get put into a plastic bag, or covered with plastic wrap and are left to let the gluten relax for at least 20 minutes. This makes them easier to roll out and gives you time to prepare the filling for them.

 

When you're ready to start rolling out the tortillas preheat an ungreased heavy skillet or griddle to medium high heat. Its important to get it to temperature before you put a tortilla on it so that they cook properly.It's also helpful to have a plate with tinfoil over it ready to put the cooked tortillas in

Each ball gets rolled out into the seven inch diameter circle. Once the skillet/griddle is at medium high heat place a tortilla on it and cook for 30 - 40 seconds. Flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30 seconds and then place on a plate and cover with tinfoil to keep warm.

I find that the tortillas are cooked the best if I use my phone's stopwatch and flip the tortillas right at 30 seconds. If you over cook them they will get a bit crisp.

For soft tortillas that roll up easily its best to stack them and keep them covered with tinfoil as you cook them  and then let them sit for a minute or two after they are all cooked. By covering and stacking them it steams the tortillas below and softens them.

Then you get to fill them with whatever you like!

Left over steak, tomatoes, feta, pickled peppers made a quick dinner one night.

 

For lunch I filled it with some avocado, salsa, cilantro and cheese

 

A breakfast tortilla with a fried egg, feta, spinach and tomatoes.

 

While visiting my sister in Montreal we kept it simple and just spread them with peanut butter and jelly.

These are so versatile, delicious, and cheap! It's a very useful recipe to have on hand because they make a casual, quick meal more interesting and special.

Tortillas

(Recipe from Urban Spork )

Ingredients

• 2  3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup very warm tap water

 

1. Work the vegetable shortening into the flour with your hands. Make sure to fully incorporate it and rub it in completely.

2. Dissolve the salt in the water. Work the water into the flour - shortening mix with a fork until a dough forms.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough smooths out. 

4. Roll the dough out into a log and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll them into balls and either cover with plastic wrap or place in a plastic wrap. Let them rest for at least 20 minutes

5. Preheat an ungreased heavy skillet or griddle to medium high. Then roll out the dough into seven inch circles.

6. Cook the tortillas (I do them one at a time) for 30 seconds on each size. The tortilla should sizzle a bit when you place it on the hot pan.

7. As you cook them keep the other cooked tortillas warm and soft on a tinfoil covered plate. Let them soften covered by tinfoil for a minute or two before using. The tortillas on the bottom will be softer than the ones on top so use those first.

Comments

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[funny flash games]

Yum yum! Ive been meaning to try to make my own. One question can you substitute something else for the shortening?
+1

[Renna]

I'm so anxious to try these, but I only have butter flavored shortening (Crisco) on hand. Do you think that would work?

Oh, and thanks for sharing the recipe. I found it on Pinterest. :-)

[mona]

i poured too much water so then i added more flour will they come out ok?

[Michelle Lindsay]

I've been intimidated by homemade tortillas for years but finally got the courage to give them a go when I saw this post.
They turned out better than I'd hoped. I've been making them at least once a week since (my husband talks about them constantly) and will never purchase tortillas at the store again.
The best part is that they ALWAYS turn out perfect (even when I'm not making them in my own kitchen which, obviously, is the true test).
Thanks for this post. I'm so glad I found it!

[Cheyl E.]

For true authentic tasting tortillas you MUST use LARD!!I know your not afraid to use as I saw you used in you CHEESE EMPANADAS.Also you must only use BOILING WATER.And when I say BOILING I MEAN.Use a fork to start to work dough until you can handle the dough.Also make sure to real get in there and KNEAD a good 5 mins until dough is soft and smooth.Let the dough rest 15 mins.Then divide and shape your bollas.Again,be patient let the dough rest 1 hour to let the dough to have time to relax and RISE!!Roll out,cook and ENJOY.I hope this helps you.