Homemade Flour Tortillas

How much time have you ever spent contemplating the flour tortilla?

None is my guess. The reason might be that while it’s great for making soft tacos, burritos, or wraps, the plain old flour tortilla that you get from the store just isn’t that exciting.

HOMEMADE flour tortillas, however, are a whole different story!

These tortillas are tender, slightly crispy, and have FLAVOR! Yes, flavor.

Last week when I made carnitas and the roasted poblanos in cream, I decided that those two dishes were worthy of a little more effort in the tortilla department. I’d made tortillas once before that were only so-so. Fortunately, I happen to have two great friends, Gary, the potter and Darci, the oboist who are excellent tortilla makers. I put out the SOS for some tortilla guidance and both quickly replied with recipes that were very similar.

Gary’s used olive oil which I had and Darci’s used Crisco which I did not so taking the best  from both recipes, I made these gorgeous tortillas.  You should make them too.

Here’s what you need:

Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Olive Oil, and Hot Water

Click here for a Homemade Flour Tortillas Shopping List

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Add 3/4 cup of hot water (Darci’s suggestion is to use really hot water) and 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil.

Mix the ingredients together until well combined

then dump the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it about 10 times until nice and smooth.

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. I followed Darci’s advice and put the dough in a ziplock bag to rest. Because the dough was still warm from the hot water, the bag steamed up slightly making the dough extra tender.

When you’re ready to make tortillas, divide the dough into 8 portions.

Roll each portion into a ball and then slightly flatten it with the palm of your hand.

Use a well floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a nice thin circle — about 7 inches across.

Gary suggests using a non-stick pan and cooking spray but a dry pan will also work. With the pan on medium high heat, cook each tortilla until it is slightly golden with some darker, lightly browned spots.

Flip the tortilla to cook both sides, about 1 minute, and then stack the cooked tortillas on top of one another and wrap them in a kitchen towel to stay warm.

These will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week but I doubt that you’ll have them around that long.

Almost anything can go into a taco or burrito. Veggies like sweet potatoes, black beans, and zucchini are a favorite filling idea that I also stole from Gary. Thursday night I made some spicy shrimp and black bean tacos.

Add a little lettuce and tomato for freshness and crunch and some cheese and you’ve got a quick and easy dinner.

Homemade tortillas not only taste better, they’re also great fun to make.

Thanks to my friends the tortilla experts for the advice!

Here’s the recipe:  Adapted from Gary Rith and Darci Gamerl

Homemade Flour Tortillas