Nothing is good as homemade tortillas. They are so soft and so good to eat right off the stove smothered with butter. Yummy!
Tortillas
4 cups white flour
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup of oil or shortening
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
In a very large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients together. Use a large whisk to mix all of the ingredients.
Add the oil or the shortening to the flour mix. Use the whisk or a pastry cutter to incorporate the oil into the flour. The flour will start to look like crumbs.
Add 1 cup of the ice cold water to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a nice workable dough ball. Knead the dough ball. If it is sticky just add a bit of flour and knead some more until all the flour has been mixed in. If the mixture is too dry, wet your hands and slowly knead the dough. (I always use 1 1/2 cups of water but some days the weather will be humid or it will be raining and I will have to adjust the flour or add a tiny bit of water).
The dough ball won’t be smooth. It will be a little rough-looking.
Let the dough sit for at least ten minutes.
Now break off pieces of dough that are about the size of a golf ball. You should 24 (more or less) tortilla balls.
On a clean and lighly floured surface, sprinkle a little bit of flour on top
Roll out each ball with a rolling pin.
My little tortilla ball with my Daiso head-knocker (aka Japanese Rolling Pin!)
I find that rolling once and turning the tortilla a one-quarter turn after each rolling will result in a circular tortilla. Practice makes perfect! My tortillas used to be shaped like the state of Texas! Keep rolling the tortilla out until it is about 6 inches in diameter.
As you roll out each tortilla, set them on a large rectangular tray slightly overlapping. I roll out all of the tortillas first and then cook them.
On medium heat, use a large, ungreased cast iron skillet, non stick pan, or any other thick bottomed pan to cook your tortillas.
This is my thick cast iron "tala" on which I cook my tortillas.
Cook the tortilla until it puffs up.
The bottom will have little brown spots. Turn it over and cook for another minute. Cook all the tortillas this way.
Keep the cooked tortillas in a hot pot or basket and lined with a clean tea towel and then cover keep warm.
Enjoy!
