Homemade Tortillas

Bread, Cinco de Mayo, DIY, Lighter & Healthier, Mexican & TexMex, Tacos, Enchiladas & Quesadillas

We grew up down the road from a really neat lady, Martha. Our house was her youngest daughter’s second home. And her house was mine and my sister’s second home.

If we showed up early enough on a Saturday morning, we were greeted with a bowl of chorizo and scrambled eggs and a stack of warm, homemade flour tortillas. And if I was really early enough, I’d be greeted by a flour-dusted kitchen table and Martha in a flour-dusted apron. And then I was handed a rolling pin.

There is no substitute for a homemade flour tortilla. They’re fluffier, more tender, and tastier than what you can get at the store. They make everything taste better. In Houston, you can get fresh flour tortillas in some of the larger, “nicer” grocery stores. If you’re not near one, you can find a carniceria (a Mexican meat market) in many strip centers to get your fix. Or you can just make your own.

The whole process, start to finish, takes less than 30 minutes. You can do completely it by hand or keep those just-painted nails dough-free by using your food processor.

Flour Tortillas

Soft, fluffy homemade tortillas are only 30 minutes away!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 heaping tsp salt
  • 5 Tbsp shortening, lard, softened butter, or olive oil
  • 3/4 cup warm water

Instructions

  1. Pulse the flour, baking powder, and salt a few times in your food processor fitted with the dough blade.
  2. Add the fat and process until the mixture is uniformly crumbly.
  3. With the food processor on, slowly stream in the water, just until the dry ingredients form a ball and starts traveling around the bowl (you might not use all of the water or you might need a little more).
  4. Let the dough knead for ~30 seconds. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl, be soft and not overly sticky. (You can most certainly do this by hand with a pastry cutter, a wooden spoon, and your hands.)
  5. Turn out onto a flour-dusted surface and divide dough into golf-ball sized portions (I weighed mine out to 2 oz each).
  6. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
  7. Heat a large, dry saute pan over medium high heat.
  8. With a rolling pin, roll the dough balls into thin rounds, dusting the top with just enough flour to keep the tortilla from sticking to the rolling pin.
  9. Lay tortilla flat in the heated pan and cook on each side for ~20 seconds, until the bubbled areas brown.
  10. Keep covered with a kitchen towel to keep warm and pliable. Eat warm.

Notes

Yields: 12 tortillas

Adapted from multiple sources

Estimated time: 30 minutes

Nutritional Information
Calories: 146.2 | Fat: 5 | Fiber 1
WW Points: 3

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