Tortillas

Flour Tortilla Recipe

Younger than its brother the corn tortilla, the flour tortilla has gained popularity and largely displaced the original corn tortilla in sales and popularity (in the United States, at least). More malleable and versatile than corn tortillas, flour tortillas lend themselves to a variety of dishes, including:

Taco tortillas - disk-shaped dough that holds meat, cheese, and vegetables.
Quesadillas - meat, cheese, and vegetables placed between two large tortillas and fried or baked.
Burritos - large tortilla filled with meat, cheese, and vegetables that is rolled up and served, usually with a sauce.
Chimichangas - a deep-fried tortilla

The nice thing about flour tortillas is that they are generally more elastic than corn tortillas, making them easier to make in different sizes. Basically, when you're working with a flour tortilla, there is less of a likelihood of it falling apart, which makes it a great choice for the beginner.

Tortilla Tools

Like the recipe itself, the tools needed to make tortillas are rather simple, and you'll only need a few of them.

Mixing bowl to toss and mix ingredients
Measuring tools
Dough cutter to distribute the lard evenly
Large fork to mix ingredients
10in pan, preferably cast iron. Larger pans required for quesadillas and burritos
Tortilla Press and/or Rolling Pin
Spatula
Pastry Cutter (optional)
Container (optional)

Flour Tortilla Ingredients

This recipe makes roughly eight tortillas. Eight is a baseline that many recipes follow, and I chose to use eight as a good number because it generally works for making tortillas for more than one person, even if two or three are leftover.

Of course, different occasions require different amounts of tortillas: cooking for one and you should be good with three or four, but for several you may need sixteen or twenty. Doubling or tripling the recipe is a good idea depending on how many guests you have, meaning the recipe earmarks four tortillas per person (better to have too many than not enough!). However, I also include a tortilla ingredient calculator, which you can use to calculate precise ingredients for your recipe.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Calories per Flour Tortilla: About 100 calories

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ warm water
¼ lard or shortening
1 teaspoon baking soda

Sidebar: What do I do with leftover dough or tortillas? If you've made too much dough or too many tortillas, you have two options. First, if you have not yet formed the dough, you can place the dough balls (to be formed into individual tortillas) in a plastic bag and freeze them. When you're ready to make more tortillas, you can thaw the dough balls and use them as the recipe directs. I will say, however, that I've noticed that the quality of the tortillas made from thawed dough is lesser than those made right after mixing. The tortillas you'll make from thawed dough are certainly edible, but you may notice a difference in quality compared to those freshly made (i.e, not frozen).

I recommend that you always make as many tortillas as your dough mixtures can produce. That way, even if you don't eat the leftover tortillas the day of cooking, you can refrigerate them for a few days (2 or 3). When you're ready to eat them, simply warm them on a hot pan or in the microwave for ten-to-thirty seconds.

Instructions

First, combine your flour, salt, and baking powder in your mixing bowl. Swirl the bowl or stir it to combine the ingredients.

Next, add your lard or shortening to the mixture. Use a pastry cutter to divide the lard into the mixture evenly. When your done, the mixture should resemble crumbs.

Form a well in the center of your dough mixture. Next, heat your water in a microwave or on a stovetop. The water should not be boiling or approach boiling. It should be warmer than room temperature but not hot. Add the water to the mixture.

Mix the water and mixture together using a large fork. The mixture should begin to bind without much trouble.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Work and mildly knead the dough until all the mixture's pieces have been incorporated. Sprinkle additional flour if necessary. The dough should be springy but not too damp. Work dough into a ball.

Cover the dough with the mixing bowl and allow it to rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

Use a pastry cutter to divide the dough ball in half, then quarters and eighths, depending on the amount of tortillas you've chosen to make.

Take each individual dough piece and form into a small ball, about the size of a golf ball or larger. Next, flatten the ball with your palm on a floured surface and sprinkle with flour. Take your rolling pin and gently roll the ball out into a disk. The disk doesn't have to be perfect in shape.

For the tortilla press - cover each half of the press with plastic wrap. Sprinkle the wrap with flour, add the dough ball to the center of the press, and press down firmly. You should have a disk-shaped tortilla, but sometimes you may need to finish the job with a rolling pin. N.B., the tortilla press is better suited for the corn tortilla.

Finally, heat a griddle or cast iron stove on high heat. Once the griddle is hot, add your tortilla. Once you see your dough form little air pockets and rise, flip the tortilla and allow the other side to cook (15 - 30 seconds). Once done, transfer the tortilla to a holder or container to keep warm. Repeat process for each tortilla.