One day not that long ago I realized I had run out of tortillas! That is a major issue in my house. We use them all the time for wraps, quesadillas, fajitas…
The weather was crappy. I did not want to trek outside and buy some. I started to wonder if I could make them myself. A friend on Twitter brought this recipe to my attention and I am so glad she did.
You pulse together 3 cups of flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1 heaping tsp salt. Then you add either 5 tbsp shortening or lard. Hmm… That is not super healthy. I chose shortening but I was not happy about it.
Pulse until the mixture is uniformly crumbly.
Add 3/4 cup warm water until the dry ingredients form a ball.
Well not quite a ball but you will see that there is no loose flour on the bottom and the mixture is sticking together. I had to add extra warm water to make this happen. So dry here!
From here you are supposed to divide the dough into 2 oz balls but I decided to cut the dough in half, wrap up one piece and put it in the freezer for later. This recipe makes a dozen tortillas and I did not need that many. See the layering happening already? So cool!
I actually brought out the scale and measured these 2 oz balls of dough while I heated up a saute pan over medium high heat.
This was the hard part, rolling out the dough. The recipe does not specify how thin or wide the tortillas are supposed to be. I hate not knowing for sure if I am making a recipe correctly. I need guidance people!
Knowing they would thicken a little on the heat, I rolled them as thinly as I could. They ended up being approximately 6″ wide and very, very thin. Thinner than 1/8″ for sure.
I sauteed them in a dry pan over medium high heat for a minute per side. You could cook them for less time but I was rolling out the dough as I was cooking it. I cooked them until they bubbled and browned.
These were fantastic! Soft, chewy and delicious but… They were not that much better than store-bought. I was shocked! And the store-bought ones we get make theirs with canola so it is a little healthier than this version.
If I make these again, I am going to hold the shortening and add the canola. It is a tough call though. They are a bit of work to make but a package of tortillas costs around $4 these days. Hmm… I guess we will just have to see how good they taste with the canola before I decide if I will be making these on a regular basis.
Making these got me thinking about making my own corn tortillas. They are supposed to be super tasty and healthier. Maybe one day I will buy a tortilla press and give those a shot. Is that something you would like to see?
[yumprint-recipe id=’94’]
If it makes you feel any better, pork lard is actually healthier than butter and gets a bad rap just because it’s from a pig lol
so if you have no problems eating baked goods and other butter treats, enjoy your lardy foods!
I’ve been making tortillas from whole wheat flour, slightly less baking powder (about 1 tsp rather than 2), and canola oil rather than shortening. I really like the taste of them–better than store bought.
Mamashack, I would considering making them with lard if it was just me. My hubby has like an allergic reaction to all things pork! Brenda, well that is inspiring. I think I would like your version better and will give it a shot next time. Love that they taste better than store-bought!!!
Want. That. Quesadilla.
These look great. Yes, I need to find time to make my own flour tortillas. I would probably save money too!
I want to try the whole wheat version! I have a friend who makes her own corn tortillas, she uses two dutch ovens for a press. She turns one bottom-side-up, adds a sheet of waxed paper, places the ball of dough, adds another sheet of waxed paper then the second pot and pushes down. Her boys like to do it for her by standing in the top one!
I prefer corn tortillas they definitely do taste different, but they are hard to find in stores. I have made them before (and I do have a tortilla press) but it’s been a long time…It always feels like a lot of work. Lately I’ve been thinking of trying again though. I’ll be interested to hear what you think if you try it. 🙂
What a cool idea for a press! I don’t have the strength unfortunately but I may end up with a press one day so if you’re interested (and it sounds like some of you are) I’ll see what I can do. I hope you made them JavaChick! I bet they do taste very different, so curious.
I know how you feel about the shortening, but sometimes it just works. I’m sure the oil would be just fine in these though.
You never cease to amaze me, you know you’re a super foodie when you run out of something so your solution is just to make it yourself, and you have everything on hand to do it!
I think you’re right Ava, the oil will work next time. Oh thanks! Necessity can be an amazing source of foodie inspiration.
Susie, I’ve always been tempted to make homemade tortillas, but the baking aisle at the supermarket always wins out. Great that you actually made your own. They really look perfect.
Yum! I would definitely suggest making corn tortilla’s. We have a little ‘tortilla factory’ in the town I grew up in so I’ve been contemplating getting a press myself.