Homemade Flour Tortillas

I recently borrowed the book "Make the bread, buy the butter" by Jennifer Reese.  It is an entertaining cookbook/short story collection about her way to discover if homemade is better than commercially made.  This book is not necessarily about saving money, going organic, or down playing commercial food.  It is however very entertaining and easy to read.  She breaks down each recipe by "Make it or buy it?", "Hassle", and "Cost Comparison."  Some of her attempts are funny, to the point I laughed out loud.  There are many recipes I bookmarked to try and the first one was homemade flour tortillas.  Now as she states commercially made ones are convenient and work just fine, however they are actually really easy to make at home.  I did find them a little more dense and floury tasting that I am used to, but they also are not slick and packed with preservatives and other chemicals to make them shelf stable and uniform.  They do not last long for this reason but for how easy they are to make and yummy you won't have many leftovers.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

3      Cups, All-Purpose Flour
3/4   Teaspoon, Kosher Salt (any salt will work, I like kosher flavor better)
5      Tablespoons, Vegetable oil, lard, or shortening (I used vegetable oil)
3/4   Cup, Water

1. Combine flour and salt.  Add the fat, mixing until the flour forms clumps.  It will look like loose pie dough.  Add 3/4 cup water and mix until ingredients come together and form a dough.  I had to add a tablespoon or so more of water to help my dough come together.  It should not be sticky at all and comes together quite easily.  I used my hands to mix it up.

2. Knead until smooth and tender.  Do not over knead it.  Divide into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls.  They should be a little larger than a golf ball.  Cover with a clean/damp dish towel, and let rest on the counter for 20 minutes.

3. Heat an un-greased skillet until very hot.  I used a 10" skillet so that I had space.  With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6-8" circle.  You don't have to get them paper thin or perfect, this is part of the homemade charm.  Roll them as thin as you are comfortable with and so you can still lift them up.  You should not need to add flour to your mat or counter to roll these out.

4. Place one tortilla at a time on the skillet and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  You will see it start to puff.  Turn it over and cook the other side for the same amount of time.  You should have a nice white tortilla with some brown patches.  Stack on a plate with a clean towel or napkin between each one.  Finish cooking all the tortillas and serve immediately.

I made The Pampered Chef's 10 minute microwave chicken fajitas to go along with it.  And along with some cheese and salsa these were delicious soft shell tacos.  I urge you to at least try it once.  They were honestly so much easier than I imagined and you don't need any special tools.  Enjoy!