Flour Tortillas

Let me start by saying there is nothing like a homemade tortilla. Once you start making and eating them you can hardly choke down a store bought one. Now these babies take practice. I have been making them for a couple years now and can finally say that they are nearly as good as the ones my hubby grew up eating.(from little mexican ladies across the border)I have even been given the thumbs up from the hubs on these. He won't even touch a burritos unless I make these. Now these aren't hard to mix up but they are hard to get rolled out and take a while to make becaue you have to roll one out cook it and then do another. YOu can't roll all the dough and then cook it all it just doesn't work. It goes faster if you have one rolling and one cooking but that doesn't happen to often around here. I still cannot make mine perfectly round but I am still working on it and hey they still taste wonderful even if not completely round and don't even get me started on the quesadillas with these babies. they are out of this world.


Flour Tortillas
5 cups flour
2 cups very hot water
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening or lard

With your stand mixer and the paddle attachement, mix the flour and salt. Mix in the shortening or lard until resembles fine crumbs.Add the water a little at a time until reach desired consistency. Should be a firm but soft dough(not too sticky but not too stiff) Mine is always firmer than bread dough if that helps you out. Sometimes I use all the water sometimes I don't. Remove from the mixer and roll into balls. Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and working one at a time. Roll into a paper thin, and I mean paper thin as in you can almost see through it to the counter. then place in a hot skillet and cook pressing down with a kitchen towel until brown spots dot the surface of tortilla. FLip over and do same to other side. Should only take a few seconds. Do not overcook. Place in between two layers of a kitchen towel. Repeat with the next ball and once cooked stack all of them together on towel. The steam from each one keeps them soft.

Note: I use a piece of pvc pipe to roll them out. It works way better than a rolling pin. Just ask you husband to pick you up a small piece at lowes or home depot if you don't have one laying around the house.