Flour Tortillas

* Exported from MasterCook *

Flour Tortillas

Recipe By : Iris Dunaway
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Ethnic
Mexican

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup hot tap water

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Meal in shortening. Add hot
water and kneed. Dough will be soft. Sometimes I add just a bit of
flour to keep from sticking to hands (but beware, as this will make for a
stiff tortilla). Let dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour. Form into
10-12 balls. Coat rolling pin with flour. Roll balls in flour just to
coat. Roll out on unfloured board to as thin as possible and still be
able to pick up and place on medium to medium hot griddle. The griddle
should be coated slightly with oil. Cook for about 30 seconds until
bubbles show, turn over and cook just a little longer than first time.
Tortilla should not get brown. Turn tortilla back over. Take a dish
towel (or a previously cooked tortilla) and place on the tortilla, and
with the side of your hand (be carefully not to burn hand) press firmly
on one corner of the dish towel/tortilla, and then rotating the palm of
the hand firmly over the tortilla (a cupping motion). (If the dough is
the right texture; if the tortilla is not too thin or too thick; and if
the heat of the griddle is not too hot or too cool, the tortilla will
PUFF UP). Immediately remove tortilla and wrap in dish towel to keep
tortillas warm and soft.

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NOTES : A friend's mother taught me how to make the tortillas. She is
from Mexico and cannot speak English; and so I just observed the process
from start to finish. The way that she made the tortillas is to put all
ingredients except the shortening in and then she would rub part of the
shortening onto her hand and then with a mixture of squeezing the dough
through her fingers and kneeding, would incorporate the shortening into
the dough. She would continue doing this until she felt the dough texture
was right and she had enough shortening in the dough. I guessed a
tablespoon of shortening was used. Naturally, she would pat the dough
into a thin round tortilla, never rolling the dough out. I'll never be
able to do that, nor will my tortillas be as thin and translucent as
hers, but they are close.