I obtained a recipe for flour tortillas several years ago. This recipe came from a friend of mine who was born and raised in Mexico. Her mother was visiting, and they came to my house and taught me how to make them. They are the most delicious flour tortillas I have sunk my teeth into. When my daughter was away at college, she made these, and her friend who was of Mexican decent told her they reminded him of his mother's tortillas.
I made them today with a bit of a change. The original recipe calls for shortening. My daughter tried to make them a bit healthier by using canola oil. I tried that today, and they tasted just as good. This is how I made them:
3 cups boiling water
6 1/2 cups flour
1 generous cup shortening ( or 1 cup canola oil to make them a little healthier)
about 1 tablespoon salt
about 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Mix above ingredients (except water) really well. The ingredients should be very unified. Make a well and pour 1 cup water and mix with spoon. When mixed add 1 cup water and mix well. Repeat one more time. When cool enough, use hands to knead dough. Knead for about 5 minutes or so.
Roll them into balls, they should be smooth. As you can see mine are not very smooth.
Let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes, covered.
Using a rolling pin, roll out. You will need to coat the pin, your hands, and surface with flour. Roll away, then toward you then flip. Repeat--away, then toward, flip--until desired size. This is important, that you do NOT roll them like a pie crust, it tends to make them tough.
Preheat your skillet to about 400 (do NOT use any grease) and put your tortilla onto the HOT skillet. Leave for about 10 seconds then flip. Cook on that side for about 30 to 60 seconds and flip again. Leave for about 30 to 60 seconds and put in between a folded towel.
Make sure you keep them covered, or they will dry out.
When you store them, store them in the towel in a zip lock baggie.
I made them today, by halving the recipe. It made about 23 delicious tortillas. One thing you need to be very careful about, is eating them. Once you start, there is no stopping, and they disappear real fast.
You can use these like you would regular store bought tortillas. Today, I mixed together a can of black beans, chopped up some cilantro, added some cumin, a bit of lime juice, tomatoes, and some frozen corn. After I mixed it up a bit, I let it stand in the fridge for awhile. It is best if you let it sit overnight.
This black bean concoction is really good cold, but I added cheese and heated it up.
I then added a bit of sour cream and some arugula.
It was very good.
Now I just need to quit eating the tortillas...
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