Receta Homemade Flour Tortillas
Over the past two weeks, I have been teaching my 9 year old how to make a bechamel sauce for homemade mac and cheese. She has watched her older brother whip up his own multiple times this summer and she was envious.
We worked on it together many times but yesterday, she attempted it on her own for the first time. As she worked, my mind was busy writing this post. I was going to proudly boast about my two kiddos that already know how to make mac and cheese from scratch. Instead, I will share with you about how my 9 year old caught my kitchen on fire. Yes, on fire.
"MOOOOMMMM!!! FIRE!!!!" are the terrifying words you never expect to hear screamed from the mouth of your child. My sweet 9 year old left a towel on her pot handle while the pasta was cooking. It caught fire, fell, then caught my countertop on fire and when I ran in to save the day, the flames were already touching the bottom of my cabinets. Another couple minutes and a true disaster would have been certain.
I guess all I get to brag about now is spending hundreds of dollars for a new countertop....
To help her get back in the kitchen and back on that cooking horse, I got her to help me with these amazing tortillas. But I kept all towels far away from her reach :)
Yes, homemade tortillas are a bit more work than picking up a bag at the grocery store, but like all outstanding food, they are so much better when you make them yourself. I served them stuffed with my wickedly popular Pork Carnitas. Man! Dinner can't get any closer to perfection! Even if the smell of burnt kitchen still lingered while we ate....
Homemade Flour Tortillas
(recipe adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride)
- makes 12 tortillas
- 3 C flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 heaping tsp salt
- 5 Tb shortening or lard
- 3/4 C warm water
** If you do not have a food processor, you can make these with a pastry cutter to cut in the fat, then mix it all together with a wooden spoon.
1. Using your food processor fitted with the dough blade, add the dry ingredients and pulse together. Add the shortening or lard, the pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly. Turn on the processor and pour in the water through the feeder tube. Allow the dough to come together, then let it need for about 30 seconds.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal parts. Roll each piece into a ball, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. This time is required to allow the dough to relax enough to roll out thinly.
3. Heat a large frying pan, cast iron if you have it, over medium high heat. A hot pan is key to perfect tortillas. Working with one tortilla at a time, roll them into 6-8" circles. They will thicken quite a bit once you cook them so go as thin as you can! Try to only roll out one at a time before cooking them so they don't dry out.
4. Cook on the hot pan for 20-30 seconds on each side. If your pan is the proper temperature, the tortilla should begin to bubble and brown. Flip and cook for the same amount of time on the other side. Keep the cooked tortillas covered to keep them warm and pliable. If they cool before using, just stick them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to warm them and soften them up again.