Have you ever had an authentic tortilla? If you've eaten at Cafe Rio or a nice Mexican restaurant you have. For me, I have always loved authentic tortillas, but was always intimidated by trying to make them. I could never get them right - they were always too moist or too dry or too thick. So I gave up trying to make them and just went to the local Mexican restaurant to buy them, which can get expensive.
Then we went to Mexico. And I was converted. When we came back I tried to eat a store bought one and about gagged. Like I ate the rest of my meal without the tortilla. So I went on a mission to figure.it.out. I was NOT going to eat another store bought tortilla. For me, they are too thick and mealy. I even went out and bought a fancy tortilla press, hoping it would help to get the tortillas thin enough. The one good thing that did happen was I received a nice cast iron skillet for Christmas to cook tortillas on.
I tried lard. But I could never get the tortilla to retain moisture. So, I finally gave up on lard and opted for canola oil. It worked! But the biggest key here is making sure your tortilla dough is workable is to have your water HOT HOT HOT! As in on the verge of boiling hot. That way your oil is worked into the dough well. Make sure your tortillas are rolled out thin as well. If you have a granite countertop like mine, you should be able to see the pattern of the granite through the tortilla as you roll it out.
Flour Tortillas
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 Tbs. oil
1/2 cup HOT water
Directions:
1. Preheat cast iron skillet over medium heat (DO NOT GREASE!).
2. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and oil in a large bowl. Add hot water and stir to combine. You may add more hot water, 1 tbs. at a time, until dough remove from sides of bowl. Dough should be slightly sticky. Form dough into a ball.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut ball into eighths (cut into sixteenths for smaller, fajita style tortillas). Roll each portion into a smaller ball and place back into bowl. Cover with a towel to keep dough from drying out.
4. Roll each small ball out until flat and transparent. Transfer to skillet and cook until bubbles begin to form, then flip and cook until slightly browned. DO NOT BURN or tortilla will be dry and hard. Remove cooked tortilla to tortilla warmer until serving.
