Homemade Flour Tortillas
Never buy a tortilla from the store again!
Homemade tortillas are so easy to make, you can turn your kitchen into a tortillery in a matter of minutes, and pay only a fraction of the cost of store-bought tortillas! All it takes is a little patience and some simple tools. I have two recipes that I use, depending on my mood and available ingredients, so I will share both of them with you here.
I’m Broke as a Joke Tortillas
Yield: about 12 tortillas
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. water
Directions:
1. Mix it all up. Plop out on your countertop and knead for a few minutes; dough will be quite stiff.
2. Get out your griddle and heat to medium.
3. Divide dough into about 12 balls. Cover with a towel or a plastic grocery bag (ripped in two at the seams, these bags make for fantastic bread-rest-or-rise covers).
4. Flour your work surface. Using a rolling pin or baker’s roller (I like the second option; small kitchens mean not enough room for a rolling pin, and I can move much faster), roll one dough ball out at a time, lifting and turning frequently (this takes time to perfect, but will gradually get easier).
5. When dough is flat and thin as you like it, place it on hot griddle and let cook about 10 seconds or until freckled-y on the bottom, then flip and do the same on the other side. (It is really hard to see the freckles when using wheat flours; I generally just flip it when it looks like it needs flipping–usually doesn’t take very long)
6. Put finished tortillas on a plate and cover with a towel until ready to serve. If not serving immediately, these will keep in a freezer-safe bag in the fridge for about 5 days or in the freezer for a few months; just remove prior to need and steam in the microwave or oven like any other tortilla.
A Little Bit Tastier Tortillas
Yield: 8-ish tortillas
Ingredients:
2 c. flour (can use flour blends here with much success, so long as some all-purpose is used to bind it; we like spelt and wheat in ours)
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 T. oil
3/4 c. hot water
Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients until well-blended. Add wet ingredients, form dough ball (dough will be stiff and sometimes finicky; if too wet, add more all-purpose flour, if too dry, add more water). Let rest for 10 minutes, covered with towel or plastic grocery bag.
2. Divide dough ball into 8 or so portions and roll into balls. Cover again and let sit.
3. Heat up griddle over medium heat.
4. Roll out each ball to desired flatness, lifting and turning as you roll, then place tortilla onto griddle for 10-20 seconds. Watch for bubbles, spots/freckles, or general toughening of dough, then flip. Smash out any bubbles as they form. Remove from heat when tortilla is done (usually no more than a minute of cook time).
5. Finished tortillas can be treated just like the others, see #6 in above recipe.
