Flour Tortillas
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Difficulty: 3/5
Tested: YES
Serves: 3-5
Ingredients
300g AP Flour
3g Baking Powder (appx 1tsp)
4g Salt (appx. 1/2 tsp)
200 to 227g Hot Water (120+)
Fat: use one of the following
57g Bacon Fat
57g Butter
57g Lard
48g Shortening
50g Olive Oil
Equipment
Non Stick Pan 10 inch (at least)
Paper towel
Cling Film
Rolling Pin or Wine bottle
Extra flour for dusting
Spatula
Bench scraper (optional but recommended)
Method
Whisk dry ingredients until well combined. Be sure to mix thoroughly. The more homogenized the dough the less kneading will be required. Kneading creates gluten, which yields a chewy texture in the tortillas.
If using a solid fat add it to the dry ingredients now, otherwise combine liquid fat with hot water in a cup and add slowly to the dry ingredients.
Mix dough until a shaggy ball forms.
Roll out onto a floured surface. The dough should end up slightly tacky at the end of the process. If it appears too wet dust with flour and kneed only to combine. End result should be a ball of mostly uniform dough. Knead only to homogenize, don’t try and build gluten.
Wrap completely with cling film and let rest for 20 minutes in a warm area. This will allow the dough to fully hydrate.
Uncover and divide into 8 pieces roll each into a ball. Place on a parchment covered baking tray, or on a floured cutting board. Cover with a towel or cling film, let rest 10 minutes.
Turn a non-stick pan on medium - high heat dry.
Roll the first ball out to your preferred thickness. For traditional tortillas they should be translucent, the approximate thickness of a cotton t-shirt. Work the dough evenly making sure to not poke any holes. Keep the rest of the dough covered while you work.
Carefully peel the rolled tortilla from the work surface. Depending on how well floured it was, you my need to encourage it.
Cook each tortilla on medium high heat for 2 minutes. As large bubbles form, poke some holes in them to allow the air to escape. Flip the tortilla and continue cooking until both sides are golden. Treat the first tortilla like the first pancake. Adjust pan temperature and cooking time as required.
Remove each cooked tortilla from the pan and stack under a towel to keep warm. Leftovers can be wrapped in cling film and refrigerated they keep for a few days.
Notes
Try out different thicknesses with your tortillas. For juicy tacos like carnitas, I love using a tortilla the same thickness as a naan. I tend to cook my tortillas until the bubbles just start to burn. This adds some dimension to the flavor profile.
