tortillas- how you want them

I have to say I truly get giddy when I learn how to make something from scratch. 

Years ago we were visiting my sister-in-law and she led me on to a marvelous thing- homemade tortillas!!  Seriously what could be better?

It all starts with a tortilla press.  However, my mother-in-law said she was going to try it and just roll it out- now that's really homemade!!  My tortilla press is electric which helps keep the tortillas a little longer.  I think it is well worth it.

The original recipe calls for:
8 cups of flour
1 cup of shortening
2-3 T. of salt
3 cups of water

I have switched the recipe up now using-
     whole wheat flour and white wheat flour
     olive oil and sometimes organic butter

Take the flour, fat, and salt and blend with a pastry blender.  You can even use a fork for this.  Get it to a crumbly consistency kind of like when you make a pie crust.

Add the water (I tend to use warm) and knead by hand or with a kneading hook on a mixer.

Make small balls of dough.  If the dough seems to get sticky take a break and let your hands cool down then go back to it.  Once you have the balls formed get to pressing or rolling out.

I stack my tortillas in fives, line them with wax paper, and store in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator.  It seems the "healthier" I make them the harder it is to pull them apart after they have been cold for awhile.  Sometimes I put a little stack of five in the microwave for 8 seconds to help them loosen a bit.

Before you eat warm up both sides on a dry non-stick pan- a griddle is great for big quantities.

A fresh tortilla is the best thing- I can't even imagine going back to store bought.

My next experiment is making a veggie tortilla- I have some ideas just need to put it into action.