Homemade Flour Tortillas

Don't ask me why I never made homemade tortillas in the past but now that I know how simple and so much more tastier they are I don't think I will ever go back to store bought kind.  The best part about making them homemade is that the ingredients are so simple and you "should" have everything in your pantry waiting to be used. The other great thing about this recipe is that it didn't require any special kitchen tools (minus a rolling pin or in my case a glass)....not needing any special tools to make these delicious tortillas is an added bonus for me since our household items are still in transit so I have had to find ways to accommodate the fact that I don't have my mixer, blender, knives and all the other tools I took for granted when I had them readily available.

I have only tried flour tortilla's but I do have cornmeal in my pantry waiting to be used for corn tortillas. I can't imagine them being any more difficult to make and I will share the outcome once I make them. I found a recipe to make homemade enchilada sauce too so my plan is to make enchiladas completely from scratch!!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

⅓ cup oil (I used canola oil)

1 cup warm water (not boiling)

Directions:

In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients and stir. I combine the oil and warm water in my measuring cup before pouring them into the flour mixture (easier clean up). Stir in the oil and water, your dough will be a bit crumbly or shaggy looking at first but after kneading it about 10 times it should come together nicely. 

Now transfer your dough to a well floured surface. Divide the dough into about 16 equal portions. 16 portions makes tortillas large enough to roll into burritos, if you want them smaller just cut your portions in half again. My kids love the smaller size for soft tacos.

Flatten the portions quickly and gently by hand (you are just prepping the shape, so don't over flatten the dough now). Cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let them rest for about 10-15 minutes.

My rolling pin is still packed away so I had to improvise and used a glass instead! It works but I can't wait to get my rolling pin back.

After your resting time is over they are ready to roll out. You want to roll them as thin as possible without creating holes, they should almost be see through. **Don't have a fan on during this part, otherwise the dough will dry out too fast and then the tortillas will crack when you try rolling or folding them after cooking**

Keep the unrolled dough covered while you are working too. I roll out 4 portions before I start cooking them, this way I have 2 cooking, and 2 waiting while I work on the next 2 to roll. If you have a helper in the kitchen have them do the rolling or the flipping because they do cook fast. 

Heat your pan or pans to medium-high heat. Don't add anything to your pan to cook the tortillas. Once you notice golden-brown spots they are are ready to be flipped. Cook them the same way on each side. 

Eat them now, save them at room temp up to 24 hrs, store cooled tortillas in the fridge or freeze them for later. Either way enjoy them and learn to love the taste of homemade! 

Let me know if you feel the same as me "why haven't I done this sooner!?"