Homemade Flour Tortillas

Woah!  Has it really been 2.5 months since my last post!  Time flies when life gets busy doesn’t it?  So much has been going on since my last post.  In October we celebrated Gavin’s first birthday, my 31st birthday, Tom’s 36th birthday, and we had our 3 year wedding anniversary.  Even my blog had a birthday!  I’ve been writing on here for three years now!

My latest project has been to start making more food from scratch instead of buying it premade from the store.  I slacked off quite a bit on cooking at home during my pregnancy and Gavin’s first year, but that is ok.  Now its time to jump back on the bandwagon.  I took a hard look at my weekly grocery list and found that we spend at least $30 a month on tortillas.  I buy 8 large burrito tortillas every week for about $4.00 plus taco sized tortillas which we use all week for tortilla pizzas, sandwich tacos, cinna/sugar crisps or just to hold last night’s leftovers.  A bag of 20 costs about $4.00.

Making your own baked goods is one of the easiest ways to save money on groceries.  Flour, oil, water and yeast are pretty darn cheap and they make up the bulk of most baked goods.  Tortillas are even easier than bread because it doesn’t require much mixing or proofing.

Homemade Flour Tortillas (Lard Free)

Makes 16 taco sized tortillas

• 2 cups all purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup canola oil or another kind of oil used for baking
• 1 cup hot water

In a large bowl whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together.  Make a hole in the center of the flour and pour in the oil.  Using your fingers mix the oil and flour together until its crumbly.  Gradually add the hot water in while mixing with your fingers until a smooth ball of dough forms.  You may not need all the water.  If the dough is sticky add a pinch or two of flour and knead for a minute until its smooth.  Cover and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.  For a more developed flavor put the covered dough into the refrigerator overnight then take it out to warm up about 30 minutes before you want to cook.

Roll the dough into a ball and cut the ball in half, then cut those halves in half again.  Roll those four pieces into balls and cut them into four more pieces using the same method.  You should have 16 equal sized pieces of dough.  Roll them into balls and cover.

Heat up a cast iron skillet (or regular skillet) over medium heat.  While its warming up start rolling out one of the balls on a floured surface.  You can get a fairly even circle by turning the dough a quarter turn after every roll.  When the pan is hot cook the tortilla in an ungreased pan for 1-2 minutes on each side.  The dough will bubble up but that is ok.  It flattens out when the cooking is done.   Lay cooked tortillas out on a cookie rack to cool.

Roll out the next tortilla while the last one cooks.  It’s easy to get a nice rhythm going.  On a quiet afternoon it gets to be almost meditative.

Store in a ziptop bag.

This week last year : Green Salad with Beet and Carrot

This week 2 yrs ago: No Bake Chocolate Tart for a Happy Husband