Friday, June 12, 2009

How to make flour tortillas!

I've been wanting to make my own flour tortillas for a long time now, but didn't think I had enough time (plus I was a bit intimidated by the whole thing, really!). I thought it would take me a half day to make these, but they didn't. It took me about an hour from start to finish to make a dozen large tortillas. This recipe comes from our friend, Gloria, who did a lesson on making these at a ladies fellowship a couple years ago! I can't believe that I've had this recipe that long without trying these myself. So, finally...here goes...

Flour Tortillas 

6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup coconut oil or butter flavored shortening
2 cups hot water (as hot as you can stand to touch)

Step 1: Mix together, BY HAND, all dry ingredients.

Step 2: Add water and mix by hand.

Step 3: Knead dough until it is nice and smooth.
Step 4: Form the tistales (small fat disk-shaped dough pieces approximately 3/4" thick and 3 inches in diameter).

Step 5: Roll the tistales into 8-inch circles. (I'm not sure how big mine were, as I experimented with different amounts of dough to roll out.) You'll want to make sure that you roll it out as thin as possible!

Step 6: Place on a hot cast iron griddle (comal). You will not need to grease the pan. (I learned this the hard way when I put my first one on there and it came out so greasy.--yikes!!) Turn tortilla until done (about 30-45 seconds on each side).

Step 7: Enjoy your warm homemade tortillas! I used ground turkey to make our soft tacos. Another lady in my church gave me a recipe for making your own taco seasoning mix. Q and I both enjoyed this new seasoning. Try it out for yourself!

Taco Seasoning Mix (makes 2 cups)

Mix together with a fork the following ingredients:

3/4 cup dried, minced onion
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup chile powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon marjoram (optional)
2 tablespoons dried red pepper (optional)
2 teaspoons dried, minced garlic
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons paprika

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons mix and 1/2 cup water to 1 lb ground beef or turkey. Simmer until thickened.

2 comments:

The Watts Family said...

Wow I can't believe you made those lol!! I'm impressed !! They look really good. Enjoy ~Blessings Heather

Theo-Ann said...

Thanks! They were so much easier than I originally thought. Q loves them, so I've gotta keep making these.:)