Tortillas

My little brother, who is not so little any more, wants to be a chef. At 5'9", we measured, he stands more than 8 inches taller than me and is taller than all of the family! I am glad that the boy got whatever tall gene is there. So, whenever he comes I try to show him how to make something. This time it was tortillas. YUMMY! Cameron and I love our tortilla recipe! Try it out, you will love it too! For 6 tortillas, you will need:

1.5 Cups of Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBS shortening or oil (we use shortening)
About 1/2 Cup of warm water

Mix the first three ingredients. Cut in the shortening. If you don't have a fancy pastry blender, butter knifes work too.

Add warm water, a little at a time, until dough sticks together. Knead dough, adding flour or water if needed, until smooth. About 5 minutes. Dough should not be sticky or flaky, and it should be soft.

Divide dough into six equal parts, place in a large ziploc bag, seal, and let sit for 20 minutes. Heat a griddle or large frying pan to low-high heat. It needs to be hot, but not too hot. Roll out each section of dough. We find that if rolled into a ball first, it is easier to make them round. This is where it becomes much easier if two people are working. Cameron rolls out the dough while I cook it. Anyways, roll it out paper thin, no joke. Place on hot griddle. Count to 10, flip and count again. Flip, and here is the key, press down evenly on the surface of the tortilla. This will cause it to puff up and steam the inside. Wait about 10-20 seconds and flip it over to brown the other side. After 10 or so seconds take it off the griddle. Place on a plate wrapped with a dish towel. Tortillas will steam each other and remain soft. The cooking is the tuff part, too much and your tortillas will be hard....so just be flexible with the timing. Each tortilla should not take more than a minute.

You will end up with delicious homemade tortillas! They are nice and thin and super yummy! No more store bought tortillas for us. Enjoy!