Homemade Tortillas have quickly become a Family Favorite around here!
Who doesn’t love a homemade tortilla!?? I know my world would not be complete without tortillas. Mexican food is my favorite!! Most everyone in my family loves it as well. The only picky one is my oldest daughter. But when I am making these for everyone – it is simple enough to press a couple out and make her some pizza pockets.
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This tortilla recipe is so easy to make! You are going to simply add the flour, salt, baking powder (optional), and Crisco to a bowl. Then comes the fun part!
Stick those hands down in the bowl and mix it together. The trick of it is to pick up the flour and press it into the Crisco over and over. Then using your hands break up the Crisco by incorporating it into the flour.
Don’t worry… your hands don’t get as dirty as you think. The flour is amazing and absorbs the Crisco.
The next step is to add hot water to the mix. (110º-120º) You want it as hot as your hands can handle. This helps melt the Crisco and spread it throughout the mix. It also gelatinizes the starch in the flour Mix it until it comes together to form a dough.
Now it is time to knead. You have two ways to do this. You can flip it over onto a clean surface or you can do it in a mixer using a dough hook. Either way, before you really get at it the trick will be to get all the little stubborn crumbs that have not stuck to the dough and add them to the mix. The easiest way is just to make a hole, shove them in, and start kneading.
You will want to knead the dough until it stops sticking to either the sides of the bowl or the surface you are working on. It will become soft and silky-like. It usually only takes a few minutes. The bonus will be you can tell people you worked out your arms today! haha
Now just cover the dough and let it rest for at least 20 minutes. This lets the flour absorb all the moisture fully.
For me, I make my tortillas first then while they rest I get my meal going.
So you might be one who loves tortillas and eats them with everything, but I have friends who have only eaten them with traditional tacos. So if you need some meal ideas, here are some ideas:
Tacos, Fajitas, Burritos, Breakfast Tacos, Flautas, use them to scoop up the beans, you can put just butter on them and enjoy, quesadillas, chimichangas, and yes just like my daughter you can make a pizza on one! haha, You can make chips with them, roll them up as a sandwich (pinwheels), and you can even use them in chicken and dumplings as thin dumplings.
There are so many yummy ways to eat these amazing tortillas!
The last step is to cook the tortillas. First thing is to heat a skillet over medium-low to medium heat. Every stove is different. On my oven, I use the number 4. Yours could be different. The trick is you want them to cook but not burn as soon as you lay them down.
The next step is to grab a golf-ball-sized piece of dough and rolling it into a ball.
You can then roll it out using a rolling pin or you can do it my favorite way and use a tortilla press. I love the press because I stink at rolling them out in perfect circles. haha, The press always gets them super thin and in the perfect circle shape. If you are rolling them out and they are sticking and not pulling up, simply sprinkle some flour to help them come up easier.
Place the tortilla into the hot skillet and start turning them every 10 seconds until done to your liking. I love them with a few light brown spots. (wink)
One last tip would be to throw them on a plate covered with a towel or in a bowl with a lid to keep them warm. I also lay paper towels around the bottom and top of the bunch just to absorb some of the moisture from the steam so they do not become soggy.
They keep well when sealed. But do not last too long. We usually eat them the next morning for breakfast. I just toss them in the microwave or reheat them in the skillet depending on my mood. This softens them back up and they are as good as new!
I hope you love them as much as we do!
Homemade Tortillas
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- tortilla press (optional)
- skillet
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cup all-purpose-flour
- 1 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 to 1 1/2 tsp baking powder optional (the less baking powder the more flexible – the more baking powder the more fluffy)
- 1/2 cup crisco
- 1 1/4 cup hot water (110º to 120º)
Instructions
- Add flour and salt to bowl.
- If you want fluffier tortillas mix in the baking powder. I personally like them both ways but my favorite is without it. It seems more like traditional tortillas. My husband prefers it with it. I suggest trying it both ways to find your favorite.
- Add in Crisco and mix in by hand spreading the Crisco throughout the flour. Do this until it is not sticking to your hands very much.
- Add water to the bowl and then mix. This can be done in a mixer using a dough hook or you can knead it by hand until it is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl or the surface you are working on.
- Be sure to incorporate all the little crumbs.
- Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. This gives the flour enough time to fully absorb all of the moisture.
- Heat the skillet over medium/low to medium heat. (This will depend on your stove)
- Pull out about a golf-ball-sized piece of dough and either roll it out with a rolling pin or use a tortilla press to create a circle. Make them as thin or as thick as you like. I find the thinner the better. The dough will tend to thicken back up just a bit once you pull it up to put it in the skillet.
- Cook the tortillas in a skillet. Flip it every 10 seconds until done.
Notes
2 Comments
Lela hoffmann
Great job! Going to have to try!
Lisa Scott
We love them! The girls beg me for them all the time. If you try them, let me know.