Tortillas

Flour tortillas
http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cups warm water
2 TBSP oil (can reduce to 1 TBSP)

Combine flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine (or mix by hand). Combine warm water with oil and gradually mix in. Pulse just until a ball of dough forms, then remove from food processor and knead for 10-20 seconds (knead only enough to combine the dough. Tortilla dough will not roll out well if gluten is developed. It does not need to be kneaded like bread dough, think of the dough more like a biscuit dough that just needs to be well combined).

Divide into 6-8 rounded balls (a little smaller than a golf ball) and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes under a damp cloth. Flour surface and roll into a thin tortilla. Roll dough into an even oval shape, turn 45 degrees, then roll into a larger oval, turn 45 degrees and roll into a nice round shape. If you don’t get the tortilla thin enough after your three rolls, repeat rolling dough into an oval shape, then turning 45 degrees until you get a 9 inch thin round shape.

Preheat a large skillet to medium heat (this could take 5 minutes or more), then cook each tortilla for 1 minute (20 seconds on one side, then flip and cook for 20 seconds, flip once more and cook for an additional 20 seconds). The tortilla should bubble a little and should have light brown spots. Store warm tortillas under a dry cloth while the others cook. Freezes well.


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I've gone through a dozen rolling pins over the years and have finally found my favorite- a wooden dowel from Home Depot! We met a women from Mexico that had been rolling out tortilla's since she was 3 years old (yes, this is her recipe- isn't it the best?). Her favorite rolling pin was the handle of a broomstick her husband cut off and sanded for her.

I bought a 1 1/4 inch dowel and cut it 14 inches long and lightly sanded it. It's perfect and has made tortilla's, pie crusts, sugar cookies, etc. so much easier to roll out!

I prefer to roll the tortillas as I cook them. I roll them out next to the stove and immediately place on the hot pan to cook. While the tortilla is cooking, I roll out the next tortilla. If you are making tortillas for the first time, it can be helpful to work as a team with two people. Have one person rolling the tortillas and the second person standing at the stove, flipping the tortillas. Once you are used to rolling the tortillas, it is easy to do alone.

Here is a great youtube video that shows how to roll out the dough into a nice round shape.