Homemade Flour Tortillas

My mom recently sent me a car package from home and it contained Mexican spices galore (among many other goodies). You see, in the Pacific Northwest, "Mexican" equals chips and salsa from the grocery store or perhaps the occasional burrito. I'm not complaining, it's just lacking the flavors I grew up with in Colorado (I know, it's still not Mexico, but its influence was much clearer). So, inspired my newly acquired spices, I decided to make homemade tortillas to accompany a Mexican themed dinner.

The main thing that surprised me is how simple these are to make. I guess I didn't really stop to consider how simple the ingredients were, nor did I realize how fast they cook (less than a minute each!). And now that I've refreshed my memory as to how dang delicious homemade tortillas are, I have a feeling they will be making multiple encore appearances in my kitchen. 

Makes 15 tortillas

Ingredients: 

• 3 cups all purpose flour + extra for flouring the rolling surface
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons shortening or lard*
• 1 1/3 cup warm water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender (or your hands) to mix in the shortening. The dough will be very crumbly, but if you lightly squeeze some of it in your palm it should stick together.
2. Pour in the water and use your hands to form the dough, folding the dough over on itself about a dozen times to make it smooth and no longer sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. 
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, then separate into 15 small pieces of dough (I separated the original dough into three sections, then pulled each of those into 5 smaller portions, but however you want to break it down evenly will work). Roll each dough portion into a ball and set aside. 
4. On a generously floured surface roll out one tortilla at a time to about 8" in diameter, rotating the disk of dough a 1/4 turn after each pass with the rolling pin to create a round and even tortilla (mine we not perfect circles, but a general round shape is all you need). Set aside on a large plate or cutting board and repeat for all dough balls. 
5. Preheat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Place one tortilla at a time in the pan, and cook for about 30 seconds.The tortilla will bubble and puff up quite a bit, and this is usually the moment you want to flip it. Use tongs or a spatula to gently flip the tortilla and cook for an additional 20-30 seconds, then remove the tortilla from the pan and set on a paper towel-lined plate or tortilla warmer. Note: If you burn a tortilla be sure to rinse the pan and start again so the charred flavor doesn't taint your other tortillas!
6. Serve warm with whatever filling you desire: pulled pork, beans, eggs, cream cheese and jam, Ceasar salad! The possibilities are endless!

If you want some ideas for foods to accompany these tortillas, see my Mexican Side Dishes and Stuffed Poblanos with Slaw