Flour Tortillas

The difference between these:

And those:

...Is taste. Plain & simple. Homemade tortillas are supple, warm, and a real treat. They are the perfect vehicle for strong and smoky flavors that fajita meat & fixings lend, as well as the perfect accompaniment to rich and sweet flavors like butter or honey. Store bought flour tortillas are good for little. They're best made into quesadillas - fried in oil to mask the sour after taste they leave in your mouth. Yuck. Homemade flour tortillas reign far surpreme to store bought. To fully understand the difference though, one must taste for themselves.

Before moving on, I have to say that in my home, flour tortillas are also known as "bean blankies." I'm a Parks and Recreation fan.

I used Alton Brown's recipe as my main reference:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/flour-tortillas-recipe/index.html


What I ended up using:


A little shy of 2cups all purpose Flour
1teas Kosher Salt
1/3c Crisco
2/3c cold tap water


In a food processor:
Pulse the flour & salt together 5x

Scoop in 1/3c shortening (I eyeballed it & guess-timated what looked to be 5 tablespoons of shortening)

Pulse 10x

The pulsed flour/shortening mixture should look clumpy.

With the blade running, pour in the water

The dough will not be dry. In fact, it should be a splash of water short of being sticky. The dough will feel light. It won't be elastic. It won't need kneading. Despite the dough feeling delicate, there's no need to handle it timidly. Dump it out onto a slightly floured surface. By squishing the dough together with your fingers, the dough will easily come together.

You should be proud of this little accomplishment (that is dough) which required little patience from you, and yet, somehow turned out so sweet & attended to... But keep your swooning at bay. Don't fuss with it. Cover it in plastic wrap (or store in a zip-lock baggy). Leave it be to let rest in peace on your counter for at least an hour.

After an hour or two or three, wake it from its slumber.

Cut the dough into relatively 8 even parts, like so:

Then roll each 1/8th into balls - pinching off small parts from the larger pieces & giving them to the smaller pieces, if necessary.

Because I don't have a tortilla press (hint hint: Birthday/Christmas gift idea), I invented a make shift one with 2 plates & some parchment paper.

Layer like so:

Plate, parchment paper, balled dough, parchment paper, plate, press. Repeat.

A homemade tortilla's worst enemy is dry air. Keep each tortilla covered with a damp paper towel (layering if need be).

Preheat a nonstick or cast iron pan over medium(ish) heat. No oil or cooking spray is needed because the shortening (in the tortilla) is enough to prevent any kind of stickage. The idea is that the tortilla will cook around 3 minutes a side without burning. You know the tortilla is cooking according to plan as the shortening melts & the color of the dough goes from a beige to transparent. Bubbles will form as steam is cooking the tortilla's insides. Take a peak with a spatula on its underside. If you see a few brown spots, that means it's time to flip.

The first is always a bit touch & go. Since the 1st ended up being a little thicker and doughier than I normally like, I decided to roll the rest of the tortillas out with a rolling pin. It didn't take much time or effort since they'd already been flattened. By doing so, I was a lot happier with the rest of the results.

I store the cooked tortillas in a lidded container, separating each tortilla with torn pieces of the parchment I previously used as part of my make shift tortilla press. I diligently keep all tortillas (cooked or uncooked) covered with a damp towel. The only time a tortilla should be uncovered is when it's cooking in the pan.



Continue cooking the rest of the tortillas. Don't worry if one rips or becomes deformed when transferring it from the plate to the pan or vice-versa. The taste won't be compromised.

Once all of the tortillas have been cooked, I (you guessed it) cover them with a damp paper towel. Place the lid on the container & store them in the fridge. Their shelf life is 5 days. They'll last a day if you're lucky.

My favorite way of eating my homemade flour tortillas is with half a scrambled egg, some grated cheddar cheese, and 2 fat scoops of salsa enhanced w/stronger flavorings of garlic, cilantro, and onion.



My. Mouth. Waters.