100 Days of Pinterest: Day 84 - Homemade Tortillas

The fourth of July weekend went as fast as it came. It was a whirlwind of projects and painting. My husband and I finally painted our bedroom. We officially have a grown-up looking room. It was this Easter egg purple that drove me nuts and now it's a rich, warm, burgundy color. MUCH better.

My husband also re-purposed and antique dresser we purchased off of one of those Facebook rummage sale sites. It went from old to new in less than a week. I'll post pics of it in my next post. Today, I'm stuck on the couch. I did something to my back and I can barely walk. Oh the life of a 35 year-old!

This weekend, I worked on some more food pins. Since I have become a foodie (or maybe I've always been one, but just didn't know it), I have been searching Pinterest for recipes that fit my finicky eaters requests. Of course, since we have taco Tuesdays it only made sense to make homemade tortillas for our taco night. The recipe I found, which was originally posted on The Cafe Sucre Farine (thecafesucrefarine.com), was so simple and turned out much better than the store bought, processed discs of flour that I normally have been buying. I couldn't keep my guys from eating them. My oldest son's friend loved them too. He said they were good without anything on them. They are!

If you're like my family and love bread and tortillas, then I suggest you give these a try for your taco night. The recipe makes 16 tortillas and can be easily made in a few hours. If you start them around lunch time, they'll be more than ready for dinner.

Here's the recipe:

BEST EVER! HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

PREP TIME

20 mins

COOK TIME

40 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour

These are so simple and unbelievably delicious!

Author: Chris Scheuer - http://thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/08/best-ever-homemade-flour-tortillas/

Recipe type: Bread

Cuisine: International

Serves: 16

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the dough hook attached mix dry ingredients until well combined. Add oil and water with mixer running at a medium speed. Mix for 1 minute, stopping several times to scrape the sides of the bowl. After about 1 minute, or when mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.
2. Transfer from mixing bowl to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough in half, then in half again. Continue until you have 16 fairly equal portions. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand as much as possible. If dough is sticky, use a bit more flour. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.
3. After rest period, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will get soggy.
4. When pan is very hot, place one dough circle into pan and allow to cook about 1 minute or until bottom surface has a few pale brown spots. The uncooked surface will begin to show a few little bubbles. If tortilla is browning too fast, reduced heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on underside of tortillas, increase heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for about 30 seconds. You want the tortilla to be soft but have a few small pale golden brown spots on surface. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag till all tortillas are cooked. This will keep them soft and pliable.
5. Wipe out the pan in between tortillas if flour is started to accumulate.
6. Serve warm or allow to cool for later use. When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. Microwave, uncovered for 15-25 seconds (start with 15) or until warm, then cover to hold heat while serving.
7. The tortillas will keep well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag at at room temperature for 24 hours or can be frozen indefinitely. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in freezer.

That's it! Simple enough, right?  I think you'll love these as much as I do. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can knead these by hand. It will just take a bit longer. I'd love to see more recipes for homemade tortillas. These claim to be the best, but are they?  You let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Take care,
NB