Thick & Chewy Flour Tortillas

From Suzanne McMinn (Chickens in the Road): "Making Flour Tortillas"
Makes 6 6" tortillas

In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Cut in lard with a fork, fingers or a pastry blender. Stir in milk and mix together well with a spoon until it becomes difficult, then begin kneading by hand. It will be dry at first, but don't despair. Keep kneading it until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes. The dough should be pliable and not very sticky.

Sprinkle some flour over and knead it in briefly. Divide the dough into six equal balls.

I used a silicone baking mat to roll my dough out on, which helped as I could see that the dough did not need any additional flour picked up from the board. If you don't use something non-stick, like the counter, a pastry board or waxed paper, you probably will need to sprinkle a bit of flour to prevent sticking.

Roll out each dough ball as thin as possible without breaking or ripping the dough. (Vaguely tortilla-shaped is okay too! Amoeboid-tillas taste just as good.) If it sticks, use more flour. Set finished tortillas aside, separating into layers using waxed paper or cellophane or hand them off to your honey to cook while you flatten another out.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. No oil is used with tortillas, so doing this can be detrimental to non-stick pans. Don't worry, the tortillas won't stick, especially if your pan is well-seasoned. (We cook bacon in ours almost every day and it's slick as can be.)

Cook each tortilla for about 30 seconds on each side. They'll probably shrink a bit as they puff up nicely and develop browned spots. Remove and keep warm under/inside foil while you cook up the rest. (And remember, if one doesn't come out nicely, it can go to the "dog". Woof!)

Notes:

  1. Please visit Suzanne's blog for step-by-step photos and the recipe for making thin tortillas, not to mention lots of goats, chickens and big puppies!

A recipe from http://kitchenmouse.rozentali.com/2009/10/tequila-lime-chicken-tacos/

Posted by Cori Rozentāle on .