Sometimes it’s not the seductive photos of the food, but rather the way an author describes the cooking method  that lures me into the kitchen. When I was paging through a back-issue of Fine Cooking from 2006, an article titled, “Making flour tortillas is easier than you think,” caught my attention. (Yes, the magazine is five years old. I’m a packrat when it comes to food magazines…I drag them around the globe and flip through them when I need inspiration.)  This is the line that sold me: “And you know what? They really are easy to make….Once you taste these and see for yourself how uncomplicated it is to make them, store-bought tortillas may not taste the same ever again.”

Living in KL,  good tortillas, that are not rubbery or freezer burned, are hard to come by. But now, I look no further than my own kitchen for light, soft, flaky tortillas. Last night, I served babies with chicken fajitas from Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Today’s Mothers-to-Be (recipe will appear in a future post). My vegetarian daughter eagerly filled her tortilla with grilled zuchinni, red bell peppers, onions, cheese, avocado, salsa and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

Thank you Fine Cooking for continuous inspiration and great recipes over the years!

Makes ten 8-inch tortillas

9 ounces (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling
1 teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup cold vegetable shortening (I use unsalted butter), cut into small pieces

In a medium bowl, stir the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the shortening and cut it into the flour with a pastry blender or two table knives until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Stir in 2/3 cup warm water with a fork until a shaggy dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and soft, 3 to 4 minutes, reflouring the surface as necessary. After kneading, the dough should not be very sticky. Portion the dough into 10 (the original recipe calls for 8, but I find them too big) equal pieces, about 2 ounces each (I use a scale to weigh the dough).

Cover the dough balls loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

When ready to cook the tortillas, heat a large skillet (recipe calls for cast iron, but I use a heavy, non-stick skillet) or griddle over medium heat until hot. Working with one ball of dough at a time (keep the others covered) and using just enough flour to prevent sticking, roll the dough into 9 to 10-inch rounds. The dough should be so thin that you can vaguely see the pattern of your countertop through it (great description, though not quite true), and it should be more or less circular, though an amoeba shape it fine, too.

Peel the dough off the counter and lay it in the skillet or on the griddle. Cook until the tortilla bubbles and puffs and the bottom browns in spots, 45 to 60 seconds. If any gigantic bubbles form (call your kids to witness this magic) pierce them so the tortilla cooks evenly (I just gently flatten them with a spatula). Flip with a spatula and cook until the second side gets brown in spots, and any translucent, raw-looking areas become opaque, another 45 to 60 seconds. (If the tortillas brown too quickly or start burning in spots, reduce the heat to medium low.)

Transfer to a clean dishtowel and cover to keep warm (I place the cooked tortillas on a cake rack and then cover them). Repeat with the remaining dough, stacking and covering each tortilla as it is cooked. Because they are not loaded with preservatives, these tortillas taste  best when freshly made. They can be frozen. Thaw frozen ones in their wrapping, then heat them in a dry frying pan (the same way you cooked them), or wrap them in foil and heat them in a 350 degree F oven until warm, about 10 minutes.

More about Homemade, Main Courses