I have to confess I had not made flour tortillas in so long, I was a little nervous about it but they turned out so good! They always do. It’s a flour tortilla after all, they never let you down.
With everything that is going on right now you are going to find this recipe very handy. Making tortillas takes patience and practice but oh, it is so worth it! Plus, you won’t have to leave your house to get fresh tortillas anymore. They last up to 5 days in your fridge. That is if you can resist eating the whole batch in two.
Here are some step by step pictures. I hope I make it clear for you, and remember; don’t give up, stay positive and just think about all the yummy tacos you can make.
** First, boil the water. This recipe calls for 1 cup of hot water so what I do is, I always boil more and measure 1 cup when It is at its boiling point.
While the water is getting ready, mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the shortening and cut it in. You can use your hands, its perfectly fine and faster. You want to get pea size crumbs.
Pour the water slowly and mix it with a fork. Once the water is cool enough to handle (be brave here, It still needs to be hot) start kneading the dough. You should have a very smooth dough with a little elasticity.
Make little balls. This dough will make between 12 to 14 tortillas depending on the size. Here’s a tip that I learned from my mom, the smoother you make the balls the easier it is to get a round tortilla. Can you tell by the pictures?
**At this point start heating up your griddle or skillet on medium heat.
Sprinkle a little flour on a clean surface and place the ball of dough pressing it down with your fingers.
Start rolling the dough from the center, out in all directions. Rotate the tortilla as your roll it. This trick will help you get an even circle. Roll the tortilla as thing as you can.
You might not get a round tortilla the first time, that’s ok. It takes practice. It will still be delicious!
You are going to flip the tortillas three times total. First, place it on the griddle wait 5 seconds and flip, you know its ready to flip a second time when air pockets start to form on the top. Flip it one last time and cook just for a minute. You want brown spots all throughout the tortilas. Repeat until all tortillas are done.
**To storage the tortillas let them cool completely, then separate the tortillas to make sure they don’t stick together. Pile them up again, place them in a big zip top bag and refrigerate up to 5 days.
Find recipe below!
Notes
You can storage the left over tortillas in a zip top bag in the refrigerator. It is important that before you do this you separate the flour tortillas , stack them back together and place them inside the bag. If you skip this step your tortillas will most likely stick together and would be so very sad.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 1 cup very hot water
Instructions
- Boil 1 1/2 cups of water. I always boil more than what the recipe calls for. Some water will evaporate as it boils.
- In a large bowl and using a fork, mix the flour and salt.
- Add the shortening and cut it in. You can use a pastry cutter or even your clean hands. Don’t worry about the temperature of the shortening.
- Pour 1 cup of the boiling water and stir in with a fork. Mix. Once is cool enough to handle (be brave!) start kneading the dough until very smooth. It won’t take more than 5 minutes.
- Make little balls. You will get between 12 to 14, depending on the size.
- Heat up a skillet or a flat griddle on medium high heat.
- Dust a board with a little flour and start rolling the tortillas, working from the center out in all directions rotating the tortilla between each roll. Get them as thin as you can.
- Cook the tortillas. You are going to flip the tortillas three times total. First, place it on the griddle wait 5 seconds and flip, you know its ready to flip a second time when air pockets start to form on the top. Flip it one last time and cook just for a minute
- Serve hot!
- *see Note
