Flour Tortillas

This is only the second time I've made flour tortillas. 

The first time after eating one, I exclaimed "I'm never eating another store bought tortilla again!". 

Tonight after taking my first bite of a taco made with these tortillas I said "Yup. Still never going to eat another store bought tortilla ever again."

I discovered this recipe on thepioneerwoman.com

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening*

1 cup hot water

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add the lard/shortening to the bowl and cut into the flour with a pastry blender or fork until texture resembles coarse crumbs.

Slowly pour in hot water, and mix to combine. 

Knead dough 30 or 40 times until a ball forms and is less sticky. 

Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Roll dough with hands into ping pong ball sized pieces, cover and let rest another 20-30 minutes.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Roll out a ball of dough on a lightly floured surface until paper thin (or beyond). If you can roll it into a circular shape, that's great. Clearly I cannot.

Throw it on the griddle and cook until air bubbles form in the dough. Take a peak underneath and see if there are spots starting to golden or brown, if so it's time to flip.

Flip tortilla over and cook for about another 30 seconds or until remaining side has slightly browned. Remove from heat and wrap in a clean dishtowel. **

Continue with these steps until all tortillas are done, adding them to the dishtowel and keeping them wrapped and warm. 

These tortillas are best when served straight from the pan, but will still be delicious later on. Store in an airtight container, and reheat in a the microwave wrapped in damp paper towel, or in the oven wrapped in foil.

Tonight we made tacos with them, but I've also made burritos with them. I'm going to experiment with leaving some dough in the fridge for a day or so before making the rest of them. I'll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE: After a few days of being in the fridge I rolled out a few here and there and they tasted just as wonderful as the first day. Now I can have fresh soft tortillas when ever I want, within minutes! Yaay!

*I know what you're probably thinking, but DO NOT replace this with butter or margarine, just don't.

**It will most likely take a few tries at rolling out and cooking the tortillas to get it just right. Don't get frustrated if your first few are too thick, too hard, etc. The key is definitely in rolling very very thin, and not cooking them too long. They should really be nice and soft but golden to dark brown in spots.