Thursday, December 27, 2012

Flour Tortillas

I have a tortilla method more than a recipe. I basically mashed two recipes together and came up with something that works best for me. I had to adjust it a bit when we moved here from Jordan, but the ghee that I've been using here, instead of shortening, works so amazingly well! You can use shortening though as that is what the recipe originally called for.

Flour Tortillas

Two cups all-purpose flour. (sometimes I substitute a bit of wheat flour for a portion of this)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup ghee

3/4 cup warm milk

up to 1/4 cup water

Mix all dry ingredients. Blend in the ghee. Add milk, a bit at a time, then use water as needed, until the dough becomes soft and smooth. Sometimes I will turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead it, but often I just work it in the bowl.

Some recipes call for allowing it to rest, covered, for 20 minutes - I'm usually in a hurry! Resting will probably help it be less elastic, easier to roll out and stay in shape, but I generally forget this part and this tends to be a forgiving recipe.

This will make about 8-10 tortillas. You can break up the dough into balls first, then roll them all out, separating each by a paper towel in a stack until ready to cook, but I tend to just grab a hunk of dough, roll it out, throw it on the hot skillet, roll the next, flip the first, etc.

Anyway, start with a ball slightly larger than a ping pong ball, and roll it as thin as it goes and can still be picked up. I work directly on my counter, and when rolled out, can see the granite pattern through the dough. Thicker still tastes good, but is harder to roll into burritos... although thicker tortillas make for good dipping bread or quesadillas.

Heat a dry skillet, iron if you have it but I use a regular non-stick pan. Cook about 30 secs on each side. It will likely poof up quite a bit, but will unpoof when cooled! Remove to a plate and cover with a paper towel or napkin until ready to eat.

These will last a couple of days in the fridge.

(Thanks to my friend here for reminding me about this recipe! I have it scribbled down on a piece of paper in the kitchen, but sharing it with her was a good excuse to type it up and put it on the blog.)

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