Looking for an idiot proof way to make flour tortillas any input will help.THANKS?

Answer 1

These tortillas have real body and taste; they are perfect for gorditas, fajitas and eating out of hand.

2 C All-purpose flour
1-½ t Baking powder
1 t Salt
2 t Vegetable oil
¾ C Lukewarm milk (2% is fine)
Stir together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough. It will be sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (fold and press, fold and press). The kneading will take care of the stickiness. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)

Divide your dough into 8 balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes. Avoid letting them touch, if you don't want them to stick together.

Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat it into a 5-inch circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, until you have a 7- or 8-inch tortilla a little less than ¼-inch thick. Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet or griddle. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 30 seconds. Remove the tortilla, place it in a napkin-lined basket and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

Although flour tortillas, like corn tortillas, are best if eaten right after they are made, these tortillas will freeze well. Wrap them tightly in plastic, and they will keep, frozen, for several weeks. To serve tortillas that have been frozen, let them thaw and come to room temperature, then wrap them in aluminum foil and heat them in a warm oven. Microwaving tends to toughen them.

Here are some tips as to technique:

Do not use bread flour. You want flour with a low gluten content.
You don't want to over-flour your work surface, but you don't want your rolled-out tortilla sticking to it either. I found that the dough adhered less to an unvarnished wood surface (like an old cutting board) than any other surface I tried.
A flat dough scraper, known in baking parlance as a "bench knife", is very efficient in removing the rolled-out tortilla from the work surface.
When rolling out tortillas, dust your rolling pin with flour, and don't be afraid to apply pressure. Flour tortilla dough is pretty sturdy; but not to the point of rerolling. You don't want tough tortillas.
The Border Cookbook recommends the use of a tortilla roller (similar to a short piece of broomstick), rather than a rolling pin.
Rolling out tortillas in perfect circles is harder than it sounds; the dough wants to draw up. So if perfectly circular shapes are important, you can trim away the excess with a sharp knife.
Once again, I believe a cast-iron skillet or griddle is practically indispensable for making any kind of tortilla. A dry cast-iron utensil, unlike most other materials, can take high temperatures over a sustained period of time without being adversely affected, although you may have to do a reseasoning afterwards.
Once you get a rhythm going, you can roll out a tortilla, put it on to cook and, while it cooks, roll out your next tortilla. Seems like an arduous process but, with this method, I could produce 8 tortillas in about 10 action-packed minutes. Be sure to rewrap your fresh tortillas each time you add another to the stack.

Answer 2

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cups warm water

Mix flour and salt together. Rub shortening into flour with fingertips
until mixture has a fine, even texture. Stir in water until dough forms.
Knead on a floured surface until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Wrap in
plastic and let rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Knead a few
times and divide into 8 pieces (for 10" tortillas), or 12 pieces (for 8"
tortillas). Roll each into a ball and cover with plastic to keep from
drying out. Roll each ball out on a floured surface, turning over
frequently. Stack between sheets of waxed paper.
Heat an ungreased heavy skillet over medium high heat until "a water
droplet flicked onto it dances in tiny droplets". Place a tortilla
in the pan and cook until the top is bubbly and the bottom is flecked
with brown (about 30 seconds). Turn it over and cook the other side about
20 seconds. If it puffs up during cooking, just flatten it back down with
the spatula. Cook the rest the same way. Tortillas can be refrigerated
up to 3 days or frozen up to two weeks. Reheat before using.

Answer 3

Flour Tortilla Recipe
This is a simple, easy to make flour tortilla recipe. My grandmother always made homemade tortillas for us. It was a way for her to nourish her family. She made the best tortillas! Tortillas can be part of the meal, a bread to compliment or a delicious dessert.

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4-6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard
about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Instructions
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add vegetable shortening or lard. Or use a combination of half lard, half shortening.
Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening or just do it the old fashioned
way and use your hands.

Next add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky. You do
not need very hot water.

Knead the dough for a few minutes.

Now you will pull off pieces of dough to form about 12 small dough balls. Let them
rest for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like.

This is a good time to heat up the comal. You will want to set it at medium to high
heat. If it is too hot the tortillas will cook too fast.

Now you can roll out the dough with your tortilla rolling pin or palote. It is a good
idea to dust each ball with a little flour just before you roll them out. Lay the palote
in the center of the dough ball and roll up, center and roll down. It is good to lift the
dough and turn it. Again, rolling pin in the center and roll. Roll them out fairly thin.

Lay your tortilla on the hot comal. It takes just a few seconds to cook. Flip to the other
side. When they are done it should have lots of nice brown speckles. Place them in a
towel. If you would like you can use a tortilla warmer to keep them warm longer.
They are ready to be served!

If you need any of the equipment to make flour tortillas, try our authentic tortilla kit.

Enjoy!

Visit http://www.texasrollingpins.com/tortillarecipe.html for a low fat recipe

Answer 4

Get your tortillas fresh from the store. Place about 3-4 in a plastic bag -fold the bag closed slightly but loose and place in a microwave for about 45 seconds. ( might have to experiment around with the time depending upon how many tortillas you put in the bag or your microwave. they will stay nice and hot in the bag for a short time.

Answer 5

Cooking tortillas is easy. They are simply tossed on a hot griddle (comal) for 20 seconds, then turned over once for 20 seconds.


Tortillas brown only slightly but develop a thin, tough skin on both sides. At times they puff up momentarily like soufflé potatoes.

Answer 6

Buy them at the store. The only people I know of who still make homemade tortillas are grandmothers.