The recipe for tortillas is fairly simple; all you need is flour, salt, water, baking powder and oil, lard or shortening. Traditionally, a tortilla press flattens the dough before the tortillas are placed on the griddle, but you can use a rolling pin or pasta roller to achieve the same result.
Choosing Your Ingredients
Most traditional tortillas use corn flour (masa harina) or wheat flour and lard, but depending on your preferences and what's in your pantry you can use white or whole-wheat flour, and shortening or vegetable oil. Recipes for tortillas are all fairly similar. The biggest difference will be how many tortillas each recipe makes, and what kind of oil or lard is used. Many recipes are readily available online (see Resources).
Preparing the Dough
If the recipe you chose uses lard or shortening, you will need to cut the fat with a fork or your fingers to form small pieces before you add it to the dough. Once the shortening is incorporated into the dry ingredients, add water until the dough is firm but not sticky. The water should be hot and should be added in small increments to avoid watery, sticky dough. After all the ingredients are combined, knead the dough until it feels elastic and holds its round shape. Kneading breaks down gluten strands, ensuring that your tortillas are not too chewy or tough. After kneading, separate the dough into individual balls for each tortilla and leave to rest for 10-30 minutes.
Forming and Cooking the Tortillas
On a lightly floured surface, press dough balls into a circle and then roll with a rolling pin until very thin. Pasta rollers can also be used to form homemade tortillas before cooking; just pass the tortilla dough through the roller like you would to flatten pasta. You can also use a traditional tortilla press, but flour tortillas will often be too sticky for the press to function correctly. Warm your skillet or griddle on medium heat and add the first tortilla. Cook for 30-60 seconds on each side, until the tortilla blisters and browns slightly, then flip and cook the other side the same way. Place cooked tortillas on a dry paper towel and cover with tin foil until the whole batch is cooked to keep them warm and dry. Finished tortillas can be eaten warm, kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen for several weeks.
Tags: lard shortening, tortilla press, tortillas fairly