Homemade Flour Tortillas

These homemade flour tortillas are very easy to make and are extremely yummy. They're nice and soft and are great as soft taco's, burrito's, with the Cafe Rio recipes, or with yummy refried beans, etc. I haven't tried frying them (Chimichanga's or Taquito's) because they're just so nice to eat fresh out of the pan...just ask Chris, he loves to eat them with a little butter or salt on them!

Homemade Flour Tortillas
2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough. *Note: The dough will be sticky.

Lightly flour a cutting board and knead the dough for about 5 mins, adding a dusting of flour when the dough gets sticky or sticks to the cutting board. Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.

*Note: This recipe makes approximately 10, 6-7 inch tortillas. If you want larger tortillas, divide the dough into 6-7 balls.

Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth. Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. Lightly dust your cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

* Note: It's difficult to roll out a perfectly round tortilla so if that is important to you, you can always trim the tortilla with a knife.

Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds. Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft. Keep your tortillas warm by covering them with a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

* Note: Tortillas are best eaten hot right off the pan, but you can make them ahead and then keep them in the tortilla warmer until you're ready to eat and they stay nice and soft and fresh. I usually make them about an hour ahead and then keep the tortilla warmer in a warm oven.

* Note: They also refrigerate and freeze well. If you refrigerate them, wrap them in foil and place them in a 250 degree oven for 10-15 mins. If you freeze the tortillas, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock bag. When you are ready to use them, first thaw them at room temperature and then wrap them in the foil and place them in a 250 degree oven for a 10 to 15 minutes. Microwaving them is not recommended as it tends to toughen them.