Mexican Food: Easy Homemade Tortillas

Warm, homemade tortillas, with or without melted butter, are the crowning touches to any homecooked Mexican meal. Making your own means you can control the quality of ingredients and avoid the chemical preservatives store bought tortillas often contain. If you want to be even more health conscious, make sure that the baking powder you use is aluminum free. Whether you are cooking enchiladas, burritos, carne asada, or fajitas, these wonderful flat breads complete the meal.

If you want homemade tortilla chips, stack several freshly made tortillas, and cut them into pie wedge shapes. Deep fry the wedges a handful at a time until golden brown and crisp to make your own delicious homemade chips. Lightly dust with salt and sever them with bean dip, guacamole dip, or chili con queso.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

3 cups flour
2 tsp. homemade baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 to 6 tbsp. vegetable shortening
1 to 1 ¼ cups warm water

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the shortening. Add water a little at a time. The dough should be soft but not sticky.

Knead the dough 15 to 20 times. Pull off pieces to make 12 evenly sized balls of dough. Set aside to rest while the griddle warms up to a medium heat. If the heat is too high, the tortillas will cook too fast and burn.

Sprinkle a little flour on each dough ball. Put dough ball between two sheets of waxed paper and use a tortilla press to shape tortilla into a thin circle. Alternatively, use a rolling pin to roll dough balls into a circle 1/8 of an inch.

Cook on the hot griddle for a few seconds, then flip to cook the other side. These cook very quickly and are done when they have small brown speckles. As they cook, place them on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep them hot.

To make tortilla bowls, place oven-safe cereal bowls upsidedown on a large baking sheet with sides (prevents bowls sliding off when taking them out of the oven). Mold a tortilla over the bottom of each bowl. Bake at 400 degrees until tortilla is crispy.

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