I have made tortillas about 10 times now since being introduced to the idea, and have been trying every time to improve over the time before. I believe I finally found a site that highlights a lot of the things I was missing in previous cooking episodes.
This is the link I used, as well as watching the video as an aid.
http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2011/03/fresh-homemade-flour-tortillas-in-no.html
Granted, there are many ways to make tortillas, but these are the type I like. Thick, chewy flour tortillas.
The recipe he used is what I also used (and doubled), and I have it listed below as the doubled version:
3 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. hot water (about 105 F)
The tortilla experts seem to be able to whip these out in less time, but it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes from start to finish to complete this recipe.
This made 12 tortillas about 10" in diameter for me. I rolled them fairly thin, so this can also influence how many tortillas you get out of the batch.
Listed below are the steps that I followed that I believe make a difference in getting a good tortilla:
1. Whisk the flour, salt, and power together for even distribution.
2. Cut in the shortening, and then knead in the hot water.
3. Kneading is important! I'm not sure the physics of this, but this was a step I had skipped in the past, but kneading the mixed dough for about 3 minutes keeps the dough from being dry and flaky.
4. Cut the dough into even proportions as if cutting a pizza into slices. Roll slices into balls from this step.
5. Let the dough rest. Again, not sure why this works, but from what I've read letting the dough rest about 15 minutes after kneading and then 15 minutes after you have formed them into balls helps create a better tortilla.
6. Keep the dough covered under a clean dish towel. Keeping the dough covered prevents the dough from drying out. In the past, I had rolled out all the tortillas and laid them on the counter, but keeping the dough balls covered and only taking out one at a time and rolling it while another was cooking turned out to be a perfect rhythm.
7. Use a cast iron skillet. This way you don't need to oil the pan.
8. Put your heat setting on 2-3. I had used a heat setting of around 4-5 in the past and the tortillas heated up too quickly and created a lot of smoke and seemed to burn more quickly. The lower heat setting allowed me to cook them on each side about 1 minute. During this time, I rolled out the next tortilla to be cooked.
9. After cooking them, layer them on a plate with a towel covering the top of the pile. When you are completely done, if you are saving them for a later date, you can seal them in a plastic bag while still warm wherein the steam from the tortillas will keep the tortillas from drying out. You should be able to store them at room temperature or in the fridge for slightly longer.
10. Enjoy your feat of homemade tortillas!
