Every other day, grandma used to make her famous homemade flour tortillas. As soon as I entered grandma’s kitchen, I could smell that special aroma that only comes from freshly made tortillas. If you’ve ever had the luxury of being in a kitchen when tortillas are cooking on the comal (cast iron skillet), you know what I’m talking about. I remember rubbing a stick of butter on my warm tortilla and watching the butter melt. I’d quickly roll the tortilla and eat it; sometimes the butter would run down my arm which was okay because I would just lick it right off.
I remember running to grandma’s house after school, knowing that she would be rolling and cooking tortillas. She would give me a small ball of dough, and I’d roll out my own tortilla. Mine was always shaped like an oval, never perfectly round like grandma’s. My favorite way to eat a fresh warm tortilla is with a dollop of salsa casera, lightly salted, and rolled into one perfect spicy burrito.
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Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon lard or shortening
1 1/4 cups warm water
Directions:
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Place a comal (griddle or cast-iron skillet) over medium heat and allow it to heat up.
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In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add the lard or shortening, and combine until you have the consistency of small crumbs.
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Add the warm water and mix well with your hand. The mixture may be a little sticky. Knead on a cutting board or smooth counter until dough is pliable and springy. Sprinkle with flour if dough is too sticky.
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Form 2- to 2 1/2-inch dough balls. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough balls to form 7- to 8-inch disks. If dough is sticky, sprinkle board and rolling pin with flour to make it easier to roll out the dough.
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As you roll out each disk, place on the hot comal to cook, it will take 1 minute or less on each side. After cooking the first side, turn tortilla over and let it cook on the opposite side; when tortilla starts to form air pockets press down gently on it with a wooden tortilla press or rolled up kitchen towel (like grandma did) to release the air. Don’t press too much, or it will make tough tortillas.
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Keep the tortillas warm in a tortilla warmer or under a clean dish towel. Leftover tortillas can be refrigerated in a plastic bag.
Makes 13 to 14 (7- to 8-inch) tortillas
Recipe from the Muy Bueno Cookbook
