Homemade Flour Tortillas

Step 1

MIX: Whisk together the dry ingredients with your hands or with a whisk. Add in the shortening using a pastry cutter, or you can rub the shortening into the flour using your fingertips. Just work the fat into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the hot water and combine with your hands. When the dough is shaggy and somewhat combined, dump it out onto a clean surface. Bring it together to form a ball. Then, set a timer for 10 minutes and knead the dough until it’s soft and supple. It’ll feel like it’s not soft right away, but once you hit around 4-5 minutes of kneading, you’ll notice the dough softens and much easier to work with.

Step 2

REST: Cover the dough with a bowl or with wrap in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes before proceeding.

Step 3

ROLL: On a clean work surface, dusted very lightly with flour, divide the dough into 14 equal portions. Roll the dough into smooth balls, place under a wet paper towel, or just cover with a tea towel. Grab the first one you rolled and roll it out into a tortilla using a rolling pin. Ideally, you want it to be  ⅛ - ¼ inch in thickness depending on preference. But not thicker than that. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.

Step 4

COOK: Add the tortilla to the hot skillet and allow for it to start forming bubbles on the surface, this takes about 1 - 1 ½ minute. Once you see the bubbles getting larger, flip the tortilla over and allow for it to cook for an additional 20-30 seconds or until it’s done. You may need to turn the heat down once you’ve made a few tortillas as it gets really hot. Alternately, you can move the skillet off the heat for a few minutes and allow it to cool before proceeding.