93079 Flour Tortillas
Ingredients:
3 cup unsifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup shortening or lard
1 cup lukewarm water
1 shortening or lard
Instructions:
Put flour and baking powder in bowl and mix. Cut shortening into
flour with pastry blender until size of peas. Add water gradually.
Stir until dough is stiff. Form into a ball and knead thoroughly
until smooth on a lightly floured board. At this point you can
grease the surface of the dough, cover tightly and refrigerate for as
long as 24 hours before using; if you do this, the dough will be
easier to handle. Let dough return to room temperature before you
begin to roll it out (about 1 hour). Divide dough into 8 balls for
large, thin tortillas or 11 balls for regular-sized, 7 inch
tortillas. For large, thin tortillas, roll as thin as possible on a
lightly floured board. Drop onto a very hot ungreased skillet. Bake
until freckled on one side. (This should take only about 20
seconds.) Lift edge with spatula, turn, and bake on second side. To
serve at once, fold hot, limp tortilla around pieces of butter. Or
cool tortillas, wrap airtight, and refrigerate or freeze. To serve
later, reheat or fry by methods described below. Makes one dozen
tortillas (1/16 inch thick). To reheat and soften corn or flour
tortillas on an ungreased surface: Fresh tortillas are already soft
in a sense, but when heated they become even more tender and
flexible. If tortillas are dry and a little hard, dip your hand in
water and rub it lightly onto surfaces of the bread before heating.
Be sure not to heat them longer than necessary to soften and warm
thoroughly, or they will become hard and brittle. Place tortillas so
they do not overlap on a medium-hot griddle or in a heavy frying pan
over medium-high heat. Turn frequently until soft and hot, about 30
seconds. Put immediately into a tightly covered dish, or put into a
foil packet and seal it, and hold in a 200 degree oven until all
tortillas are heated. (The secret is to keep them from drying out
once heated.) To soften corn or flour tortillas by frying: Heat
about 1/4 inch of salad oil, shortening, or lard in a frying pan over
medium-high heat. Quickly turn one or two tortillas at a time in oil;
they soften almost immediately. Do not allow them to become crisp.
Drain on paper towels. To crisp-fry whole corn or flour tortillas:
Heat 1 inch of salad oil, shortening, or lard in a frying pan to
350-375 degrees. Fry 1 tortilla at a time, using a spatula to turn
frequently or to hold it under the fat until it crisps, puffs
slightly, and browns lightly (about 1 minute or less). Drain on
paper towels.
Servings: 10
