Tortillas

I try to make as much of the food we eat, from scratch, that I possibly can.  Whilst this can be more time consuming it is definitely better tasting and I expect more nutritious.  I stopped buying bread over eight years ago when we bought a bread maker, I used it a lot to start off with, nowadays less often, partly because we eat less bread but also because I make some of the bread we eat by hand.   A recent addition to my cookbook library a bread recipe book has a section on flatbreads I have been making naan and pita breads for years but had never attempted tortillas*.  We eat them often, they are really versatile.  You can stuff them with so many ingredients, refried beans, salads, coleslaw, hummus, bean sprouts, cheese and the list goes on.

The recipe book suggested that making your own was far tastier than shop bought ones, my first attempt were a disaster.  They were stiff as boards, completely tasteless and the children complained that they were not round!  Never one to give up at the first hurdle I tried them again and the book was right they are better tasting.  The first batch were cooked for too long and went hard and brittle, the trick is to cook them for one minute as the book suggests....perhaps if I had read it properly they would have been good from the beginning.  I vow that I will never buy another tortilla again as they taste of cardboard and stick to the roof of your mouth.

Wheat Tortillas

300g plain flour
1 scant tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
50g fat (recipe book suggests lard or white vegetable fat I use butter)

Put the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl and add the fat.

Rub in using hands to make fine crumbs.

Add 150ml of warm water and bring the mix together to form a soft dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth.

Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling and leave to rest for an hour in a warm place.

On a floured surface cut the dough into pieces, for large tortillas cut into eight pieces for slightly smaller ones cut into ten.

Roll each piece into a thin circle, mine are more like squircles and dry fry over a medium heat for one minute on each side.

Transfer to a cooling rack whilst the rest are cooking.

I tend to roll the next one whilst one is cooking but watch that you do not allow the cooking tortilla to get too crispy!

You can freeze them once cooked.

* traditionally a tortilla was made of corn, but this post is about those made with wheat flour.