Flour Tortillas

Following the usual mid-western childhood pattern, we started off with brand name crunchy taco shells and shredded lettuce, then moved to, again, mass produced flour tortillas, only to see the light when finally exposed to taqueria style corn tortillas and set aside flour tortillas for burritos and quesadillas only. This world-view was turned upside down after spending time in San Antonio, TX. The flour tortilla is king in tex-mex cuisine, and the world of tex-mex cuisine is vast. These aren't your <insert brand > flour tortillas.. They're supple, elastic, rich, chewy and wholesome. They not only allow the ingredients wrapped in them to shine, they stand up on their own. From spreading a bit of butter on a tortilla, to chorizo, egg and cheese breakfast tacos, you will never look at a tortilla in the same way.

This recipe is an attempt at a basic flour tortilla, no yeast, with vegetable shortening, instead of butter or animal shortenings (lard). The goal is a supple and chewy tortilla. As with all baking exercises, precision is required. All purpose flour works best. You'll notice variability between the tortillas, which is due to the heat of the pan and starting temperature of the dough. Also, keeping the freshly cooked tortillas wrapped to allow them to steam goes a long way.

In a mixing bowl, stir:

• 3 cups all purpose flour (400 grams flour)

• 2 tsp baking powder (7.5 grams baking powder)

• 1 tsp kosher salt

Then add:

• 1/3 cup shortening (65 grams) add in clumps of the shortening and work in with hands

• 8 oz hot (not scalding) water add slowly while kneading

Knead - 10mins by hand or mixer. Lay out the dough to portion into equal sized balls.

Here is a little table to get the right dimensions/thickness if you want a larger size tortilla with the same recipe. For breakfast tacos, e recommend staying between 5-7 inches.

Tortilla Size and Weight (grams/before cooking)

Diam"  | Grams    | # of Tortillas
5.0    |    35    |    24.0
5.7    |    40    |    21.0
6.4    |    45    |    18.7
7.1    |    50    |    16.8
7.9    |    55    |    15.3
8.6    |    60    |    14.0
9.3    |    65    |    12.9
10.0   |    70    |    12.0
10.7   |    75    |    11.2

1. Roll each portion into a ball, tucking it in itself , leaving a smooth outside surface. Place in bowl or sheet pan covered with a moist paper towel and then kitchen towel.

2. Prepare a cast iron skillet, heat to medium-high

3. By hand, stretch out each ball into mini frisbees. With a rolling pin, roll out each disk into 5 inch diameter tortillas. Flour gently to avoid sticking to the surface or pin. Shake off any excess flour before adding the tortilla to the skillet.

4. Add tortilla to hot skillet

5. If the skillet is at the right temperature, the tortilla should start to puff considerably, once puffed on one side and a few leopard spots are achieved, flip over. The flip side does not need to be cooked as long as the initial side. Do not poke out the air bubbles and be careful of the steam when handling. Be sure not to overcook or burn. The tortillas should be supple, and malleable. If they're coming out stiff, the skillet may not be hot enough (look for puffing)

6. Once each tortilla is done, stack and cover in a kitchen towel.

Breakfast Tacos!

• Bean & Cheese

• Egg, Bean & Cheese

• Chorizo & Egg

• Potato & Egg

• Avocado, Tomato