FLOUR TORTILLAS

Mix dry ingredients
4 C. Flour (I usually do 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white flour)
1 tsp. Salt

Combine wet ingredients
1 1/2 C. Water
6 T. Olive Oil

Stir the fluid into the dry ingredients.  Kneed it together just enough to make the dough uniform and elastic.  Not more than 5 minutes.  Set aside and let the dough hydrate for at least 1 hour (not more than 24 hours in refrigerator). This step makes the dough easier to work with and makes a more pliable end product.

Divide the dough into about 1/4 c. sized dough balls.  Roll them out with a rolling pin with enough extra flour to prevent from them sticking.  You want to make them quite thin, about 2-3 mm thickness depending on your dough texture. One of my Mexican friends watched me struggle and he told me, “Don’t stretch the dough especially as you start rolling it out. Just press/roll it out”. That seems to help me not get so many “hearts”—otherwise know as weird shaped tortillas:) That said, until you get the hang of rolling them round, remember that funny shaped tortilla’s are very forgiving in enchiladas:)

Place the rolled dough on a hot non-oiled pan, griddle or preferably a hot wood stove top! I heat my griddle to 400 F. which is its maximum.  When you put the flattened dough on the pan it should begin making big bubbles fairly soon and the translucent color should be mostly gone when you flip it to brown the other side too. If you have it right, the translucent/wet look of the dough should be just gone as you reach the perfect brown on the bubbles on the second side. You just have to learn this by trial and error. Put the finished tortilla’s on a plate and keep a slightly damp towel over them at all times to keep them moist. You don’t want them to dry and and become hard.