Homemade Flour Tortillas Without Lard

I have lived in Texas for nearly 14 years and never made tortillas from scratch until a couple days ago. It's just so easy to throw a pack of 20 into the cart at the grocery. And I must confess, I grew up in Ohio where the only "Mexican" cuisine to be had was Taco Bell or for a homemade cultural experience, hard shells filled with greasy ground beef seasoned with a mysterious flavor packet from a box (ick). And tor-tee-ya was pronounced tor-till-a. I thought there must be something difficult about making them from scratch. I am a true Texas convert now. The boys and I will only eat homemade from now on. They are easy, though perhaps a little time consuming, and much better than store bought. I think next time I will get the boys involved. It would be a great family activity.

I used the left over broth from boiling the tofu cutlets to cook up a batch of black beans, adding a bit of garlic, cumin, pepper, thyme, and salt to season them. The black beans made a perfect filling for the fresh tortillas. No one complained when we had leftovers the next night. In fact, my oldest son had so many compliments for the chef this momma was beaming.

Put on your apron, pull out the flour, and make up a batch of tor-tee-ya's tonight.

Homemade Tortillas

3 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup hot water

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together thoroughly. Add the oil and mix with your hands until the flour mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add hot water and mix until a ball is formed. Cover and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes. (If leaving overnight, place in refrigerator)

Divide dough into 12 even sized balls and roll out one at a time on a floured surface. Brush off excess flour and cook on a hot, ungreased griddle (I love my cast iron) over medium high heat. Turn the tortilla when brown blisters form. Serve warm.