Flour Tortillas = L.O.V.E. (pictures to come soon)

For years I relied on the market whenever I needed tortillas for dinner. It was quick and easy and... I really didn't know any better. I grew up eating tortillas from the market. I never knew there were any other kind. When I grew up... hmmmm... let me rephrase that. When I got older I knew that you could make them yourself but for some reason I thought it would be too difficult to do. You need a press and a comal and these were things I didn't have, so more of the same tortillas from the market. Then one day I decided to hell with it. I had a rolling pin and a griddle and damn it I was going to make tortillas if it killed me. Turns out... it's not as difficult as one might imagine.

Let me set the scene...

It was a blustery winter afternoon and I was going to make green chicken enchiladas and I make everything by hand (except the tortillas of course) and I wanted to go all the way this time and make it extra special and make the tortillas. So I set forth to scan the interweb for recipes. I decided that I would keep it authentic and use lard (which I render myself... I will post that process in the not too distant future as I am almost out). Some recipes had barely any fat and others had a ton. Some recipes called for boiling water and some called for cold. How was I ever going to get it right? Well my inner voice chimed in and told me to just aim for the middle... so that's what I did. I made up my own little recipe using the basic proportions and you know what? They turned out so freaking good that my family won't eat the waxy icky tortillas from the market anymore.

The process is very simple. You mix the lard into your flour, salt, and baking soda and add the water and mix it together. Yeah... that's really it. I do it in the food processor and it takes less than 3 minutes start to finish. You must let your dough ball rest for 20 or so minutes to let the gluten relax so you can portion them out and then let your itty bitty dough balls rest again before you roll them out (if you don't... you will be swearing and eventually you will give in to the elastic powers of the gluten monster). Roll them out, cook them for 20 seconds or so per side and you are done.  If you have a tortilla press then you will save your arms from rolling the dough by hand, but it really doesn't take much effort after the dough has rested.
 

You will need:

• 250 grams of all purpose flour
• 5 grams of baking soda
• 10 grams of kosher salt
• 30 grams of fresh lard
• 135 grams of hot water 

Method:

1. Measure your flour, salt, and baking soda into the bowl of a food processor and whizz to mix.
2. Add the lard and let it process until there are no more lumps.
3. Add the hot water and process until the dough forms a ball. 
4. Turn out onto a floured counter top and knead until the dough is pretty smooth. You may add more flour if the dough is too wet, but you shouldn't need much.
5. Set the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic cling film and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
6. Then portion your dough out into smaller balls. I like 60 gram portions for quesadillas and enchiladas and 40 gram portions for soft tacos, but you can make them as big or small as you want.
7. Once rested, roll your dough balls into 6-8" rounds depending on the size of your dough balls.
8. Cook on a hot griddle, or a comal if you have one, for about 20 seconds per side and keep covered until you need them.

So there you have it... in no time flat you will have amazing, soft, chewy, delicous tortillas for your meal and your family will thank you.