Flour Tortillas

San Jose Mercury News – Stacy Diaz

4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups warm water

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Pour in the vegetable oil and mix ingredients by hand. Add the water a little at a time until the mixture turns into a soft dough. Add more water if necessary. The dough should not be sticky – if it is, balance things out with a little flour.

Turn out dough onto a flour-dusted surface and knead for 2-4 minutes. Form dough into a ball, cover it with a towel, and place the bowl upside-down over it. Let dough rest for 15-20 minutes (it will not rise). Meanwhile, heat an ungreased griddle over medium-high heat.

Pull off golf-ball-sized pieces of dough and pat each one into a 5-inch circle. Dust counter with flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Work from center, using a back-and-forth motion, turning dough a quarter of a turn after each roll and flipping dough at least once. Continue to roll out the dough until quite thin and about 7 to 8 inches in diameter.

Place tortilla on the hot griddle (and begin rolling out the next one). After about 20-25 seconds, bubbles will rise on the tortilla’s surface. (The first one is kind of a test to see if your griddle is hot enough or too hot- kind of like crepes.) Flip and cook the other side for another 20-25 seconds. It should have dark brown speckles on it. Remove from pan and continue with remaining tortillas.