These homemade tortillas are a little thicker and more airy than store-bought. They are definitely tastier and healthier!

For the past few years, we’ve used frozen, uncooked tortillas from Costco. One thing that separates the tortillas from Costco from run-of-the-mill grocery store fare is that they have to be lightly fried right before serving. The downside is that, like most tortillas, they are made with lard. The quest began for a tortilla recipe which could be made at home that had healthier ingredients.

Right from the beginning, I could see that my main challenge would be rolling the dough thin enough (without having overly thin spots or holes). Of course, there are purpose-deisgned tortilla presses, but acquiring another gadget flies in the face of streamlining our galley.

After searching through virtual stacks of recipes on the Internet, I found a blog offering a recipe for a “Texas tortilla.” The author promised a healthy, puffy, tasty Tex-Mex style tortilla. Armed with a recipe, a rolling pin, and sheets of parchment paper, I finally achieved my goal of homemade flour tortillas. I’ve tried substituting one cup of wheat flour for one cup of white flour, resulting in a heartier tortilla. Each time I’ve made them, they’ve come out tasty, and I’m getting faster at it. And they come out a little rounder each time, too!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup room temperature milk

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Mix in oil.
3. Slowly add in milk. Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.
5. Place ball of dough in bowl. Cover with damp cloth and let rest for 20 minutes.
6. Break dough into 8 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Cover with damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
7. Take one dough ball and flatten by hand into a circle. Place flattened dough on lightly floured surface. Cover with parchment paper. Roll out with rolling pin, just as you would a pie crust. The result should be a flat, circular tortilla about 8″ in diameter and 1/8″ or less thick. Continue with remaining dough balls. Stack finished tortillas, using parchment paper to keep them separate.
8. In a hot, dry skillet, cook tortillas about 30 seconds on each side. I use wooden chopsticks for flipping. Keep cooked tortillas wrapped under a clean cloth towel until ready for serving.

Tortillas can be prepared a day in advance and kept them in the refrigerator to save preparation time.

This recipe was adapted from http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-end-to-my-quest-flour-tortillas.html.