Flour Tortillas

One of the simple, basic things I learned to fix when we lived in bush Alaska was flour tortillas. It took me a while before they were edible, but now I am pretty consistent. We have tried them with whole wheat flour and a mixture of white and wheat flour. When the time comes that we are dependent upon whole wheat flour, that is what I will use. But for now, we prefer them made from white flour. So here they are.

I make them fresh for a meal without making any extras. I have tried making extras and keeping them in the frig, which is okay. But, we prefer them fresh and they are quick to make. I only make four at a time and they aren't very big, so if your family requires more, you will have to increase the recipe accordingly.

Start off with 1 cup of flour.

Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. baking powder.

For the liquid add 2 tbsp. 
olive oil and 1/3 c. water.

Mix well. The dough will be rather moist.

Turn it out onto a floured surface, knead and add flour as needed until it is just barely not sticky. That sounds odd, but I have added too much flour before and the tortillas turn out rather stiff. 

So just get the dough to where it won't stick to the counter or rolling pin. Still put a little flour on the counter when you roll them out to help prevent sticking.

Now to cook them. The problem I initially had was not keeping the skillet hot enough and cooking them too long. So, put a little oil in the skillet, get it good and hot, then put in a tortilla. They don't need long to cook on each side, maybe 45 seconds to a minute. Flip them over, cook the other side, then place them in a towel or tortilla bowl to retain the remaining moisture and keep them warm while you cook the rest.

We like to have one with only butter and salt. They are great. This is one of the ways Frank ate them as a child.

Then I put together a variety of things to eat with them. It just depends on what we have on hand. Sometimes I just scramble up a few eggs. The possibilities are endless. This time I browned up some sausage, used some of the lettuce and green onions left from the layered salad, then got out some salsa. It was great!

This is one of those simple things that I definitely didn't succeed at when I first (and second and third and fourth) tried it. What's the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."? Well, I finally got it right and can have everything ready at once, most of the time. Try something new for your family. Make something from scratch instead of buying it ready made. The more you teach yourself, the better off you will be, the more confident you will be, when all you can depend upon is yourself. It's coming. Practice everyday, either mentally or physically, or both. You're in my prayers.


Until next time - Fern