Tuesday, February 7, 2012

tortillas

We generally have TexMex food for the Super Bowl -- starting when we were in graduate school.  (The last touchdown of this year's game was a classic!)  The day before the game we were out shopping, and I couldn't find any tortillas that looked good to me.  I remembered an Old El Paso booklet that had recipes for various foods including tortillas and decided to make my own.  (They're as easy as making pie crust and use a lot of the same techniques.)

2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 T softened butter (My pie crusts use 2/3 c shortening and no baking soda.)
3/4 c water (more or less)
Add water to the mixture until the dough sticks together and forms a nice ball.  Let sit for a few minutes.
Divide into 12 smaller balls (just under 2" in diameter).
Dust a rolling board with corn meal.  Flatten the balls and roll out into thin circles (about 6" in diameter), turning the dough over several times and adding corn meal as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the board or rolling pin.
The tortillas can either be fried in a little oil or used as is for enchiladas.