A 20-Something's Kitchen: Easy Flour Tortillas- Who Knew?

I've never been a "summer person". I enjoy those warm days that say that summer is coming when I can go outside without a sweatshirt or walk to the mailbox barefoot, but now that August has arrived so has my humidity induced crankiness and unwillingness to move above a snails pace. This being said, the prospect of firing up the stove seems like cruel and unusual punishment, especially when I will have to take the third "just to cool off" shower of the day because I opened the oven door to check the progress of some hot meal. No Thank You! But today, with the fans blowing and a nice little breeze ringing the wind chimes outside the door, I attempted to make my own tortillas. I had seem this on a blog ( http://smells-like-home.com/2012/07/diy-soft-flour-tortillas/) while cruising through new Do It Yourself Projects on my favorite website.

Hmm making my own tortillas sounded interesting. I have made bread before, but along with the rest of the country, I am trying to eat healthier and hey-- if the bread is thinner and I shed a few calories while mixing and rolling, and sweating I say it's a healthier way to go..But that's just my way of thinking. It also helped kick up the heart rate when the pan started burning with left over flour between batches and I had to desperatly fan out the kitchen before the smoke alarm went off and I had a very grumpy boyfriend on my hands!

I also altered the recipe just a smidge because when a recipe calls for lard, it's just a turn off. And really, I can't justify making a recipe to lead a healthier life when it calls for lard, seems counterproductive right? So instead of Lard I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, again one of our healthy changes...since J came home one day and insisted we change because some guy in really good shape told him about it in training... Please, nobody tell him about anymore strange diets or eating fads because I guarantee we will be trying it the next day, and I really can't live without bread or pasta or dressing on my salad or..the list goes on... In fact, why doesn't somebody tell him the best way to stay in shape is to buy me flowers or wash dishes..hmm I think I am onto something. Anyways, back to flat bread! I was just doing a trial run so I halved the recipe and made smaller rounds but the actual measurements are as follows...

3 cups four
5 TBS butter- They said unsalted, I used I Can't Believe it's Not Butter and it came out fine
1 tsp salt- I used sea salt because that's all this house carries
2 tsp baking POWDER
3/4 cups warm water

Super easy right?? Literally took 2 minutes once I dug out the baking powder

First mix the dry ingredients
Cut in the butter ( I used my hands because I can't afford one of those fancy pants kitchen aid mixers, and the knife trick takes too long for this impatient girl)
Divide into 12 equal portions
Let rise for 10 minutes (mine looked no different but they still turned out okay)
Roll out with a well floured rolling pin to about 8 inches- or in my case I used a handy wine bottle :)
In a dry skillet turned to Medium high, cook one tortilla at a time for 20 to 40 seconds on each side. They really will start to bubble and turn slightly golden brown
The recipe said not to roll them all out at once because they will dry out, I would take this advice even though I can't vouch for it--I only made 6

That's It Folks, yummy warm tortillas for your eating pleasure! So many options!

I can personally say they are great with salsa as a chip as well as a great wrap for a tuna melt! I am thinking of making J a breakfast burrito when he wakes up! All I can say is next time I am going for the all out recipe and dishing up some carne asada burritos or enchiladas for supper!