Homemade Tortillas

I'll admit right now that I got this recipe from homesick Texan and tried it out tonight. I made Fajitas for dinner but realized that I only had 2 tortillas left. I am SOOO glad that I googled this awesome recipe. I have tried homemade tortillas a couple of times in my life and they have always been delicious, but this was my first solo "go" at making tortillas (which I guess are actually more accurately Texas Tortillas. One word for Y'all- "Yum". So I don't make my own bread, but after tonight I am considering never or rarely buying tortillas in the future.


This recipe is originally from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, "They are perfect for sopping up beans, wrapping around fajitas, grilling with cheese or just eating warm with butter and salsa." We took a couple extra and put a little butter and cinnamon sugar. Delicious.

"Purists may sniff at the recipe and argue that leaven and lack of lard make these inauthentic. Perhaps. But remember, we’re talking Tex-Mex. And in Texas, if you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating flour tortillas hot off the griddle at a restaurant, or bought the fresh ones made by local tortillerias sold at the grocery store, then you will agree: these are the real deal. Oh yes, these are Texas flour tortillas, indeed!"- Homesick Texan

Texas Flour Tortillas (adapted from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison)
Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Method:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.
Slowly add the warm milk.
Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.
Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.
Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)
After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.
In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.
Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.
Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.
While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.
Makes eight tortillas.