Ryan and I have lived in Austin for almost TWO years now. Hard to believe, especially when I think of the next few months here. 100 degree weather will never feel normal. No matter how long I stay in Texas.
But what does feel normal after living in Austin for two years? Eating flour tortillas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The breakfast taco reigns supreme in Austin, and despite my love for a bagel and cream cheese, I get it now. Taking a butter knife to an avocado before the sun puts on its heavy boots is how mornings were meant to be, I’m now convinced.
Not surprisingly, I’m picky about my breakfast tacos. I want organic eggs. Goat cheese. Wild mushrooms. And really good flour tortillas.
If you talk to any Mexican grandmother, you’ll learn a thing or two about flour tortillas. There is nothing like walking into a kitchen where a griddle is hot and ready for flattened discs of dough. Even better is when a tortilla master is willing to share her secrets.
One of the first things you’ll see is a container of lard. Lard is the fat of choice for tortilla making. Most Mexican grandmothers don’t even think about tortillas without it. And I understand why. I’ve had tortillas made with lard and they are truly delicious. But my pleasure always diminishes when I think about what I’m ingesting. And as a baker of cakes, I buy butter (not lard) in pounds. Because lard never makes its way into any of my cake creations, I don’t have that ubiquitous container in my own kitchen.
But the good news is this: butter makes everything better. And this applies to toast, frosting, pie crust, and now flour tortillas.
This wheat flour tortilla recipe calls for a few pats of unsalted butter, flour, salt, and baking powder. Within one hour (yes, only one hour!) you can have a gorgeous stack of tortillas, ready for breakfast or dinner.
One important key is to let your tortilla dough sit for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out on the counter. This allows the gluten to develop, which means you can roll your tortilla dough into paper-thin discs that bubble beautifully when they hit the hot skillet.
Another important key is practice. You’re going to make some oddly shaped tortillas before you get it right. And that’s perfectly fine. Because good tortillas come in all shapes and sizes, right?
Wheat Flour Tortillas
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup HOT water
1. In a medium bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, and salt with a large spoon or whisk. Cut butter into 1-inch pieces. Using your hands, mix butter into flour. This is a very similar to making pie dough. The dough should be crumbly.
2. Once butter is incorporated into dough, add hot water and mix until dough starts to come together. Knead the dough for 3 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
3. After resting, divide dough into 10 pieces (about 1.5 ounces each). Press each piece of dough into a round disc and roll out with a rolling pin. The dough should be very thin. Cook dough on a heavy skillet, medium to high heat. Each side will need to cook for 1-2 minutes. The tortilla will begin to form bubbles when ready to flip.
4. Remove tortillas to a plate to cool and cover with a paper towel if not ready for immediate eating.
Next time I make tacos, I’m totally making my own tortillas! Beautiful, darling! Now I want a taco… and a margarita.
Ha! Me too. Margaritas sound lovely.
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I love Austin! One of my best friends on the planet lives there, but she does keep a “cabin” in Maine for the summers. I think you should treat yourself to a day at the Lake House Spa each month for making it through with good humor and such scrumptious food emanating from your kitchen! I will try your recipe for tortillas; they look so incredibly delicious. Maybe we should just start a FedEx food exchange..ha!!
These look delicious!
i still remember the tortillas in austin – delish!
Oh, my. I need to make my own tortillas…yours look picture perfect! Enjoy your weekend, my friend~
Monet – your sweet comment totally made my day… but know I would NEVER ‘expect’ you to read my blog… especially when I read your poetic stories and then go back to mine and am like ‘OMG – OBSESSED with GOATS CHEESE’ or whatever… :). It sounds like you have – so much! – wonderful stuff going on for you right now… so happy for you! I think of you lots too! And did actually when I wrote this one too… http://wineandbutter.com/hawmc-six-sentence-story-have-patience/ . Have a wonderful weekend!
Lovely tortillas Monet and the filling is equally tempting!
I must admit I breathed a sigh of relief when you confirmed you weren’t using lard. Phew!
Even after living in southern CA for 7 years, I’m still not into breakfast tacos or burritos. Give me a bagel or some homemade granola every day! But I do love lunch and dinner tacos. These tortillas look absolutely perfect. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, my friend.
These tortillas look gorgeous my friend, wouldn’t mind getting out some Mexican spirit for breakfast, lunch and dinner 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve always wanted to make my own tortillas. I eat so many of them, but the ones from the store have a lot of shady ingredients that I’d LOVE to avoid.
Although New Yorkers are not accustomed to these ingredients at breakfast, I do like all these flavors and you make them look and sound so very delicious!
Wow, these look fantastic! I was never brave enough to make m own tortillas, it seems like a lot can go wrong! (at least if I made them) but I do want to try now!
these look really good. sometimes it is the simple recipes that are great to post because I assume many of us have wanted to make our own tortillas. i will not try. thx.
I am impressed with your tortilla making abilities. They look really good; I can almost taste the warm softness in my mouth. Breakfast tacos are my favorite…especially with huge chunks of avocado sticking oozing out.
Hi Monet! I can see why you enjoy these for breakfast! The fillings you use sound wonderful and home made tortillas are really the way to go! Doesn’t get any fresher than that ;)!
I made these this morning. But with my Kitchenaid with the dough hook – next time, I am going to use the paddle hook first, then switch to the dough hook.
I had never made tortillas (and only eat them in an restaurant)but these were simple, easy to make and delicious.
I live in Alberta, so bread is much more used here….but, I think, in the summer, tortillas…
Cameron and I have a similar tortilla recipe that highlights all-purpose white flour, but the next time we make flour tortillas, I’ll be giving your wheat edition a spin in the kitchen. 🙂
I made these tortillas yesterday,- instead of using whole wheat flour, I used rye – my mistake, but turned out equally as good. However, the flour is a little expensive, so next time, whole wheat.
Again, I used my Kitchenaid – the flat paddle to mix together, then the bread hook.
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I grounded 12 grain cereal and extra flax seed in my coffee grinder to make a substitute for the whole wheat flour. Hokee Man! are they ever good. And so easy to make, thanks for your recipe. I made big tortillas to make tortilla bowls and filled them with taco meat, black beans, Jalapeños, cheese, lettuce, back olives and salsa. Oh, what a MEAL!