3 cup unsifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup shortening or lard
1 cup lukewarm water
1 shortening or lard
Directions
Put flour and baking powder in bowl and mix. Cut shortening into
flour with pastry blender until size of peas. Add water gradually.
Stir until dough is stiff. Form into a ball and knead thoroughly
until smooth on a lightly floured board. At this point you can
grease the surface of the dough, cover tightly and refrigerate for as
long as 24 hours before using; if you do this, the dough will be
easier to handle. Let dough return to room temperature before you
begin to roll it out (about 1 hour). Divide dough into 8 balls for
large, thin tortillas or 11 balls for regular-sized, 7 inch
tortillas. For large, thin tortillas, roll as thin as possible on a
lightly floured board. Drop onto a very hot ungreased skillet. Bake
until freckled on one side. (This should take only about 20
seconds.) Lift edge with spatula, turn, and bake on second side. To
serve at once, fold hot, limp tortilla around pieces of butter. Or
cool tortillas, wrap airtight, and refrigerate or freeze. To serve
later, reheat or fry by methods described below. Makes one dozen
tortillas (1/16 inch thick). To reheat and soften corn or flour
tortillas on an ungreased surface: Fresh tortillas are already soft
in a sense, but when heated they become even more tender and
flexible. If tortillas are dry and a little hard, dip your hand in
water and rub it lightly onto surfaces of the bread before heating.
Be sure not to heat them longer than necessary to soften and warm
thoroughly, or they will become hard and brittle. Place tortillas so
they do not overlap on a medium-hot griddle or in a heavy frying pan
over medium-high heat. Turn frequently until soft and hot, about 30
seconds. Put immediately into a tightly covered dish, or put into a
foil packet and seal it, and hold in a 200 degree oven until all
tortillas are heated. (The secret is to keep them from drying out
once heated.) To soften corn or flour tortillas by frying: Heat
about 1/4 inch of salad oil, shortening, or lard in a frying pan over
medium-high heat. Quickly turn one or two tortillas at a time in oil;
they soften almost immediately. Do not allow them to become crisp.
Drain on paper towels. To crisp-fry whole corn or flour tortillas:
Heat 1 inch of salad oil, shortening, or lard in a frying pan to
350-375 degrees. Fry 1 tortilla at a time, using a spatula to turn
frequently or to hold it under the fat until it crisps, puffs
slightly, and browns lightly (about 1 minute or less). Drain on
paper towels.
Servings: 10 servings
93079 Flour Tortillas Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Mexican
The History of Recipes
Food historians have found proof that recipes existed way back into history, certainly as far back as the early Egyptians, and maybe further still. Interesting though that is, these, old recipes were just simple pictorial instructions for preparing meals.
Later on, in Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a collection of scripts describing recipes enjoyed by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. He also tells us how the early Romans made use of a good variety of herbs, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example thyme, fennel and asafoetida. During the succeeding few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Europe competed with each other to serve the best banquets, and consequentially the best cooks and their recipes became highly prized. However, it wasn`t until the 1800s that haute cuisine and recipe collections really came of age. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, verifying, and recording recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. When we get to the 1900s, cooking books are starting to become popular due to more people being able to read, more free time and having more money. |
We hope you enjoy this 93079 Flour Tortillas recipe.
