Got extra time? Make homemade tortillas!



Rolling out tortillas with my grandmothers rolling pin...

  Today I decided to make homemade tortillas.  As most endeavors in the kitchen, this process was more work than I thought.  I used a whole wheat recipe that was little more than water (half a cup plus some added in later), whole wheat flour (two cups), baking powder (one teaspoon) and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  I did not add salt as the recipe called for, but I did mix in about a teaspoon of herbs and garlic powder to give them a little flavor.  The dough was a little tough, but once I got the hang of rolling it out...into what I would like to call a "circle", it got a little easier to manage.

Yes, I had to force "round" on some of my little friends

As you can see, some were rounder than others.  I kept thinking to myself....it would be much easier to make these square.... But alas, I kept to the traditional round shape as much as possible despite the fact most of them started out looking like my interpretation of Mickey Mouse. 
 I did not roll them out quite as thin as I would have liked, because when I began to cook them, they puffed up ever so slightly.  OK, so they were hardy and filling. Very hardy and filling.
Then you throw them one at a time into a cast iron skillet without any oil.  They puff up and cook very quickly.

Seasoned cast iron skillets are perfect for making tortillas

It only took about 45 seconds to a minute on each side.  They would get small brown spots on them as they cooked.  After they were all done, they were still quite pliable and soft.  I made a bean burrito casserole type dish inspired by my friend Lori and they tasted wonderful.  In fact, we were quite surprised just how much better they were than store bought tortillas.  They would not keep very long unless they were frozen, but the difference between these and the crumbly preservative-filled processed ones we are all used to is night and day...a completely different food.  Because we use freshly milled hard winter wheat, they are full of nutrients lost in the modern day processing of flour, and I refuse to use the traditional lard that most of the recipes I found called for.  Olive oil worked like a charm. So, are tortillas "healthy"? These certainly are.  Is it worth the time and effort?  Absolutely!

Yum! Ready for the filling...