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Easy Homemade Tortillas

A tortilla is a thin, round unleavened flat bread that is a staple food in Mexico. The original tortillas made by indegenous cultures were made of maize, with flour tortilla being introduced after the arrival of Europeans to South and Central America, who brought wheat to the area.

Did you know that, due to their easy handling and relatively crumb-free nature, NASA astronauts often eat tortillas during their missions to space?!

Tortillas are readily available in most grocery stores, and here is an easy tortila recipe that you can try at home! Use your homemade tortillas in a variety of dishes including homemade Tacos or sweet and delicious Bunuelos!

For an easy snack, sandwich some cheese in a tortilla and enjoy!

Ingredients / Tools

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

1. Mix shortening, salt and half of the flour in a mixing bowl
2. Add more flour until the mixture reaches the consistency of small crumbles
3. Add the water and mix well, misture will be sticky
4. Add the remaining flour a bit at a time until dough is springy and pliable - may need slightly more or less flour
5. Knead the dough for about a minute.
6. Let the dough rest, covering the bowl, for an hour. (We usually skip that part when we make this recipe with our kids, but it does result in a better consistency dough)
7. Divide the dough into rounded balls, a little larger than a golf ball.
8. Heat a large heavy frying pan over medium heat (cast iron is best).
9. Sprinkle some flour onto the counter and roll out each ball of dough into a flat circle about 6 inches in diameter. If the dough is sticking to the table, just add more flour.
10. Dust off excess flour from the tortilla, and place it onto the frying pan (do not add oil, simply place dry - the shortening in the dough will prevent tortilla from sticking to the pan)
11. When you see bubbles rising and from the top of the tortilla, it's done. No need to turn tortilla over.
12. remove from pan and repeat for each tortilla!

learn more about tortillas!

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