Comfort Foods: Flour Tortillas

As Californians, and especially as PLNU students, we all love the taste of a great burrito. The warm flour tortilla, the amazing pieces of meat, beans, cheese or French fries; all of them can make a hungry student groan in agony.

Luckily, for those of us who don’t have a car or who can’t regularly afford to go on a burrito run, my uncle taught me a delicious recipe for homemade tortillas. And the best part is that if a simple, warm tortilla covered in butter or substituted for bread when you drink soup doesn’t appeal to you, you can add any of the other ingredients for a burrito at any time and still be content. Also, for all you vegans out there, these tortillas don’t require milk, eggs or any other animal products.

My uncle has been cooking ever since he could stand and stir or mix ingredients. His mom always insisted that each of her children learn to take care of themselves no matter their income. Three of the foods that she, and consequently, her children, frequently made and now make are rice, beans and tortillas.

This recipe remains the same as it was when my Uncle Joe taught it to me. I haven’t changed a thing besides the make of the pan and I highly encourage everyone to try this delicious recipe. The best thing to use for this recipe is a tortilla pan, which means that it doesn’t have sides. My uncle uses one that is cast iron, but since those can be difficult to find, I simply purchased an aluminum one from Walmart for about $20.

• 8 cups flour*
• palm of salt
• palm of Baking Powder
• ½ cup oil**
• 2 ½ cup warm water
• 1 dish towel, folded in half

1. In a large bowl, knead the above ingredients until they become a soft ball of dough. Work the dough so that once you’ve finished kneading, it’s in a cylindrical shape.
2. Preheat the pan, and as you do so, use the area between your thumb and forefinger to pinch off the end of the dough and roll it into a small ball about the size of the hole you create when you place the tips of those same two fingers together. Repeat for the rest of the dough.
3. After you’ve finished creating the balls of dough, take one and flatten it with the heel of your hand. Using a rolling pin, begin to flatten the ball, turning it over and twisting it after each roll. Once the tortilla is an even thickness, pick it up and toss it between both of your hands before slapping it onto the heated pan. Move the tortilla to ensure it doesn’t stick.
4. When bubbles begin to rise from the tortilla, move it to the edge of the pan, grasp it, and turn it over to cook the other side. Once that is done, place the cooked tortilla inside the folded towel. Repeat for the other tortillas.

*If the dough is too soft, knead an additional palm of flour into the mixture. **You may add an additional sprinkling of oil to the dough after it has been shaped if desired

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes