284421 Sun Apr 09 20:29:12 -0700 2006 6 31 Home Cooking 0 1520452 I tried making flour tortillas from scratch tonight. They were really easier than I thought, and were really delicious and much better than store bought I've ever had. The only thing is the recipe called for shortening i.e.; Crisco, which I HATE cooking with (dreaded transfats) but, I figured for the first try I'd do it exactly as the recipe called for. I hate to say it, but sometimes, it really does pay to use that stuff - the dough was easy to handle, and had a very nice texture both in the hand and more importantly, in the mouth. I'm hooked - I don't think I'll ever be buying store bought again, although I will look for a healthier recipe for the next try! Laurie Sun Apr 09 20:29:12 -0700 2006 0 sivyaleah 1 1520456 Would you be willing to post the recipe you used? I tried making them about 15 years ago and decided back then they weren't worth the effort. But I've changed a lot since then, and it might be time to try them again. Thanks! Sun Apr 09 20:41:49 -0700 2006 1520452 0 wyf4lyf 2 1520550 2 cups flour 1/4 cup shortening 2/3 cup warm water 1 teaspoon salt Cut in shortening w/flour until crumbly (I did this by hand, I have no pastry cutter, I NEVER make pastry - it worked just fine). Add salt to water, mix well. Add to flour mixture, tossing until mixed and dough begins to pull together. Knead on lightly floured surface for approx. 3 minutes (give or take). Make into a ball. Divide into as many tortillas as you want out of it, recipe made from 4 to 12 depending on size. I made 8, it was easiest to divide the dough into this amount. Let rest covered w/plastic wrap for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I let mine rest about 45 minutes. Roll out each ball onto lightly floured surface. Mine came out to about a 6" round, more or less. Took me a bit to get the hang out of making them round - I'm not a baker and my rolling pin is larger than the tool typically used to make tortillas (comel?). Heat up a pan, dry, no oil or anything. I used a nonstick but only because I didn't want to deal with my heavy cast iron for this. I think any pan would be fine. Cook each for about 1-1/2 minutes, flipping 1/2 way. Keep an eye on this! They can burn fast. What I did was as they started to puff up, I'd flip them over and cook on the other side, then flip them again to finish off the first side if they looked like they needed a bit more browning (not too much!) and flip again to finish off the other side. Stack in kitchen towels as cooking. I loaded them into a tortilla holder which coincidently was exactly the right size, covered with the dish towel to keep them warm, then I put the cover over the dish. We ate up 5 of them, had 3 leftover for today :-) They were really great! Can't wait to see how they held up one night in the 'fridge. Laurie An easy recipe, not a lot of ingredients or resting time needed. Mon Apr 10 13:16:54 -0700 2006 1520456 0 sivyaleah 1 1520465 Cooks Illustrated posted good reviews of the no-trans fat Crisco Shortening. I would use that if you aren't using lard. Freshly rendered lard is actually better for you than butter. Less saturated fats and 0 trans-fat. Traditional for lard, and better tasting than Crisco. -Becca Sun Apr 09 21:18:45 -0700 2006 1520452 0 Becca Porter 2 1520826 I know, I saw that. It hasn't showed up in my local markets yet. Kind of puzzling since I live in a rather metropolitan area. Laurie Tue Apr 11 14:34:18 -0700 2006 1520465 0 sivyaleah 1 1520512 I've made flour tortillas from scratch and used butter instead of Crisco. I only have Crisco in the house for the winter holidays. They turned out perfect! I must admit that making them is a lesson in patience. And I have to make a double batch - they seem to be go faster every time I make them! Mon Apr 10 09:52:21 -0700 2006 1520452 0 Inquiring Minds 1 1520856 For a different twist, replace the Crisco with an equal amount of reserved bacon fat. I filter mine off into a ramkin in the refrigerator each time I make bacon and it makes wonderful tortillas. Tue Apr 11 16:43:17 -0700 2006 1520452 0 SandraV