Every time I make a batch of tortillas, it takes me back to the mornings in my grandma's house when I was a kid. I would go into the kitchen to see her tossing tortillas on the comal while my mom prepares chorizo and egg for breakfast.
Let it be known – my grandma makes the best tortillas in the entire world. Nobody else can take flour and water and turn it into perfectly round, delicious, mouth-watering tortillas the way she can. And trust me, everyone in my family has tried! When I was a kid, I could eat 10 of her tortillas plain or with butter. I would probably still do it now – metabolism be damned.
The recipe I use for my tortillas is courtesy of Joshua Weissman, a chef-turned-YouTuber based in Austin (who I definitely recommend checking out, his recipes are fantastic). He uses a few more ingredients than my grandma, but they taste really close to hers and have the same texture. I have altered one or two steps to fit my experience with making them.
What you need
2.5 cups all purpose flour
1 TSP fine sea salt
1.5 TSP baking powder
3 TBSP lard, can substitute with vegetable shortening, vegetable oil or bacon fat
189 ml warm water, not hot
Directions
1) Whisk together the flour, sea salt and baking powder. Add the lard/vegetable oil and mix together with your hands, breaking up any large pieces with your fingertips. The flour should have a pebble-like consistency.
2) Add the warm water and mix it by hand until it forms a shaggy dough. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and begin kneading until it starts to become smooth and springy.
The dough is ready when you can push your finger in the middle of it and it springs back into place.
3) Cover the dough with a warm, damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
4) Once the dough has rested, divide it into 8-9 round balls (weighing about 65 grams each) or to your preferred amount. Let it rest for another 10-15 minutes.
5) Heat a cast iron pan or a comal to medium-high heat. Lightly flour a work surface and lightly flour a dough ball and flatten it into a disc with your fingers. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to your preferred thickness.
I rotate the tortilla after every roll with the rolling pin to ensure it's even on all sides.
6) Carefully transfer the tortilla onto the cast iron pan and let it cook for 30 seconds to a minute on each side. While the tortilla cooks, roll out the next dough ball. Repeat the process for all tortillas.
7) Keep the tortillas warm under a kitchen towel or in a warm oven.
Makes 8-9 tortillas.