Tacos!

So, we decided to make last night Taco Thursday. John likes soft-shelled tacos, and I prefer hard shells usually. We didn't have any shells in the apartment yesterday so I decided to give making my own flour tortillas a whirl. They worked out pretty well to be fair, and they were lots yummier than the ones you buy at the store (especially as you can't get anywhere near authentic Mexican in Birmingham, UK!)

Next time, I think I'll try making some corn tortillas as I got the value bag of cornmeal/polenta last time I was at the Asian grocery store (oh Pak, we love you...)

We also made our own spice mix instead of buying one from the store...it was pretty good (actually a Fajita spice mixture). The only difference to make it taco seasoning would be to add Paprika.

Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin ground
1/2 teaspoon Oregano dried, crushed
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Red pepper ground (chili powder..we probably used 1/2 t, we like it spicy!!)
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper ground
1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon Onion powder

Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe
2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.

Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough.

The dough will be sticky.

Kneading The Dough
Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough.
Kneading is done by pushing the dough with the heals and palms of both hands down onto the board. Fold the dough back onto itself, give a quarter turn and push again with the palms and heels of your hands. Just repeat the process of pressing, folding and turning for about 4 or 5 minutes. Add a dusting of flour when the dough gets sticky.

If the dough sticks to the cutting board while kneading, scrape up the dough and dust the board with a little flour and continue kneading.

Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.

Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.

Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Rolling The Tortillas

Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. You really can't beat cast iron pans for even heat distribution and their ability to withstand high heat without warping.

Lightly dust your wooden cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

It's difficult to roll out a perfectly round tortilla so if that is important to you, you can always trim the tortilla with a knife.

I like their irregular homemade looking shape. No one can mistake these for store bought, especially when you taste them.

Cooking The Tortillas
Back to the flour tortilla recipe...
Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds.
Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft.
Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.