Basic Flour Tortillas

Flour Tortillas (makes about 8-10, should be at least the size of a salad / sandwich plate)

2 C white flour

1 ½ Tsp salt

½ C warm water

¼ C oil

In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Add oil to water and combine all at one time. Stir until all the flour is mixed into the dough. Form a large ball and knead thoroughly on lightly floured board or counter top. Divide dough into egg sized balls (approximately 8-10). Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes.

Take one of the balls and roll it as thin as possible into a round tortilla.* It should not be any smaller than a salad plate. If you cannot get them round, roll it out and use a salad plate as a template. Place the plate on the dough and cut around it. Then place tortilla on a hot , dry griddle or skillet** (no grease or oil). Cook until it is freckled on one side and then flip. Cook other side and serve or cool for storage. (You can also take the tortilla off the pan and place it directly on the gas burner to puff it up to make it nice and fluffy. Watch your helper do this if you have one to figure it all out!) Repeat the process with the other dough balls.

After tortillas have cooled, place them in an airtight container (ziplocks work well). They can be refrigerated for about a week or stored in the freezer for several months. They can be reheated in the microwave between two plates or heated in covered baking dish in the oven. If used in recipes, simply allow to warm to room temperature and use. (makes about 8-10, should be at least the size of a salad / sandwich plate)

*I've found that when rolling out tortillas or chapatis, there are some tricks to getting it round. Here's my process:

-Take your ball of dough and roll it between your palms till it's a good solid ball, no creases.

-Slightly flatten it into a disc between your palms.

-The more round it is at this point, the more round it will be when it's rolled out. If it's odd shaped, rotate it in a circle between your left palm and right thumb and pointer finger, pressing it where it's too thick, squishing it where it's too thin, etc. until you get it an even thickness and good roundness.

-Place it on a floured counter or chapati stone. Evenly press it from bottom to top, then turn a quarter. Do these same one stroke quick taps a few times, turning a quarter between each one. Dip back in flour if it's starting to stick.

-Once you get it about half the size you want by doing the short one stroke pushes, it should still be pretty round. Keep rolling until you get it the size you want.

This takes some practice, so if at first you don't succeed, try try again! :)

**Indians use a specific type of pan for chapatis called a tawa. Its perfect for tortillas as well. Some are flat and others are a bit sunken in the middle. Mine is sunken and I really love it.