Yield:16 small tortillas, 12 medium tortillas, or 8 large tortillas
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
â…“ cup oil (or solid fat like butter, lard, or shortening)
1 cup hot water
Instructions
Add the flour, salt, and baking powder to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
If using oil, mix oil and hot water together then stir mixture into flour. Mix with a wooden spoon, and bring dough together into a shaggy ball. If the dough seems too dry, add a tablespoon or two of hot water.
If using a solid fat like lard, use your pastry cutter or your fingers to mix the fat into flour until you have a mixture that is the texture of coarse crumbs. Stir in the hot water and bring dough together into a shaggy ball.
Turn dough onto lightly-flour surface and knead for about 20 turns, or until the dough is smoother and less sticky. If dough seems too sticky, add in a little extra flour as you knead. Don’t over-knead or you will have tough tortillas.
Divide dough into evenly-sized balls. Divide into 16 balls for small, taco-sized tortillas. Divide into 12 balls for medium tortillas, or 8 balls for larger tortillas. Cover dough balls with a lint-free towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot.
While the skillet is heating, roll out 2 or 3 of your dough balls into thin tortillas. Dust with a little flour if needed, and flip and rotate the dough as necessary to achieve a round-ish shape.
Place tortilla in the ungreased hot skillet, and cook for 30 seconds per side. Place cooked tortillas onto a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm as you cook remaining tortillas.
