TORTILLAS

 

Contributed by:       Pepe and Linda Dinnocenzo

 

Ingredients:

 

5 cups flour

3 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

¾ cup shortening

1 ⅓ cup warm water

 

Directions:

 

Mix flour, salt and baking powder.  Kneed in shortening until mixture becomes grainy.  Add water a little at a time, kneeding dough to form a ball.  Cover with a towel and let stand for 15 minutes.  Preheat ungreased griddle to medium temperature.  Break off pieces of dough to form small balls.  Flatten balls to biscuit size.  With a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, start rolling from center out, forming a circle of about 6 to 8 inches in diameter.  Turn tortilla as you roll, stretching as you peel it up.  Lay tortilla flat on hot griddle.  Cook tortillas almost as pancakes, until they blister on the uncooked side.  Turn tortillas over with a spatula.  Tortillas usually take about 20 to 30 seconds on each side to cook.  If tortillas are cooking too fast, turn heat down.  Cover and serve with fajitas.

 

To prevent tortillas from drying out, stack two tortillas on a plate and cover them with a dampened paper towel.  Repeat with more pairs of tortillas and paper towels.  Cook in microwave on a low setting for several minutes.