Tortillas!!

I have always had a deep love for Latin culture, especially being from California and growing up with Mexican food. I remember my best friend's Mexican grandma always making homemade stuff and not store bought. To me it was amazing that someone actually made tortillas and didn't buy them. Her food was never even descent, it was always incredible and I loved eating at her house. Dee or otherwise known as "Ma" to me was a woman I admired.
So today, I decided I would make tacos with homemade tortillas!!!
I was so amazed on how easy they were to make. Although how incredible disgusting as well. Although I still ate them so not that disgusting I guess. haha
The ingredients call for lard or shortening. I'm not sure what the difference is but it looks like cellulite in a can to me. Gross! But I took one for the team and buried my hands right in it. And it was definitely well worth it.
 You need: 1/2 cup shortening, 3.5 cups flour, 1 teaspoon  baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup water.

First mix all the dry ingredients. Then add the shortening and start to mix with a fork until it makes a small crumb like texture.

 

Then add the hot water and continue to mix with the fork until it is firm enough to take out and work with on the counter. Knead for about 2-4 minutes. It should be sticky and elastic. It shouldn't be hard to work but not to easy either. It should look glossy and not floury. I make up words, sorry. Benji, my helper is trying to show a good ball of dough but I'm not sure it shows the texture good enough.

When I first read this recipe it said that I should get 20 tortillas and I thought that was crazy because I could probably get about 5 cookies(but I like to make my cookies big so later when I say I only ate 2 cookies I don't have to lie nor feel bad). haha But anyway, These bad boys have to be so thin. I don't have a tortilla maker where it smashes it for you, I just used a good ole rolling pin. However the first 3 to 4 tortillas came out too thick and too crunchy. It was right around the 5th tortilla that I figured out how thin they really had to be, and how quick you had to cook them. They literally need about 30 seconds on the first side and about 15 to 20 seconds on the other. If you cook them any longer than that you won't be able to fold them into tacos later. So really quick and really thin is they key here. They aren't like pancakes where you flip them when you can tell they are cooking from the other side. These will look raw on the upside but flip it anyway, its that quick!

 

As you can see they turned out not perfectly round but I like my tacos more rectangle so that can fill it and then fold it hotdog way, without missing out on so much content and filling myself with tortilla, especially if its made out of lard!

 

 

so here they are! As you can see my food critic loved them!!