Flour Tortillas

Helloooooooooooo

Yep, it's me. Haven't been cooking a whole lot. At least....nothing too terribly new. I've been in a verbal / writing funk too. I've been distracted. But I've still been in the kitchen. Playing with the most well known boy in the United States of America. Several times, actually.

I've been playing with the Pillsbury Doughboy.

I'm trying to come up with recipes for the big Bake Off. I have never bought as many Pillsbury items in a year as I have the past couple of weeks. I wonder how much their sales increase just by people making purchases for recipe experiments in the kitchen.....telling themselves that it's ok....because if by chance they win the million dollars or even the top 100....what difference is the cost of a few dozen biscuits, crescents and pie crusts? Besides...it's fun. It keeps me busy and for the most part, keeps me out of trouble.

But, in between my mad scientist moments, I have been making some real food. And playing around here and there.

I'm not saying this particular one was a success. But I'm not saying it was a flop either.

It just wasn't what I was expecting....or something. It just wasn't exactly...I dunno....right?

When I set my mind to making flour tortillas, I didn't know they were more involved than corn tortillas.

I have a magazine article that a gal at work shared with me. A recipe for tortillas from a writer known as Cowgirl Chef. I read her recipe and then decided to check out the Pioneer Woman's blog. She also has a recipe. A bit different though. So I chose the Pioneer Woman's Homemade Flour Tortillas.

I even went as far as purchasing.......

LARD!

I had to go to three different stores before I found it....and then I felt so guilty walking up to the checkout line with just a box of lard in my hand. I wanted to hide my face in shame....or at least hide the lard in my jacket until I got to the cashier.

I am no longer a lard virgin.

 And I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I've cooked with butter, oil, and shortening. But there's something about lard. Just the word is offensive...I mean....it's associated with....someone's ass!! Why was 'lard' chosen as one of the most offensive food words? I mean, you don't ever hear anyone refer to someone else as a butter ass. Or an evoo ass. Even shortening ass falls....short.

So, yes. I purposely, diligently, determinedly purchased lard specifically for flour tortillas.

I used this stuff. This greasy, wad of pure, unadulterated fat.

I followed the directions given by our beloved Pioneer Woman:

2 1/2 cups a.p. flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 2 TB LARD
1 cup hot water

Combine your flour, baking powder and salt and then add chunks of lard. Cut the lard into the flour mixture until you have a bowl of course crumbs.

Slowly pour in the hot water, stirring to mix. Lightly knead your dough about 30 - 40 times.

This is where I had a problem. It was a very wet mess! There was no such thing as kneading. Not sure if I did something wrong....but I ended up adding another cup of flour before proceeding.

At which point I covered the bowl and let the dough rest for about an hour. I then divided the dough into 16 balls....each ball about the size of a small lime

These were covered and allowed to rest for about 30 minutes.

Then.....because these things are so greasy, I didn't need to dust my counter top with flour or anything. hmmm....mabye I should've anyway? Well....I heated up my skillet, no oil. Just dry. I rolled the ball as thin as I could

Cooked them for about 20 - 30 seconds per side

Not all of them were as round (and this is not nearly as perfectly round as the ones from the store) as this one. And no matter how thin I rolled them balls out....the tortillas were too thick. Almost pita thick without the pocket.

And a bit too greasy.

Should i have added more flour?  hmmmm.

But.....they did the job. My fajitas makings were well taken care of. And they were washed down nicely with my margarita.

I enjoyed making them. I want to try again. Next time I'm going to try Cowgirl Chef's recipe. I'm going to try it with the recommended butter or shortening and then I'm going to try them with....

LARD!!

Hey, I wanna see what all the fuss is about. Is there really a difference in how stuff tastes? Does it really make a savory pie crust that much better?

Besides, I have to use the stuff up. I mean...I don't want it to go to waist waste. Or butt for that matter.....although since I plan on using it, it will end up where it belongs....in the end.

Either way...I'll let you know how everything turns out.