Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas - Sis 1

I have no idea how these compare nutritionally to the store-bought tortillas, but they taste WAY better. I HATE whole wheat tortillas from the store, and I'm not fond of the whole wheat version at popular build-it-in-front-of-you mexican grills, either. You can use all-purpose flour for these and they come out very similar to the Costa Vida tortillas. Cafe Rio tortillas, I've noticed, are yummier, and I'm quite certain it's because they contain more fat. If that's the taste you're going for, your could add more fat and cut back on the water. But I think that one of the myriad advantages to cooking at home is that you can control how much bad-for-you stuff goes into your food.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

3 cups whole white wheat flour
1/3 cup margarine
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
Approximately 1 cup warm water

Yes, I said margarine. I do use butter in practically everything, but honestly, I haven't ever tried butter in these. The margarine works well and it costs a lot less.

In a medium bowl, cut together first four ingredients until they resemble plain flour. Add most of the water and continue to cut together with pastry blender. Once all of the flour is wet, decide whether you need more water or not. It should be a soft dough, but not too sticky. Knead about 10 times. Roll dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, cover and let rest about 15 minutes.

Heat your griddle or frying pan. I use my pan, since I don't have a griddle, but I can only cook one tortilla at a time that way. On my stove, I find that the number 7 heat setting is perfect. That's about halfway between medium and medium high. If your surface is too hot, the tortillas will burn before they get completely done. If it's too cool, they get hard before they brown.

Sprinkle flour on a smooth surface and roll your tortillas one ball at a time, cooking one (or the number your surface will fit) while you roll the next. Roll to your desired thickness. I like them around 10 inches in diameter, but they are quite easily torn when they're that thin. Tortillas will bubble up while cooking. That's usually a sign that it's time to flip them. Turn the tortillas over and cook for about the same amount of time on the other side. You should have a few lightly brown spots, especially on the bubbles. Enjoy warm.

If there are leftovers, store them in the fridge inside a ziplock bag with a paper towel under the stack. We've never had them last for longer than two days, so I don't know how well they store, but I sincerely doubt that they last anywhere near as long as commercial ones.