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Homemade flour tortillas

Makes 18 medium-sized tortillas

Ingredients

750g flour (I use Untreated Organic White No. 4, as this is the flour we always have on hand)

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder

180 ml sunflower oil

about 300 ml water (lukewarm)

3 tsp salt

Method

This is a regular favourite recipe here. Someday, I hope to also make corn tortillas, but these are much simpler than I would have guessed, and delicious.

Sift the flour, baking powder and two teaspoons of salt together in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the sunflower oil and about 200ml of lukewarm water, or as much as you need to form a firm dough.

Mix everything together with a scraper or knife, then work on the countertop for 5 minutes, until the mixture is even and slightly elastic. Cover and rest for about an hour.

Divide the dough into 18 balls, then flatten each one by hand and roll out to roughly 18cm diameter circles--I use our stone pestle, or you can of course use a rolling pin or something else. The dough shouldn't be too sticky, so the tool is less crucial.

Heat a frying pan to medium heat (5 out of 10 on our electric hob works well), then cook each tortilla on both sides until it has just scattered golden spots (perhaps 20-30 seconds, depending on the heat level), removing before they brown or dry out. Thanks to the oil in the dough, you don't need to add oil, and the tortillas don't stick, even in plain stainless steel pans. Cover until eating. If stored in a bowl with plastic over it, they keep reasonably well for a day or two.

These are delicious with refried black beans and salsa, and handy for making wraps in packed lunches.

Please let me know if there are any problems with the recipe, or if you have questions.