Flour Tortillas

I promised myself that before I left San Antonio, I would learn how to make flour tortillas from scratch. It didn't happen. Boo.
What did happen, was my introduction to Rick Bayless via Top Chef Masters! I just knew that if I could get ahold of his flour tortilla recipe, I would have authentic, homemade flour tortillas! And he shares it! Here!
He didn't disappoint.

The recipe is heaven! However, I cannot bring myself to feed my family that much lard, so I adjust the recipe. I feel horrible admitting that. I really do have tons of respect for Rick Bayless. Goodness, I hope he never, ever sees this blog post. Thankfully, I'm not a celebrity, so the likelihood of that is slim to none :)

Here is my version of Rick Bayless Flour Tortilla Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour (you don't have to sift, but I fluff the flour before I measure, you do not want it packed).
5 Tablespoons Oil (I like to use refined coconut oil or olive oil, any oil will do. Authentic tortillas use lard. Lard can be replaced with vegetable shortening)
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup warm-hot water (this helps the dough come together. Warmer than room temp, but not so hot you can't touch it).

Directions:
Measure flour into a bowl.
If you are using an oil that is solid at room temperature, add it to the flour and mix it until it is finely and evenly integrated into the flour.
In a separate bowl, measure out water and salt (When I use liquid oil, I include the oil in with the water).
Create a well in the flour, add your liquid ingredients, and mix with a fork. It will be a crumbly mixture. To get the dough to come together, you'll have to dump it onto the counter and knead it. If it is too dry, and the dough isn't coming together, dump a tablespoon of water onto the counter and continue kneading the dough.
Once the dough comes together, divide it into 10-12 balls (10 makes about 9" tortillas, 12 makes closer to 6").
Place the balls in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest for at least 30 minutes. This makes the dough less elastic. If you do not allow the dough to rest, it will be tough and will not roll out.
Warm your skillet(s) and roll our the balls of dough to desired thickness. I like mine as thin as I can roll them. Also, be sure to keep the dough covered, as it dries out quickly.
Cook tortillas for about 30 seconds on one side (until there are spots of golden brown), flip, and cook for about another 30 second.
I have a bit of a groove; the stove-top setting that works best for me is right between med and med-high. For those who care to know: After my first couple of times, when I got more comfortable, I figured this routine out: I roll two tortillas out, place them on the skillets, roll out one more, turn back to the skillet and flip my tortillas (they have light brown spots on one side), roll another tortilla, and by the time I've rolled out the two tortillas, the two on the skillet are done. I take the done ones off, and replace them with the two I just rolled. whew. Or do whatever is easiest for you :)

notes: I have tried to reduce the amount of oil. It doesn't work. I've also used whole wheat flour. If you add whole wheat flour, my suggestion is to substitute no more than 1/2 (really, I only sub 1/4) of the AP flour AND use more oil/water (because whole grains soak up more liquid).