Popular Flour Tortillas

3 1/2 cups of bread flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup room temperature butter
1 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon of yeast

Place all of your ingredients in your bread machine pan in the order which they are specified by your particular bread machine manufacturer and then select the dough cycle. Upon completion of the dough cycle turn the dough onto a floured counter and knead it until all the air has been removed at which time you should divide the dough into 16 pieces. Round each of these pieces into a small ball and then flatten them to make small disks. Mist each piece with some cooking spray and cover the dough with some plastic wrap or a large plastic bag. Let the disks rest for about 30 minutes.

Now place a baking stone on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface roll out your dough into 1/8 inch thick, thin round circles about six inches across. If the dough should resists simple move onto another piece and return to it later after the gluten has relaxed. Cover your tortillas with a towel to prevent them from becoming dry. By lightly dusting each row with flour you can safely stack the tortillas about six high.

Sprinkling a small mist of water on your baking stone will help prevent your tortillas from becoming wrinkled. Bake the tortillas for one minute and gently flip them over with a spatula. Bake them for an additional 45 seconds. They should puff up and develop a few brown spots but be sure that you do not permit them to crisp up. Using a spatula transfer the finished tortillas to a towel for their final cooling. Wrap them up in the towel to maintain the heat if you wish to serve them warm. Continue repeating this process for each of the remaining tortillas.

You can also pan fry them as opposed to baking them. This seems the preferred method of many people. Start with a heavy skillet sprayed with a pan spray. Using a medium high heat cook the tortillas until you see bubbles forming on the top which should be about one minute at which time you should turn it over and cook the other side for thirty seconds. Remove the cooked tortilla to a plate and cover it with a towel. Repeat this procedure for each of the remaining tortillas. Let your tortillas cool thoroughly and then wrap them up and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. When you wish to use them warm them up quickly in a hot skillet or on a hot baking stone.