Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook, and stir to combine.
Add the softened butter and water and mix on medium-low speed until all the ingredients come together into a dough. Let the mixer knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adjusting the flour or water as necessary to achieve a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom. (See note.)
Dump the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into 20 balls of dough. Cover the balls of dough with plastic wrap and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
Heat a large non-stick or seasoned cast iron frying pan over high heat until very hot. If you sprinkle a drop of water into the pan the water should sizzle and “skip” across the surface of the pan, evaporating completely in a matter of seconds. (You can also use a griddle, turned to high heat.)
Remove one ball of dough from beneath the plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll it into a thick disk, about 6 inches in diameter. Use your fingers to pat and stretch the dough into a thin tortilla. (You may or may not need to sprinkle your work surface with a bit of flour to prevent sticking depending not the work surface itself and how wet the dough is. If the dough is really sticking to your work surface, lightly flour the surface trying to incorporate as little flour as possible into each tortilla.) *Click here for a short video demonstration showing how I shape and cook tortillas.*
Lift the rolled out tortilla and place it in the center of the hot pan. Let the tortilla cook on one side until brown spots begin to form here and there on the surface of the tortilla that’s touching the pan, about 20 seconds. Use a spatula to flip the tortilla to the other side and cook until a few brown spots appear on the other side, about 10-20 seconds. Use the spatula to remove the tortilla from the pan to cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.
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