Northern Mexican Flour Tortillas

Directions

• Place the flour on a plain surface, add the vegetable lard, and mix with your hands.
• Dissolve the salt in warm water and add the mixture slowly to the dough, to check how much water is absorbed.
• Using a plastic spatula, collect all the remaining flour and mix it with the rest of the dough. Work the dough until getting a sticky paste (approximately 2 minutes in the mixer or 4 minutes by hand).
• Divide the dough into 10 equal parts –about 3 ounces each– and form balls of about 2 inches in diameter each.
• Cover them with a greased plastic wrap and let them rest for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.
• Heat a comal or an ungreased griddle over medium heat.
• Flatten one of the balls on a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a 6-inches circle. You can choose the thickness and size by rolling the dough out like a pizza of about 15 inches in diameter.
• Very carefully, place the tortilla on the hot griddle, it should sizzle if the heat is right.
• The dough will become opaque and the bottom will start to show slightly browned patches.
• Turn the tortilla over and cook the other side. Please note that the entire process should take less than half a minute.
• Do not overcook the tortilla or it will become hard instead of being soft and manageable.
• As soon as one tortilla is ready, stack it with the others and wrap them in a cloth.