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I’ve been making all of our bread products: tortillas, quick breads, toast and sandwich breads, artisan breads, hamburger buns, scones, biscuits, everything. It’s been fun to experience the different flour combinations and bread textures. I have banana bread* and tortillas down. I still have much to learn. And I am still looking for a nice, thick, chewy light wheat bread to make all summer long, when sandwiches are a common meal. The kids love to help add the ingredients to the mixing bowl and they love when the bread is cool—a slice with butter is a very satisfying five o’clock snack. The image below is made from this recipe.

*on the Simply Recipes banana bread recipe I use and much, much prefer to make it entirely with wheat flour. No white at all makes it taste so yummy. And don’t ever think about keeping old bananas in the freezer—use them before they become totally black. That’s the real taste-changer for banana bread.

Authentic Flour Tortillas

3 cups white flour

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 T. baking powder

1/4 Cup (4 T.) lard (Do it! Use lard!)

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Cut in lard with pastry cutter or fingers until the lard becomes medium to fine crumbs.

3. Add very warm water mixing with a fork or your hands, until the dough comes together. It should be soft, but not very sticky. I am thinking somewhere around a scant 1/2 Cup, but I’ve never actually measured it. Get it to all come together without sticking to the bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes. While it’s resting start heating up a frying pan.

4. Cut the dough in half, then into quarters, and then each quarter into three equal parts. Form each piece into a disc. Let the discs rest for 5-10 minutes. Continue heating your frying pan to medium-high.

5. Roll a disc out as thin as you possibly can (remembering you have to pull them of the counter) and place it on the skillet, which should be very hot. It will begin to cook and should create little bubbles on the surface that is not on the pan. Begin rolling out the next disc as it is cooking. Flip after 1-3 minutes, depending on the heat of your skillet (you want this to go quickly but you don’t want the tortillas to be too dark—a nice golden brown). Cook the next side to a nice golden brown as well. Adjust the heat as necessary and fry up the next one.

6. Store for up to three days in an airtight bag. They are best eaten immediately.