Gluten Free Soft Tortilla Shells

When dad announced he was going to make his 'famous' burritos this past Saturday, I got super excited. I spent all week looking forward to a monstrous burrito loaded with beef, veggies, and cheese and topped with his secret sauce (yes, I get excessively excited about eating). The only thing I wasn't entirely looking forward to though, was the tortilla shell. 

As many of you have probably experienced, store-bought gluten free soft tortilla shells are not all that wonderful. Sure, they'll do the job, kind of, but they're just no match to their wheat counterparts. So when my mom told me that she found a recipe for gluten-free soft tortilla shells and we were going to give them a try, I couldn't help but get my hopes up. I can now tell you, the search is over. These are the best soft tortilla shells I have had since being gluten free and are well worth the extra prep time.

Gluten Free Soft Tortilla Shells

You will need:
2 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Xanthan gum or Guar gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water

1) Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix the ingredients thoroughly.
 
2) Pour in the cup of warm water to the bowl and mix the dry ingredients into the water with your hands until its an even mixture.
 
3) Separate the dough into 8 pieces (we did 4 pieces for larger burrito shells) and roll each piece into a ball. Place all but one of the dough balls back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap until you're ready to work with them.

4) Sprinkle a clean, flat surface with a bit of flour. Then using a rolling pin, roll your dough ball into a roughly circular shape and get it as thin as possible. Trim off the outside edges with a paring knife if you prefer a more even edge.
 
5) Throw the tortilla onto a hot pan (make sure the bottom is about the size of the shell) with a little bit of olive oil. Let the shell cook approximately 1 to 2 minutes, or until it has started puffing up and the bottom side is developing those lovely brown spots. Flip the tortilla and cook the other side until it is toasty as well; another 1 to 2 minutes.

6) Slide the cooked tortilla from the pan and onto a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat the rolling and cooking process until you've cooked all 8 medium tortillas (or 4 large tortillas). It worked nicely to roll one tortilla out while another is cooking, so that there is always a tortilla on the pan .
 
Serve the tortillas warm with your favorite filling!
 
Yield: Makes 8 medium or 4 large size tortillas