In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, salt and mix. With the help of a fork, pastry blender or your hands, incorporate the shortening or lard until it resembles coarse meal.

Slowly add the hot water a little at the time until the dough holds together. Do not add all the water at once. See note above.

Turn dough onto a work surface, and knead for a couple of minutes until it is smooth.

4. Divide the dough in 10 pieces rolling every piece in your work surface with the palm of your hand to form a little disk . We call these testales .

5. Cover the Testales in a damped kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let the dough rest for 30-45 minutes.

Note 2: The resting period will develop the gluten and forming the tortilla disks will be easier. Do not skip this step.

6. After the resting period, place an ungreased griddle/comal over medium heat. Grab your Rolling Pin to start forming the tortillas on a lightly floured surface. If you add too much flour to the surface your tortillas will be dry.

*Your comal/griddle should be hot enough so that when cooking the tortillas the spots are light brown; if they are dark brown to soon then the heat is too high, and if the tortillas take longer to cook then the heat is too low.

* To store the tortillas place them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

* To reheat the tortillas, place them in a hot griddle/comal and warm them the same way you cook them, turning twice. The air bubbles will form again but not as big as when they were just cooking.