Flour Tortillas

Making your own homemade flour tortillas is simpler than you might think, and once you try it, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought. These tortillas are soft, tender, and perfectly pliable, making them an excellent base for all your favorite Mexican dishes—tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas. They also double as a fantastic wrap for sandwiches or can even be used to make a thin, crispy pizza crust.

The beauty of homemade tortillas lies in their freshness and flavor. Whether you’re planning a weeknight taco night or need tortillas for a weekend brunch, this easy recipe will quickly become a household favorite. With just a few pantry staples—flour, salt, water, and a little fat—you’ll have perfectly soft and chewy tortillas that are much tastier than anything you’ll find at the store.

Another plus is the flexibility of this recipe. You can make them small for tacos or larger for burritos, and you can even get creative by adding herbs or spices to the dough. Once you taste how good these homemade flour tortillas are, they’ll become a staple in your kitchen.

You can either make these tortillas with a stand mixer or by hand. I find it’s just as easy to put them together without a mixer. If you try rolling out these tortillas and the dough keeps shrinking back, let it rest for another 15-30 minutes. The gluten just hasn’t had enough time to relax. If your tortillas feel stiff after cooking, you’ve cooked them too long or the heat was too high. Cook them only long enough to get some nice bubbles on the surface and a few light brown spots on the underside. Then flip them for another 15-20 seconds.

Serve with Arroz Con Pollo and Schmaltz-Refried Pinto Beans. Also, homemade Classic Mexican Guacamole and Chile de Arbol Salsa.

Flour Tortillas

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• Author: Mely Martínez
• Prep Time: :10
• Cook Time: :20
• Total Time: :30
• Yield: 10 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Stove Top
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1/2x1x2x3x4x

• 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour plus extra to form tortillas.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup shortening or Lard
• 1 cup hot water * See Note

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Instructions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Turn dough onto a work surface, and knead for a couple of minutes until it is smooth.
4. Divide the dough into 10 pieces rolling every piece on 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.
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.
7. To form the tortillas place the “testal” (ball of dough)onto the working area and press slightly with your hand, set the rolling pin at the center of the “testal” and press forward without making it to the edge and then press backward towards yourself stopping before the edge. Turn the tortilla 45 degrees (like a half turn) and repeat pressing forward and then towards you. Flip the tortilla and repeat the same process until you have a thin disk of about 10 inches. If you are new to rolling tortillas, be patient, it takes a little practice.
8. Now, place the tortilla on your already hot Griddle or comal. This step is a really quick one: be careful with your timing. a) During the first 20 to 30 seconds, the tortilla starts forming air bubbles and light brown spots will show at the bottom side of the tortilla, b) turn the tortilla, and during the next 20 seconds, more air bubbles will continue to form. c) turn again; at this time the tortilla will puff up like in the picture above. This last step will take about 10 seconds. Remove the tortilla and wrap with a kitchen towel. Keep making the rest of the tortillas.

Notes

• Add the water little by little to form the dough since in humid climates a slightly less amount of water will be needed.
• Add the baking powder if you live at sea levels. You can still make the flour tortillas without the baking powder, maybe they won’t puff to much, but they will still come out fine.
• The resting period will develop the gluten and forming the tortilla disks will be easier. Do not skip this step.
• *Your comal/griddle should be hot enough so that when cooking the tortillas the spots are light brown; if they are dark brown too 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.