Julie Clark
Updated:
Flour Tortilla Recipe
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How to make how to make the best homemade flour tortillas recipe. Tips and tricks for the best flavor and how to store homemade tortillas to keep them soft and pliable. These flour tortillas work perfectly for our easy chimichangas, Mexican tortilla rollups, salsa verde quesadillas and baked tacos.
We go through flour tortillas in our house like they are made of water. When Maddie was in high school, her favorite breakfast was rolled tortillas with peanut butter inside, drizzled with maple syrup. She had it every day.
Tortillas are easy to make at home, and they taste delicious. So much better than store-bought tortillas! Learn how to make flour tortillas with our easy flour tortilla recipe. And then learn how to store homemade tortillas to keep them soft.
Ingredients in Flour Tortillas
What are tortillas made of? Flour tortillas are made of all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, lard and water. Simple ingredients for a simple flavor. That simple flavor allows the meats that you fill them with to shine through.
Can you substitute butter for lard in tortillas? Lard works best in this homemade flour tortilla recipe. If I don’t have lard on hand, I use vegetable shortening. And if all else fails, I use butter. Butter will work, but lard is what works best for the most authentic flavor and texture.
How to Make Flour Tortillas
- Use a food processor to put the dough together quickly. If you don’t have a food processor, use a stand mixer or hand mixer and a large bowl. Just be careful not to over knead the dough. Mix just until the dough comes together.
- The dough will be sticky when you are done mixing it. Add just enough flour to be able to handle the dough. It should still be tacky while you knead it.
- You won’t need to knead the flour tortilla dough long. Just work it a minute or two so that the dough is smooth and elastic. Knead on a lightly floured work surface.
- Divide the dough into 15-20 balls of dough...smaller balls for tacos and larger balls for burritos. Cover the dough balls with a damp towel for about 15 minutes. This allows the dough to rest and will give the tortillas a delicious texture.
- Lastly, cook tortillas. Traditionally tortillas are made in a comal which is a flat cast iron skillet. Cast iron works best but any skillet or griddle will work in a pinch. They only take a total of 30-40 seconds in a hot skillet. Preheat the skillet so the tortillas don’t stick. About 15-20 seconds on each side in the hot pan is all you’ll need. You’ll get those pretty golden brown spots that so clearly mark tortillas.
- Wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels as soon as they are done cooking. This is so the tortillas don’t dry out. If you want soft tortillas, don’t skip that step.
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Switch out half of the flour and replace with whole wheat flour in this four tortilla recipe if you’d like. If you want to make 100% whole wheat tortillas, you may need to adjust the water and lard slightly.
How to Store Homemade Tortillas
This flour tortilla recipe makes soft tortillas that are safe to store at room temperature for up to 12 hours. After that, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will get moldy quickly if you don’t refrigerate them.
How to Reheat Tortillas
To reheat the tortillas, preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and heat for 5-7 minutes or until the tortillas are as warm as you’d like.
Serve up these fresh flour tortillas with your favorite meat filling and some pico de gallo or salsa verde.
Other Mexican Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Tortillas
- Steak Fajitas
- Roast Beef Enchiladas
- Pork Carnitas
- Easy Baked Chimichangas
- Taco Lasagna
- Tortilla Chip Mexican Pizza
- Taco Salad Bowl
You can also use this flour tortilla wraps in our Italian pepperoni rollups.
Flour Tortilla Recipe
How to make how to make the best homemade flour tortilla recipe. Tips and Tricks for the best flavor and how to keep the tortillas soft and pliable.
Servings 15
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup lard (or shortening)
- 1 1/3 cup hot water
Instructions
- Add the flour, baking powder salt and lard to a food processor. Pulse several times until the mixture becomes coarse crumbs. 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup lard
- Add the hot water. Yes, be sure the water is hot! Pulse again until a sticky dough forms. 1 ⅓ cup hot water
- Remove the dough from the food processor and knead on a flour dusted pastry mat several times. The dough will be sticky so add a little flour on your hands while kneading. Don't add too much flour. The dough should not become hard. It should remain slightly tacky to the touch. Knead just until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Divide the dough into 15-20 dough balls, depending on the size you'd like the tortillas. Dampen a cloth towel and cover the dough balls. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
- Allow a skillet to get hot over medium heat.
- Use a floured pastry mat and rolling pin to roll out each dough ball. The dough should be about the thickness of a dime. Turn the dough 90 degrees often while rolling to get a perfect circle.
- Once the skillet is hot, place the rolled dough into the skillet and let it cook for 15-20 seconds. A few bubbles may form and that's ok. Flip the tortilla and allow it to cook for the same amount on the other side.
- Line a plate or tortilla warmer with damp paper towels. Place the cooked homemade tortillas in a stack in the warmer or plate and cover with another damp paper towel. This ensures that your tortillas stay soft and pliable.
- Store the tortillas in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can also store in the freezer.
- To reheat, wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in a 350 degree oven until they are heated through to your liking.
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 15, with 1 serving being 1 tortilla. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3g | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 87mg | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.5mg
Easy and not the to-do that I was expecting. I enjoyed the taste and am officially done with store bought.
Thanks so much!
what a lovely dough to work with! I wrapped my tortillas in saran wrap immediately after removing from the skillet and they stayed soft creating their own moisture. A very delicious tortilla recipe, thanks
The best tortilla recipe I have so far found and tried and absolutely like! I have tried many recipes and this has been my dream come true!
How long can the dough be stored in the refrigerator?
What do I do when the dough is sticky after kneading it
I used a tortilla press but when I pulled it off to put it on the comal, the tortillas would shrink up. My tortillas ended up not soft and thicker like flatbread. The flavor is good, but I was expecting thin soft tortillas. Also, the damp paper towel was sticking to my cooked tortillas. I don’t think I would try this recipe again.
These tortillas are really good and I’ve made them numerous times, but can I save the dough and cook it the next day?
I have tried soooo many recipes and I would say this recipe is by far the best. They taste just like my Tia Linda would make. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Do they remain soft and pliable even after they have cooled off
This recipe is so good ten out of ten I would recommend these and would make theses again
Hi,
Your recipe sounds great and I’m going to try it. I’ve never made flour tortillas at home but do, eat them daily. Just wanted to mention, you can easily reheat flour tortillas on top of a gas stove in about 15 seconds. Place the tortilla on the burner, turn on the flame to high – or close to it, flip the tortilla with the tips of your fingers every few seconds, and done.
Thank you again, for your great recipe. Can’t wait to try it!!!
Can you roll these out the day before and put parchment paper between them and cook them the next day?
Lard shortens the gluten strand much like shortening does. Oil you have to over kneed to break down the gluten strands. Hope this helps
cool. I like to eat them plain, fresh off the griddle. So delicious.