My love for flour tortillas goes way back. I have great memories of watching my grandmother and great-grandmother make huge batches of tortillas and cook them on an old wood-burning stove. Something about that stove seemed to add the perfect flavor to the tortilla and brown it in all of the right places. I’d anxiously wait while they patiently worked in batches to hand-pat each of the tortillas – there was no need for a press or rolling pin, they had years of experience. Trying not to be obvious, I’d mosey in and out of the kitchen carefully monitoring their work and waiting for any sign that I could dig in. Inevitably, they would surprise me with a warm tortilla smothered in butter. While I no longer put butter on my tortillas, they continue to be one of my favorite comfort foods.
I’ve tried many recipes over the years, but this version comes closest to the flavor and consistency of the tortillas I remember from my childhood.
Makes 12 tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
- 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening, lard or 2 1/2 tablespoons of each (for the most authentic version)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup very warm tap water
Directions
Combine the flour and shortening in a large mixing bowl and work the shortening into the flour with your fingers until completely incorporated. If this isn’t done thoroughly (until no particles of shortening remain visible), the tortillas will have an irregular texture. Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about 2/3 cup over the dry ingredients and immediately work it in with a fork; the dough will be in large clumps. If all the dry ingredients haven’t been dampened, add the rest of the liquid (plus a little more, if necessary). Scoop the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth. It should be a medium-stiff consistency – not firm, but not quite as soft as most bread dough either.
Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball. Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes – this makes the dough easier to roll.
Heat an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it; rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rotating and rolling until you reach a 7-inch circle, lightly flouring the tortilla and work surface from time to time.
Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle (you should hear a faint sizzle and see an almost immediate bubbling across the surface). After 30 to 45 seconds, when there are browned splotches underneath, flip it over. Bake 30 to 45 seconds more, until the other side is browned; don’t overbake the tortilla or it will become crisp. Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin placed in a tortilla warmer. Roll and griddle-bake the remaining tortillas in the same manner – stack them one on top of the other in the warmer.
original recipe found here
Hello there,
I loved your article here and your site is great!
I will have to look at it closer when it isn’t 3:34 a.m.!
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Polly Motzko
wow I never thought flour tortillas are so easy to make !! I’ve bookmarked them Thanks
Very nice, I made tortillas last saturday and the recipe is very similar to the one you posted. We make some fajitas with them, it was awesome…
Your tortillas look incredible. Great photo! I love making tortillas and am always looking for ways to improve them so I can’t wait to try your recipe!!
I have tried making tortillas once but they were just ok. I can’t wait to try your recipe! Thanks!
I just made tortillas using a very similar recipe. They were delicious! Yours look so perfectly round though…mine were kind of oval shaped, and not even very good ovals!
Great recipe – I’m planning on trying your ratio of ingredients next time to see if they turn out even better
wow, looks amazing!
so easy to make! will definitely try your recipe.
Hello,
I am so excited to try this recipe. I was wondering if I could use buckwheat flour instead of normal flour. Also, do I have to adjust any of the quantities of the other ingredients if i’m using buckwheatm especially the liquid ingredients?
I cannot wait to make these! We buy tortillas every trip to the grocery store, but in my heart I knew they shouldn’t have 17 ingredients! I have a recipe from King Arthur, but it uses corn meal and flour…not quite the same.
These will definitely have a different flavor if you use buckwheat, but I believe you can keep the other ingredient amounts the same and they should turn out. Let me know how it goes!
I just found this recipe on stumbleupon, and enjoyed reading it. I myself just made tortillas a week or so ago from scratch. It’s a lot cheaper (as my article states) and much more enjoyable to make at home. I hand rolled mine, though, so I think at a later date I’d try hand flattening them. Sounds fun! Thanks for the article.
These sound great! Who would have thought tortillas would be so simple to make?? Will definitely try soon!
A pinch of baking powder makes them come out really good too.
Is it ok to cook up like half of the tortillas and then save (maybe refrigerate) the dough and cook the rest another day?
Just made them and can’t wait to make them again. Easy instructions and great results! Thank you so much for sharing it, and thank you to whoever put it on pinterest!
This is basically the same recipe I have from my Nana and her sisters. I love to make them!
I didn’t read any other comments so this might of already been asked but I was wondering if you could do this same recipe only using wheat flour?
Loved stumbling across this recipe. I have been trying to find a good flour tortilla recipe to make enchiladas with. I can’t wait to try these out tonight!!!
Hi – yes, absolutely – wheat flour can be used. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
I wouldn’t let the dough sit for too long – I would recommend cooking them all and then freezing/refrigerating the tortillas instead of the dough – good luck and let me know how it turns out!
I just tried this recipe (made my second batch today) and the tortillas came out amazing! I recently moved to Virginia from South Texas and I’ve been craving the tasty tortillas I’m used to. Thanks!
Definitely going to have to try this… my two year old would eat tortillas every day if I let him. Thanks for sharing!
Wish there was a simple recipe like this for corn tortillas (hint hint).
Can I substitute whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour?
Absolutely!
When I was a little girl living in Mesa, AZ, I had a babysitter named Mrs. Leon. Mrs. Leon would make tortillas from scratch like this and put butter on them and give them to me and my brother for a snack. It was like eating heaven.
I tried to make homemade tortillas about 15 years ago when I was first married. It was a giant failure. But I am willing to try it again! It’s been a while and my culinary skills have grown.
Thanks for the recipe!
These are easy and taste great but the 7″ size is disappointing. The ones I buy at the store are at least 12″, 7″ isn’t really big enough to make anything out of. I’m trying to adjust the recipe to make 12 12″ tortillas… luckily I have an old lefse griddle of my grandmothers that I can try cooking them on.
o my wow! those were the most amazing thing ive ever put in my mouth! i had never had fresh Tortillas before, always wanted to try and today seemed perfect. thank you SOOOO much for showing me! i hope you dont mind im going to share this and give u credit on my website!
Oh so delish!
After a year of making them, I’ve noticed that using milk instead of water makes super tender-long lasting tortillas –tip given by family friend-
tip 2: After flipping it over, g e n t l y press on any bubble with a spatula, inducing steam throughout the tortilla and balloon, carefully remove/wrap in a napkin lined tortilla warmer.
I want to try masa. Can’t wait. Will add to my blog. Thankxxxxx
I came across this on pinterest, and made some today. LOVE! I’ve never made my own tortillas before, but I will never buy them at the store again. These were so easy, and came out great. I used a cast iron pan, and it worked perfectly.
I came across these on Pinterest too and have completely stopped buying flour tortillas at the store. These are just too good! I am going to experiment next time I make them with whole wheat flour and see how they turn out
Budget Earth – Baked Acorn Squash Recipe
we make it with whole wheat flour here in India and we call them Rotis
my friend gave me a great idea to make these healthier! use whole wheat and coconut oil!!! shut up i’m so going to try. she says she does this and likes it!
This recipe is very close to my mother’s & grandmothers including the lard – my mother would use bacon fat & cook the them on a cast iron skillet =-) It took many years for rolling – they are no longer in the states form – round that’s when I knew I mastered the rolling =-)
I made these for the kids last night (teenagers) and they said they were way better than the store bought kind. They reheat well, too. Well recommended! Thanks for posting this recipe!!
These are wonderful! I added a pinch of baking powder, per another commenter. The size was perfect and they were soft & flexible.
As a Hispanic woman who grew up watching my grandmother make tortillas on the comal–I learned how to make them at the age of ten and it is basically a handful of that and a pinch of that, we never used measuring cups for anything. I still make them to this day and they are just as good as grandmas. But I was going to say that the thing missing from YOUR recipe is the baking powder, that is what makes them thick and yummy as well. Also, the tortilla recipe is the same recipe for the sopapillas–more lard in torts, less in sopa, more baking poweder in sopa, less in torts…there you have it. Remember to add baking powder, it does make a difference to texture and flavor.
Great recipe!!! I come from a long line of tortilla makers and just getting married this year I finally had my mom teach me, I prefer unbleached flour rather then all purpose or wheat (my husband doesn’t care for the texture) and I also add a touch of baking powder to make them soft and puffy.
This was the best I’ve ever had! Great recipe
Just made these, first wonderfully successful attempt at flour tortillas- they usually turn out funny, but these were perfect! Next time I’ll add the baking powder for extra measure, but even without it they turned out. Thanks!
Great recipe, super quick and easy. I will never buy tortillas again!
I can’t wait to try this out! My oldest son has severe problems with dairy and I found out many flour tortillas you can buy have milk in them. Having 4 boys to feed means many tortillas, so making them would be totally awesome, and no worries about dairy! Thanks for posting!
I agree you need to add baking powder, mamma would make them for me and when they would puff up she would say, they were asking for butter.
I like the idea of using coconut oil. I’m not a big fan of shorting. It always gets rancid before I use it up. I wonder if mixing in the food prosessor would make the recipe even easier! I think I have a menu plan for Sunday! Thanks!
These look awesome! I’m always looking for food products I can make myself, or put my own personal spin on. Do you mind if I use your recipe on my blog. I will give credit where credit is due! Thanks.
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discoveringdeliciousaro.blogspot.com
I can’t wait to make them. They sound wonderful.