“I like eggs over easy with flour tortillas, and nobody knows me like my baby…” Actually, I don’t really like eggs over easy, but I do love flour tortillas and I also love Lyle Lovett. If you think he’s just the ugly dude who was married to that actress from Pretty Woman who has dropped off the face of the planet, you should go find his music!
Anyway, If you’ve never had freshly-made flour tortillas, you really have to. After I had them the first time, I knew I could never go back. Yeah, there are times when I buy them and I always end up regretting it because I know what flour tortillas can be and a package of Mission tortillas ain’t it.
I tried a couple of times to make my own tortillas, but I always failed–they were always too thick because the dough was so tough that I wasn’t physically strong enough to roll them to the size and thickness and shape that I actually wanted them. And then I met Mel–Fabulous Fajita Mel–and I learned from her how to make my own gen-u-ine flour tortillas. And it’s really not THAT much work. Plus, the results are SO worth any extra effort it might take! I promise you, once you make these, you will never return to store-bought tortillas in good conscience.
Flour Tortillas
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. very hot water
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 c. shortening
In a heavy-duty mixer, combine flour and salt. Add in shortening and mix until well combined (it will resemble coarse bread crumbs). Add hot water. The water hotness is the key to these being easy to make–it needs to be hot enough to melt the shortening, but not SO hot that the dough turns into an ooey-gooey mess. Or a hot mess (literally), as Mia Michaels might say. I usually get relatively warm water from my tap and then heat it for 45-60 seconds in the microwave.
Anyway, after you add the water, the dough will start to come together. When it is fully combined, remove from mixer and divide into portions. Now…the recipe yield really depends on how many tortillas you want. If you want small tortillas (like for fajitas), then you’ll probably get around 10-12. If you want medium tortillas (burritos), then you’ll probably get 8 or so. For large tortillas (like for salad wraps), you’ll get around 6. Shape portions into round balls.
Preheat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet to medium-low heat. If necessary, spray your work surface with non-stick cooking spray; you may not need to because the dough isn’t particularly sticky, but it may be and you also don’t want to add any more flour to your dough. Press your palm against the surface of the dough ball, trying to maintain as much of a round shape as possible. Place rolling pin in middle of flattened dough ball and roll to desired thickness, shaping in a circle as you go.
Place raw tortilla on preheated skillet. Now…be forewarned–the first one may not work out great; it’s like the first pancake or the oldest child (TOTALLY kidding, oldest sister and oldest child!) You’re going to be watching for bubbles. If you get little blistery bubbles, your skillet is too hot and you need to reduce the heat. You’re looking for big, fat, slow-bubbling bubbles.
When you start to see them, flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30-45 seconds or so.
This is where some personal taste comes in, but in my experience, dark marks on your tortillas (like you see on store-bought ones) usually lead to brittle tortillas when they cool down. Personally, I’m keeping my eye out for a kind of “greasy” look inside; I know that sounds gross, but that’s the best way I can think of to describe it. These ones are cooked enough to not taste raw, but they’re also very soft when they cool and they hold up to being wrapped, folded, twisted, and turned.
If you’re cooking these quickly, you can just stack them on top of each other and they’ll stay warm. You can also wrap them in damp paper towels and then wrap them in foil and keep them in a warm oven (170) until you’re ready to use them. But be sure and save one just for you–you have to eat it while it’s still hot and you can spread some butter on it or butter with cinnamon sugar or just eat it plain and BLESS the wonder that is real Mexican food!
So let’s hear it! Any other Lyle Lovett fans out there? Mia Michaels, anyone? Have you made your own tortillas before? Have you had fresh tortillas? Are you gonna try THESE fresh tortillas?
Flour Tortillas
Our Best Bites
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. very hot water
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 c. shortening
Instructions:
In a heavy-duty mixer, combine flour and salt. Add in shortening and mix until well combined (it will resemble coarse bread crumbs). Add hot water. The water hotness is the key to these being easy to make–it needs to be hot enough to melt the shortening, but not SO hot that the dough turns into an ooey-gooey mess. Or a hot mess (literally), as Mia Michaels might say. I usually get relatively warm water from my tap and then heat it for 45-60 seconds in the microwave.
Anyway, after you add the water, the dough will start to come together. When it is fully combined, remove from mixer and divide into portions. Now…the recipe yield really depends on how many tortillas you want. If you want small tortillas (like for fajitas), then you’ll probably get around 10-12. If you want medium tortillas (burritos), then you’ll probably get 8 or so. For large tortillas (like for salad wraps), you’ll get around 6. Shape portions into round balls.
Preheat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet to medium-low heat. If necessary, spray your work surface with non-stick cooking spray; you may not need to because the dough isn’t particularly sticky, but it may be and you also don’t want to add any more flour to your dough. Press your palm against the surface of the dough ball, trying to maintain as much of a round shape as possible. Place rolling pin in middle of flattened dough ball and roll to desired thickness, shaping in a circle as you go.
Place raw tortilla on preheated skillet. Now…be forewarned–the first one may not work out great; it’s like the first pancake or the oldest child (TOTALLY kidding, oldest sister and oldest child!) You’re going to be watching for bubbles. If you get little blistery bubbles, your skillet is too hot and you need to reduce the heat. You’re looking for big, fat, slow-bubbling bubbles.
When you start to see them, flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30-45 seconds or so.
This is where some personal taste comes in, but in my experience, dark marks on your tortillas (like you see on store-bought ones) usually lead to brittle tortillas when they cool down. Personally, I’m keeping my eye out for a kind of “greasy” look inside; I know that sounds gross, but that’s the best way I can think of to describe it. These ones are cooked enough to not taste raw, but they’re also very soft when they cool and they hold up to being wrapped, folded, twisted, and turned.
If you’re cooking these quickly, you can just stack them on top of each other and they’ll stay warm. You can also wrap them in damp paper towels and then wrap them in foil and keep them in a warm oven (170) until you’re ready to use them. But be sure and save one just for you–you have to eat it while it’s still hot and you can spread some butter on it or butter with cinnamon sugar or just eat it plain and BLESS the wonder that is real Mexican food!
Questions & Reviews
Thanks Kate! I'll try again.
Trimble–It sounds like a couple things probably went wrong. First, you shouldn't have been able to mix it with the whisk attachment on your Kitchenaid–it should've been way too heavy for that. So it sounds like you probably needed more flour because you definitely want to be using your dough hook.
Wheat flour shouldn't be a problem, especially if you're not subbing all wheat flour.
From your description, it sounds like your skillet probably wasn't hot enough–if they never bubble, then they'll just get kind of dry and hard as they cook for too long. I'd try turning up the heat a little next time and see if that helps.
I'm sorry they didn't work! 🙁 Hopefully they'll be better next time!
Tried these tonight and it did not turn out well. They NEVER bubbled and I left them on forever! I used 1 cup of wheat flour though and I used the whisk attachment for the Kitchenaid. Could one of those things or both have messed it up?
I made these and they were so yummy! Thanks for another great recipe!
I did it!
I ended up going to get butter-flavored shortening because I ran out of regular anyways.
I probably added at least 1/2 C. more flour, if not 3/4-1 Cup extra. It has to be the humidity.
After that, they were really easy and I loved them. : )
Hey, Jaimie! I've been having some of the same issues this summer, I'm thinking because of the humidity. These are the things that I've found:
–Get reasonably hot tapwater, but don't worry about microwaving it.
–You may need to add an additional 1/4-1/2 c. of flour; basically, add the amount of flour called for in the recipe and then add enough more to make the consistency like soft homemade playdough.
–Butter-flavored shortening is fine, and Kosher salt won't affect the texture, but I really think it tastes better with Kosher salt! 🙂
Try those out and let us know how it goes! 🙂
Ok, I need some major help with this recipe.. I tried to make a batch TWO times today and it failed miserably. The dough was TOTALLY sticky- it stuck to my hands in one big goopy mess.
I didn't use Kosher salt because well, I don't buy that.. And I used vegetable shortening rather than butter-flavored. Would either of those be the culprit?
It just seemed like the dough was SO hot and melty or something?
Suggestions? Thanks!! I really, really want to be able to make these! We eat a lot of tortillas!!!
Okay, Christine. The first thing you need to do is run right out and buy a Kitchenaid mixer. 😉 No, seriously, I've never *tried* making these without my heavy-duty mixer, but they've been making them in Mexico for hundreds of years, right? So I'm sure it can be done.
I'm thinking you could mix the shortening into the flour and salt with your hand mixer, but when you add the water, I would just mix it in by hand. It'll feel a lot like homemade playdough. Just make sure the water isn't too hot because we'd hate to be sued or something! 🙂
And yeah, unfortunately, we lost all of last year's SYTYCD episodes a few months ago and I nearly cried. I wish they'd put the seasons on DVD!!
These look so easy yet so intimidating! My only question is this… I don't have a lovely Kitchenaid mixer – just a regular old little hand mixer. Would that still work?
I looooove this blog. Not only are the pictures and recipes fantastic, I can always count on a laugh from reading it. Thanks for sharing all of this great yumminess!
Woohoo Mia Michaels! I still have SYTYCD episodes on my TiVo from last season… thats embarrassing.
Well, after making your pizza dough breadsticks, and wowing my taste testers…I decided to bust out some flour tortillas this morning. I've always always ALWAYS meant to figure out how to make my own, and with your instruction, now I know…thanks!!! At the rate I'm going, I'll have my friends referring to me as "The Dough Whisperer" in no time…
lol-the dough whisperer