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.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- All purpose flour
- Very hot water – The water needs to be hot enough the melt the shortening but not hot enough to make an ooey-gooey mess. I usually get relatively warm water from my tap and then heat it for 45-60 seconds in the microwave.
- Kosher salt
- Shortening – Will this work with butter, coconut oil, lard, or any other fat? I have only ever used shortening in this recipe, but readers have reported luck with butter and other substitutes. If you try out an alternative, come back and let me know how it turned out!
How to Make Flour Tortillas
- First you’ll mix up some flour, salt and shortening in a heavy duty mixer. This mixture will look like bread crumbs.
- Then you’ll add some hot water to bring it all together.
- Portion your dough out into balls.
- When ready to cook, you’ll flatten each ball with your hand, then roll them thin, and pop them into a hot skillet to cook. In my experience dark spots on the tortillas mean they will cool and be a bit brittle. For best results I like to see gentle browning on the bubbled spots and a doughy look to the rest. You want them cooked through but supple.
- Serve immediately!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover tortillas in an airtight container and enjoy within 2-3 days if left at room temp or 5-7 days if stored in the refrigerator.
- That first tortilla is sometimes like the first pancake: a bit of an experiment. Depending on how quickly it cooks, you can adjust your heat for the rest!
- This recipe will make 10-12 fajita-sized tortillas, about 8 medium-sized tortillas, or around 6 jumbo burrito/wrap tortillas.
- If your dough is a bit sticky, try letting it rest for 10 minutes so the flour can fully absorb the liquid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! These make great enchiladas!
You can! For best results, layer them between parchment or wax paper, seal in a zip top bag, and freeze up to 3 months.
You can reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave, wrapped in a damp paper towel.
Nope! A rolling pin works well here. A tortilla press is more necessary with corn tortillas.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup very hot water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup 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. (I usually get relatively warm water from my tap and then heat it for 45-60 seconds in the microwave.)
- When the dough is fully combined, remove from mixer and divide into portions (see recipe yields in notes) and 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. 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.
- 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.
Notes
- Store leftover tortillas in an airtight container and enjoy within 2-3 days if left at room temp or 5-7 days if stored in the refrigerator.
- That first tortilla is sometimes like the first pancake: a bit of an experiment. Depending on how quickly it cooks, you can adjust your heat for the rest!
- Yield: This recipe will make 10-12 fajita-sized tortillas, about 8 medium-sized tortillas, or around 6 jumbo burrito/wrap tortillas.
- Nutrition facts were calculated for one medium-sized tortilla.
Questions & Reviews
hey there! i am fixin’ to make these tortillas, and i was wandering IF i have any left over, how or what should i store them in, when i put them in the fridge? Phew… forgive my run-on sentence.:)
Just pop them in a ziplock bag and pop them in the fridge 🙂
Have you tried it with cocoa powder and some sugar? I don’t really know how much you would have to add, but I have heard of chocolate tortillas before. I think that would be good!
That’s an awesome way to describe it. You’re a great writer. My wife and I make tortillas together, but we wanted to know why some would turn out more brittle. You explained it perfectly. Thank you.
Oh these are heaven! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I just finished making these for the second time. I saved the last tortilla for myself and while it was still hot I slathered some Nutella on it and that is what I am eating right now.
I tried adding half cup of whole wheat flour and it gave the tortillas a really nice rustic look without the whole wheat flavour. Going to have Buffalo Chicken wraps tonight. Yum!
I am really excited to try these… I live in a small-ish town in Idaho and I’m just tired of not being able to find and afford GOOD, REAL tortillas. I’m from AZ where you can go to the Mexican market on Main Street and buy the most amazing tortillas for cheap. I’ve been looking for an excuse to try making them but I remember my mother trying to make them and they were always too thick and bready-feeling, so I’ve always been too scared… here’s to conquering my fears!
I am a hunter of the perfect recipe for anything. I enjoy reading your comments as much as I like looking at your recipes. Found you by accident, by looking at a review of the “Food Nanny” on Amazon. Thank you for doing this blog. I am going to try a few recipes and then buy your book.
Oh gosh! My sweet hubby gave me your cookbook for Christmas… we had the sweet mexican style pork this week! Oh My Gosh So DELICIOUS! Anyways I attempted these babies and had NO success, come to find out from your instructions here that I didn’t use hot enough water and my skillet was too hot… I’m so excited to try them again and hopefully have a ton of yummies because of it… thank you! 😀
My tortillas never bubbled and are kind of hard and crispy. First I set my skillet to 300, and since that didn’t work I heated it to 400. I had to add extra flour because my dough was too sticky and I used regular crisco, but other than that I stuck to the recipe. What do you think I need to change to fix them?
It sounds like your skillet was actually probably too hot. I’d turn it down to the 250-275 range and wait for the big, puffy bubbles to appear.
You can also make the water warm instead of hot–you might not need as much flour that way and that could help solve your problems (but definitely decrease the heat, too).
Hope that helps!
I have made tortillas for years, after I learned from a navajo lady and a friend from Arizona.
My kids love the green spinach tortillas and the sundried tomato tortillas to make cheese and lunch meat rolled sandwiches. (A local resturant had a sandwich called the “Big Bird” that we copied and they do the same with the spinach tortillas and call them “Oscar the Grouch”)
Do you have any ideas on how to do tortilla variations like that?
Can you use regular salt instead of kosher?
sure; just use a little less than it calls for. Table salt is more “salty” than kosher salt.