Homemade Flour Tortillas Recipe

Homemade flour tortillas that are super tender and soft every time. This easy flour tortillas recipe only uses 4 ingredients and the only tools you need are a bowl and a rolling pin. If you have ever wondered how to make flour tortillas at home, this is the post for you! Once you have homemade tortillas, I promise you that you will never go back to buying them at the store.

Why I Love this Recipe?

My first try at homemade flour tortillas was over 10 years ago. They turned out decent but I knew they could be better, so I’ve been researching and experimenting until the recipe below was the end result. Flour tortillas don’t get any better than this!

Honestly, this tortilla recipe is super easy to make, even for someone who has never made tortillas before. It is one of the reasons I love making flour tortillas at home. No special tools or ingredients are needed for the most tender, soft, and flaky tortillas you’ve ever had.

Homemade Flour Tortillas Ingredients

In an authentic flour tortilla recipe, there are only 4 ingredients: all-purpose flour, salt, shortening or lard, and water. There are some recipes that use baking powder but if you make them correctly, there is no need for that extra ingredient. They will puff all on their own! 

• All-purpose flour
• Kosher salt
• Vegetable shortening or lard
• Water

How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas?

The key to soft and tender homemade flour tortillas is to inhibit the development of gluten in the flour by “waterproofing” the flour. You do this by rubbing the shortening into the flour with your hands to coat the flour with the fat and secondly, by using 110-degree warm water which melts the fat. Now that the flour is coated in fat, when you gently work the dough, it is much less likely to create gluten, resulting in a tender, soft, and flaky tortilla.

1. Combine the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Rub the shortening into the flour and salt mixture by rubbing it gently between your hands.
3. Mix in the water with a wooden spoon, being sure the temperature is 110 degrees before adding it to the flour mixture. 
4. Knead the dough just long enough for it to come together, then divide into 12 pieces.
5. Rest the dough for 30 minutes so it can relax and roll out very easily.
6. Roll the dough into 8-inch circles.
7. Cook tortillas on a hot griddle for 1 minute on each side.

How to Cook Homemade Tortillas?

You can cook flour tortillas on an electric griddle or on a nonstick pan on the stove. The key is to get the level of heat right. Usually, an electric skillet needs to be on high heat,  but closer to medium-high for a pan on the stove. The homemade flour tortillas should cook for about 1 minute on each side, creating large bubbles across the surface, and turn light brown before flipping and cooking for another minute.

If the flour tortillas are cooked at too high a temperature or for too long, they will turn hard and will crack and crumble when you fold them. If you’ve never made homemade flour tortillas before, it’s a good idea to plan to sacrifice the first 1 or 2 as you experiment with getting the right cooking temperature.

How to Use Homemade Flour Tortillas?

Well, besides eating them hot off the griddle, I’ve included a few of my favorite ways to use these amazing flour tortillas after you’ve cooked them.

• Pork Carnitas are my go-to pork recipe as a filling for these tortillas. Between the amazing, caramelized pork butt and the tender homemade tortilla, you’ll never look at Taco Tuesday the same again!
• Tortilla S’mores are always on the menu when we are grilling in the summer time! All the classic s’mores flavors wrapped up in a homemade flour tortilla and grilled until hot and gooey!
• Chicken Tacos and Mango Jicama Salsa are another family favorite way to use our homemade tortillas. Just a different, more tropical take on our more traditional Mexican flavors.
• Peanut Butter and Banana Sushi comes in a close second behind the Tortilla S’mores if you want my kid’s opinions on how to use the flour tortillas. They make these as after-school snacks or even pack them in their lunches.
• Mediterranean Quesadillas might sound like a complete contrast in regional flavors, but they are outstanding! This vegetarian recipe comes together in just a few minutes and is crazy flavorful inside those amazing tortillas.

Equipment Needed to Make Tortillas

Many wrongly assume you need a tortilla press to make homemade flour tortillas. If you are making corn tortillas, then yes a tortilla press is necessary. But because of the gluten in flour tortillas, a press will be ineffective in getting a round, thin disc of dough. Instead, here is what you do need for success:

• Digital food thermometer to be sure the water is at the proper temperature of 110-degrees before working it into the flour and shortening mixture.
• Quality rolling pin to make perfectly thin discs of dough. 
• Electric griddle is a must-have piece of equipment but is a nice-to-have. A griddle keeps a constant temperature and lets you cook two tortillas at the same time. 
• Tortilla warmer is another piece of equipment that is handy but not necessary. I like using one to keep my finished flour tortillas warm for an hour. 

Homemade Flour Tortillas FAQs and Troubleshooting

Watch How to Make Flour Tortillas

Looking for More Great Mexican Recipes?

If you are here, it’s because you love amazing Mexican recipes as much as I do! So, let’s hook you up with three more before you go that will knock your socks off:

Homemade Flour Tortillas

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My flour tortillas recipe is so simple and the homemade tortillas turn out soft and tender every time! Stop settling for the store bought ones!

• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 12 tortillas 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening or lard
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water at 110 degrees

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add shortening and rub it into the flour with your hands until it is completely incorporated. It should have a cornmeal type texture.
2. Be sure water is 110 degrees and add to the flour mixture. Mix together with a wooden spoon then dump onto a floured counter and knead just until the dough comes together. It will still be fairly lumpy. Do not knead too long or it will develop too much gluten.
3. Divide dough into 12 pieces, roll them into balls, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 3 days in the fridge. Don’t rush the resting or you won’t be able to roll the dough thin enough.
4. Flour your counter and one dough ball well. Roll into a very thin 8″ circle. Cover with a towel and repeat. To help keep a round shape, be sure to rotate the tortilla often during rolling.
5. Heat an electric skillet to high heat, or a nonstick pan on the stove to medium high heat. Cook tortillas on first side until puffed and lightly brown, about 1 minute, flip and cook another 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover with a towel and serve immediately.

Notes

You can freeze uncooked tortillas after they have been rolled out and before you cook them. Layer parchment paper between each uncooked tortilla, place in a freezer bag, and freeze until needed. You can cook them either from frozen or allow them to thaw first.

• Author: Carole Jones
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Bread
• Method: Grilled
• Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 tortilla
• Calories: 156
• Sugar: 0 g
• Sodium: 140 mg
• Fat: 6 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 20 g
• Fiber: 1 g
• Protein: 3 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg