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If you’ve never made homemade flour tortillas before, you’re missing out on the softest and most tender flour tortilla you’ve ever had in your life! I can’t go back to store-bought tortillas now that I’ve made my own flour tortillas!
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Homemade Flour Tortillas Is My Sourdough Baking
Have you ever been to a truly authentic Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant and watch them make tortillas by hand? When I was in California, all the breakfast burrito places we went to made fresh, in-house tortillas and the difference is there. It makes the burritos and tacos just so much more tender and has the right chew consistency.
Truthfully, for myself, I never truly thought to make homemade flour tortillas because it’s just so much easier to pick up a pack at the store when you’re in a pinch. Of course, that’s where you sacrifice quality, right? Convenience sometimes is greater than quality though but if you have the time, I encourage you to make these homemade flour tortillas!
Spend your next meal prep day and make a large batch of these homemade flour tortillas and then freeze them!
For ways to use these flour tortillas, you’re in for a treat! Homemade Chicken Enchiladas are a favorite in our household as are Homemade Crunchwrap Supremes. Making Chipotle Shrimp Tacos is a stellar choice too!
How to Make Flour Tortillas
- Add flour, salt, and baking powder to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix on low for 30 seconds to incorporate the dry ingredients.
- With the mixer running on medium low, add the vegetable oil and warm water and continue to mix until the mixture forms a smooth ball.
- Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and divide dough until you get approximately 16 equal portions then shape each portion into a ball then gently, using the palm of your hand, flatten out the dough. Cover flattened dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.
- After the dough has rested, roll each dough ball into a 6-inch diameter circle on a lightly floured work surface. Do not stack them on top of each other.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place one dough circle in the middle of the pan and let cook for 1 minute OR until the surface of the dough starts to bubble and the bottom starts to brown. At that point, flip it and cook the same way on the other side, but for slightly less time, 20-30 seconds. You want the tortilla soft and to have little brown spots on it. You don’t want to cook the tortilla too much that it becomes crispy.
FAQs for Making Flour Tortillas
Yes! You can absolutely make these flour tortillas to be street taco size, regular taco size, or burrito size. Keep in mind you’ll have more or less dough depending on what size you make them.
Allow it to sit out at room temperature a bit longer. The gluten isn’t relaxed enough yet. You may have overworked it in the mixer.
If they’re from the refrigerator, put them on a plate and using a damp paper towel, cover the tortillas when you reheat them so they don’t dry out. Alternatively, you could use gentle heat in a toaster oven to reheat them.
If they’re from the freezer, put them directly into a skillet on the stovetop over low heat and gently warm them through until defrosted and softened.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (237 ml) warm water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix on low for 30 seconds until dry ingredients are incorporated.
- With the mixer running at medium speed, add the vegetable oil and warm water.
- Continue to mix on low until mixture starts to come together and starts to form a smooth ball.
- Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and divide dough until you get approximately 16 equal portions then shape each portion into a ball then gently, using the palm of your hand, flatten out the dough.
- Cover flattened dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.
- After dough has rested, roll each dough piece into a 6-inch diameter circle on lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Do not stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place one dough circle in the middle of the pan and let cook for 1 minute OR until the surface of the dough starts to bubble and the bottom starts to brown. At that point, flip it and cook the same way on the other side, but for slightly less time, 20-30 seconds. You want the tortilla soft and to have little brown spots on it. You don't want to cook the tortilla too much that it becomes crispy.
- Place cooked tortillas on a plate and continue cooking the rest of the tortillas.
Nutrition
Photographs by Meg McKeehan Photography
Great recipe!
Hi there, I’ve used lard before never oil. Can I use canola oil instead of vegetable oil?
you likely can!
Excellent recipe!! Very soft and fluffy. My husband loved it!
Greeting!
How to make Flour tortillas by big batch like 500 tortillas recipe please and what you recommend?
Um, this isn’t a recipe for that many people. I would have zero clue as to where to start.
3 cups of flour usually yields 7-8 flour balls so I usually make double the batch and store it in the fridge.
Have not made yet, however, would love to. Don’t have a fancy stand mixer with a dough hook Will hand mixing do? I really hope so.
Why would you give this a 1 star rating if you haven’t made this yet? I’m going to remove that rating because that’s kind of uncalled for. Hand mixing will work. I hope you enjoy.
My mother used to make them every day and I love having one with butter when I got home from school. I tried using Masa Trigo to make them but they didn’t work out. I’ll try your recipe and see if they are as good as you say. The only difference from my mother’s tortillas is that she made them with lard, which I would never do!
Good luck and I hope you enjoy these!
Is there a way to make these gluten free? I am a teacher and some of my students are gluten free
Yep, just use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose.
thanks for your easy tortilla bake… kind regards, Johan
Thanks!!!!
The pics look great but I’d be afraid to buy your book. I couldn’t sit thru another 30 seconds of wasted time reading a rambling about a TV show before you got to the recipe.
It’s called a fucking blog. Not a recipe database. I didn’t force you to read my “ramblings” – you can easily SCROLL DOWN and get the recipe.
“Please take a moment to read my comment policy as a gentle reminder of feedback etiquette.” You know where to click bitch.
Ah yes, and as that policy states: “Constructive criticism and discussion are welcome and appreciated. Degrading, hateful, disrespectful, distasteful, unnecessarily rude or tactless comments will not be tolerated. Just because you’re behind a computer doesn’t give you a right to be vengeful. Don’t post something online you wouldn’t say to a friend’s face.“
Love your reply