I’ve missed the aroma of homemade flour tortillas filling up the whole house like it did when I was a child. My grandmother and mother made flour tortillas from scratch just about every day. I remember walking up the street to our home from a long day at school and smelling THAT smell of freshly made tortillas.
Can you relate? Do you love tortillas as much as I do? I knew it! Many people love warm freshly made tortillas. Especially with melted butter swirled all over it!
There are so many meals that can be made using tortillas, such as beef tacos, quesadillas, breakfast tacos, and tacos. OK, I love tacos!
How do you love to eat your tortillas?
The other night I made a simple bean and cheese tacos with this tortilla recipe for lunch and it was amazing! My granddaughter loves to eat them with butter.
Not only are tortillas delicious, they are a comfort food for me. They bring back so many memories when I was a child.
I can remember watching my mother in the kitchen mixing up the ingredients to make tortillas. It almost feels like deja vu when I’m in my kitchen making them. I love that!
I’m the type that has to follow the rules by the book. OK, sometimes!
When it comes to measuring ingredients and such, I like to be exact!
Not my mother! When she made tortillas, she used her hands and fingers as measuring cups and spoons. HONESTLY, I never saw her using utensils when she made them, ever! And, they came out perfect every time!
Without further ado, let’s start making these yummy flour tortillas! Don’t let the steps below overwhelm you.
This is going to be thoroughly detailed tutorial so you can make the perfect tortillas you will be proud of!
MAKE HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS
INGREDIENTS
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Lard
- 1 Cup Hot Water
SHOP THE POST
STEP 1-4
Firstly, gather and prep all of the ingredients and tools. In a large mixing bowl, measure and add the dry ingredients, flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix the ingredients well with a wire whisk.
After the dry ingredients are mixed well, drop in the lard.
STEP 5-8
Get your apron on my friend! It’s going to get messy! Dive into the mixture and combine the dry mixture by combining the lard by pinching it, and using clean praying hands while rubbing your hands together to break it up. Check out image #5.
Do not add water or extra flour!
When the mixture is combined and in fine pieces, swirl your wrist in circular motions in the center of the mixing bowl to form a pit with the flour. It should look like image #6.
Now, pour in the hot water little-by-little until the the water and dry ingredients are combined. The hot water will dissolve the lard that is combined in the dry mixture.
Don’t worry if it’s sticky. The stickiness goes away the more you knead the dough. Don’t add more flour. Too much flour here and there will dry out your tortillas, stiffen them, and they will taste floury.
Pour the dough onto a clean countertop. [No need to flour]
STEP 9-12
Now, Get your workout in, and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Form a ball shown in image #12, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm area to let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
I usually place the mixing bowl over the covered dough for extra warmth. It works well, I’ve seen my mother do that all the time!
Or, after kneading, you can make your tortilla balls, cover and let sit for 20 minutes, shown in image #14. This way you’re ready to start rolling them out when the 20 minutes is up.
STEP 13-16
I don’t know about you, but I enjoy making homemade flour tortillas! Are you having fun yet?
Well, the fun is about to get more-funner! LOL 🙂 Sorry Mrs. Jenkins [my first-grade teacher], but making tortillas takes me back when I was a kid!
Now, heat your iron skillet to medium.
Roll out your tortillas into thin circles with your rolling pin or tortilla press. Don’t worry if you can’t make perfect circles! Practice makes almost perfect. My first two tortillas always come out funny looking, but it all tastes the same. The third one, the tortilla circles improve. That happened to my mother too!
The thinner the tortilla, the softer the tortilla, and the bigger the bubbles!
Slap the rolled tortilla onto the hot skillet for about 12-15 seconds or until the bubbles are golden brown, flip and repeat. Your first tortilla may come out funky, adjust the heat then repeat.
You’ll get the hang of it, keep practicing! Check out image #13, for the 3rd tortilla. See, What did I tell you?! Now, look at image #16 for the finished tortilla. LOVE. Isn’t it beautiful?
As much as they are beautiful, they are so soft and delish! Store them in a clean kitchen towel wrap or aluminum foil, they’ll be nice and warm for dinner! Or you can store them in an airtight plastic baggie for later.
PRINT RECIPE
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Equipment
- Seasoned Iron Tortilla Skillet or Iron Skillet
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cup * Spoons
- Rolling Pin or Tortilla Press
- Wire Whisk
- Clean Kitchen Towel
Ingredients
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Lard
- 1 Cup Hot Water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients well with a wire whisk. Add the lard to the dry mixture.
- Combine the dry mixture in with the lard and pinch with your clean fingers. Also, I cup the flour and lard in between my praying hands while rubbing them together. The mixture is ready when all pieces of lard have been combined with the flour and broken down.
- Make a fist, then twirl your wrist in a circular motion in the center of the mixture to make a pit. Slowly add the hot water into the center of the pit, at the same time combine the dry mixture with the water using your clean fingers. It may seem dry. Do not add more water.
- Continue to combine the dry mixture with the water until all is absorbed. Do not add water or extra flour.
- Pour the mixture onto a clean countertop and knead for 10 minutes and then form a ball. There is no need to add flour to the countertop. I find that it makes the tortillas dry out and will make your tortillas have a floury finish after cooking.
- Cover the tortilla dough with a clean kitchen towel for 20 minutes. I usually include placing the mixing bowl over it as well. This helps the dough stay warm to rise nicely. Plus my mom did it when I was little!
- Heat the iron skillet to medium. Form tortilla balls, about the size of a small ice-cream scoop-ish or the size that fits in your inner palm. Roll out into a circle. The thinner the better. Don't worry about making perfect circles. Usually, after the second one, mine start looking like circles! Ha!
- Heat each side for about 15-20 seconds each. Or until the bubbles are golden brown. Place the cooked tortillas in a folded piece of aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Serve with butter or make your favorite Mexican dish. You're Welcome! Enjoy!
Notes
- If the recipe is followed to the “T”, you won’t need to add extra water or flour. Not even on the countertop or rolling pin. I find that adding more flour makes the tortillas dry and taste too floury.
- An iron tortilla skillet or regular iron skillet works best!
- It’s up to you; once you are finished kneading you can make your tortilla balls ahead of time, then cover them and let the rest for 20 minutes.
- The tortillas cook best with a HOT skillet. My first tortilla always comes out ugly, but tastes so good! Adjust heat after the first tortilla when necessary.
TAKEAWAY
To sum it up, as you can tell by now, I. Love. Tortillas.
Making and eating tortillas is so comforting to me. My mother made them practically every day. My brother and I could smell the aroma of fresh tortillas cooking on the skillet while walking down the street after school.
This flour tortilla recipe is my mothers and she passed it down to me. I wanted to share this recipe with you so you can make the same memories with your children, as I had growing up.
Not to mention again, but yes, they are so soft and delicious. They can be used to make many yummy Mexican dishes, as you already know!
After some practice, you’ll be able to make perfectly round tortillas in no time at all! You’ll have a blast learning. You can’t mess this recipe up either. Just put in the love and that’s it. You’ve got this!
These tortillas will go great with the homemade enchiladas I’m making next week! Stay tuned for that recipe coming soon!
What do you like to serve with your homemade flour tortillas?
Let me know in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this recipe, Pin it, and tag a photo to #makesandmunchies on Instagram, I’d love to see your results!
