Soft Homemade Flour Tortillas

Anyone can make chewy and soft homemade flour tortillas. They require only a few inexpensive ingredients. Once you’ve got the hang of making tortillas, you will never go back to store-bought!

I’m not an expert on Mexican food, but if I can make delicious homemade tortillas, so can you! There’s nothing like eating freshly made bread. When done right, tortillas are soft and supple. They can be used for various purposes: fajitas, burritos, tacos…even as a flatbread pizza base.

Why make your own tortillas?

• Tastes better—it doesn’t get any better than eating homemade tortillas straight from the pan. They have a great texture that you wouldn’t find with store-bought. The bread is chewy and tender.
• Wholesome— you’ll be eating simple fresh ingredients. No additives or preservatives.
• Budget-friendly— making your own saves money. It doesn’t get any more budget-friendly than flour, salt, baking powder, oil, and water. And even though sugar is not typically used in tortillas, I add a touch to enhance the flavor.
• Easy to make—yes, there is a learning curve. But once you make a couple of batches, you’ll see that homemade tortillas are truly easy. To avoid waste, try doing a half recipe first as a test batch. That’s done by decreasing the ingredients by 50%.

Do you need a special pan for cooking tortillas?

I use this cast iron comal (affiliate link), but you don’t need a special pan to cook tortillas. A regular cast iron skillet is commonly used, but any good-quality flat-bottom skillet would work.

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• All-purpose flour—provides just the right balance of tenderness and chewiness.
• Salt and sugar—for flavor balance.
• Baking powder is an optional ingredient. Tortillas can be made without it. They are tender and just as delicious without it.
• Neutral oil—Any neutral-tasting oil such as vegetable, corn, canola, avocado, or grapeseed oil. I personally like to use extra light-tasting olive oil (affiliate link). I use it in a lot of my cooking.
• Hot water—creates softer and more tender dough than cold water.

Recipe highlights:

• Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.
• Add oil. Slowly work in water to form a shaggy dough.
• Dump onto a floured work surface. Knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth but slightly tacky.

• The first image below shows how tender and pliable the finished dough should be.
• Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll into balls.

• Use a rolling pin to roll into a circle about 6.5 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick. Stack the rolled dough on a parchment paper-lined surface, separating each layer with parchment paper.
• Cook in a comal or skillet on medium heat for 45 – 60 seconds on the first side. Turn over when the dough forms bubbles and golden brown spots develop on the bottom. Cook for about 30 seconds on the second side.

• Transfer the tortilla to a tortilla warmer or wrap it in a kitchen towel-lined container to keep warm and soft.
• Refer to the recipe card below for detailed instructions. 

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How to store:

Once cooled, store tortillas in a sealed plastic bag or airtight container at room temp for 2 days. To keep fresh longer, refrigerate for up to one week.

Tortillas can be frozen for up to three months. Place parchment paper in between each tortilla and stack in bundles of 6 to 8. Wrap each bundle with plastic wrap or foil, then place it in a freezer bag or an airtight container to maintain freshness.

To defrost a stack of tortillas, leave them overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature for an hour. For immediate defrost, microwave them individually (wrapped in a damp paper towel) for a few seconds at 50% power.

How to reheat:

• Microwave— place 4-5 tortillas in the microwave, wrapped in a damp (not soaking wet) paper towel. Heat for about 30 seconds to warm through.
• Stovetop— place a tortilla in a skillet on medium heat for 20 seconds per side.
• Oven—wrap tortillas in foil in packets of 5-6 tortillas. Heat in a preheated 350° F oven for about 15 minutes.

Helpful tips for soft tortillas:

• Fluff the flour before measuring to ensure accurate measurement. Compacted flour creates excess, which will make the dough dry.
• Do not use more flour than necessary. Adding too much flour to knead or roll out the tortillas will also result in hard and dry tortillas.
• Do not overcook. It will dry out the tortillas and create tough tortillas. Thinner tortillas require less time to cook than thicker tortillas. Cook only until golden patches appear.
• Wrap the cooked tortillas in a kitchen towel or a paper towel-lined container. Cover with a lid. The steam keeps them tender.

Recommended supplies:

(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

• A comal is a flat skillet great for cooking tortillas. I have this comal, which comes pre-seasoned. Try it if you’d like, but it’s not necessary. Any good-quality flat-bottom skillet will do.
• A tortilla warmer keeps cooked tortillas warm and soft. If you don’t want to use one, just wrap the cooked tortillas in a kitchen towel.
• If you want nice round tortillas, this tortilla press is a great tool for pressing the dough. I don’t mind rustic-looking tortillas, so I use a standard rolling pin.
• Mix the dough of your hands or a wooden spoon. I prefer a rubber spatula.
• Wire whisk for blending the dry ingredients.

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Soft Homemade Flour Tortillas

Author: Thao | In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Stovetop Cooked Cuisine:Mexican Courses:Main Recipe Keys: C Carbohydrate

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 20 minutesCook time: 20 minutesRest time: 20 minutesTotal time:1 hour Servings:12 Servings

Description

Anyone can make chewy and soft homemade flour tortillas. They require only a few inexpensive ingredients. Once you’ve got the hang of making tortillas, you will never go back to store-bought!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (fluff flour before measuring)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder, optional
• 3 tablespoons (vegetable, canola, grapeseed, avocado) oil
• 2/3 cups hot water

Instructions

1. Place flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder (optional) in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Make a well at the center. Add oil. Slowly add hot water as you work the dough with your hands, a rubber spatula, or a wooden spoon. Work the mixture until it forms a sticky shaggy dough. Dump onto a lightly floured work surface.
2. Knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth, supple, and slightly tacky (but not sticky). If the dough is overly sticky, add more flour as you work, but avoid adding too much.
3. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into balls. Place each ball onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly grease your hands and roll each ball in your hands to coat it lightly with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel. Allow to rest for 20 minutes to 2 hours.
4. Place one of the balls on a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top with flour. Press slightly flat with the palm of your hand. Set the rolling pin in the center. Roll away from you and back towards you twice. Flip the dough over, rotate it 45°, and repeat the same rolling motion. Repeat the rolling and flipping process until you obtain a circle roughly 6.5 inches wide. Dust with flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough should be no more than 1/8 inch thick. It might not turn out perfectly round, but that’s okay.
5. Transfer the rolled-out dough onto a parchment paper-lined surface. Roll the remaining balls. You can stack the dough, but be sure to separate each layer with parchment paper.
6. Preheat a heavy-bottomed flat skillet on medium heat.
7. Brush or wipe any excess flour off the tortilla prior to cooking. Lay one flat on a dry pan. Cook for 45-60 seconds. Once it bubbles and turns golden brown spots on the bottom, flip it over. Cook the second side just until golden patches appear on the bottom, about 30 seconds. Adjust heat as you cook if tortillas cook too slowly or quickly.
8. Transfer the cooked tortillas into a tortilla warmer, or wrap them in a kitchen towel-lined container. This will make them soft and pliable.
9. Wipe excess flour off the skillet bottom before cooking a new tortilla to prevent burnt residue. Continue cooking the tortillas. Serve warm.

Video

Notes

• I like to use extra light-tasting olive oil. It has a slight hint of olive oil without overpowering any other flavor.
• If using lard, butter, or shortening, cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the hot water. Continue the rest of the recipe as instructed.
• To mix in a stand mixer: add dry ingredients into the stand mixer bowl. Blend using a hook attachment. Add water and oil. Mix on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms around the hook. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce to low speed and mix for 5 minutes or until dough is soft, supple, and slightly tacky but not sticky. Transfer to a work surface to divide into 12 equal parts and continue with the recipe as instructed.
• If the dough springs back on you when rolling, let it rest for an additional 10 minutes for the gluten to relax. It will roll out for you more easily.
• Tortillas are typically cooked without oil, but if you have trouble with sticking, there is no harm in brushing a light coat of oil to the skillet.
• If you don’t have baking powder, don’t worry. It’s not necessary. The tortillas turn out perfectly fine without it. I’ve made tortillas without baking powder, and they are tender and delicious.
• Do not use more flour than necessary to form dough or to dust. Excess flour creates dry tortillas.
• It should take about 1 1/2 minutes for the tortillas to cook. If they cook too quickly or too slowly, adjust the heat level accordingly. Cooking tortillas for too long will dry them out.

Keywords:homemade tortillas, flour tortillas, homemade flour tortillas, Mexican

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