How To Make Homemade Tortillas

Name: How To Make Homemade Tortillas
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 cup warm water; 1/3 cup shortening

by Lindsey

8 Servings

40 min

These tortillas are only 5 ingredients (and yeast isn't one of them!) that you will, most likely, already have in your pantry. This means there's no need to activate yeast, knead for a long time, or let them rise (and knead again.) They can be made right before you make dinner (or breakfast) or you can make a bunch of them ahead of time to keep for later. I like doing this so you can just pull them out and keep rolling.

These homemade flour tortillas are soft, warm, fresh, and perfect to freeze for later. Once you try them, you won't be able to live without them!

Roll them to about 1/4 of an inch thick and about 6 inches wide.

Flip to other side when they form bubbles and start to brown.

These homemade tortillas are fresh, chewy, warm, and fluffy!

How To Make Homemade Tortillas

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Recipe details

Yield 8 Servings
Time spent: Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 25 Minutes Total time: 40 min

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Instructions

Combine: Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, shortening, and water in a bowl with a wooden spoon until a rough dough forms. You can do this with a stand mixer and a dough hook instead if you'd like.
Knead: Knead the dough for 3 minutes to combine all the ingredients.
Rest: Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes to allow the gluten strands to relax.
Divide: Sprinkle a little flour on your clean counter. Form the dough into a thick circle and cut it into even pieces.
Roll out: Add a little more flour to the surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin to your desired thickness and size. I like to do them about 1/4 of an inch thick and about 6 inches wide.
Cook: Heat a cast-iron skillet to medium-high heat and place the tortillas in the pan one at a time until they form bubbles and start to brown. Flip them over and do the same to the other side.
Enjoy: Cover your warm tortillas with aluminum foil if you're using them right away, or allow them to cool completely and wrap them in plastic wrap to store or freeze.

Tips

You don't need to add any oil to the pan since we aren't frying them. If you want to fry them up a bit (which is how you make a tostada) that's good too!
If HUGE bubbles start forming when you’re cooking homemade tortillas, this just means there's a pocket of air in the tortilla and it's expanding with the heat. All you need to do is poke it with a fork to deflate it.
You can add all kinds of different flavors to your tortillas. You can add garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon for a sweet take, or other herbs and spices. You can also use a blender or food processor, add a little water and pureé spinach, roasted red peppers, olives, or sun-dried tomatoes.
Freezing is my favorite way to store them since they don't last long in the fridge. I like to place a small piece of parchment paper in between them when freezing since they'll get stuck together. This way you can take out as many as you need without having to thaw the whole bag.

Comments

Edi on Sep 11, 2020

Love your tips. Thank you

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Megan Koch Davis on Sep 12, 2020

What do you use for the shortening? Is butter alright?

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