Homemade Flour Tortillas

Before you start

A flour tortilla is a simple dough of wheat flour, fat, salt and warm water, rested, rolled thin and cooked quickly on a dry, hot surface. Good ones are soft and flexible, with lightly charred spots and a faint layering where air pockets puffed. They are common in northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest, and the fat varies by region and family: lard gives the most tender, savory result, vegetable shortening is soft and neutral, butter adds flavor, and oil is easiest.

Three things make them pliable rather than crackly. Use hot water so the fat stays soft and the dough is easy to roll. Rest the dough balls for at least 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes and they stop springing back. And cook them fast, then stack them under a towel straight away: trapped steam softens each tortilla as the next one cooks.

Ingredients

• 300 g (2½ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour — plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp baking powder — optional, for slightly puffier tortillas
• 60 g (¼ cup plus 1 tbsp) lard or vegetable shortening — or 60 g butter, or 60 ml neutral oil
• 180 ml (¾ cup) hot water — about 50°C (120°F); use 165 ml if using butter

Method

1. Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder if using in the bowl. Add the lard or shortening and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine, damp sand with no large lumps. If using oil, simply stir it in.
2. Pour in the hot water and mix with a fork, then with your hand, until a shaggy dough forms. Turn it out and knead for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth, soft and slightly tacky but not sticky. Add a teaspoon of water if dry or a sprinkle of flour if sticky.
3. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces of about 54 g. Roll each into a smooth ball by tucking the edges underneath. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until a drop of water skitters and evaporates within seconds.
5. On a lightly floured surface, flatten a ball and roll it from the center outward, turning it a quarter turn after each pass, into a thin round about 20 cm (8 in) across and 2 mm thick. Roll the next one while the first cooks.
6. Lay the tortilla in the dry skillet. Cook for 30 to 45 seconds, until bubbles form on top and the underside has light brown spots. Flip and cook for 30 seconds more; it may puff. Press any big bubbles gently with a folded towel.
7. Move each cooked tortilla into a towel-lined basket or tortilla warmer and cover it immediately. Repeat with the remaining dough, stacking them as they cook.

Tips for success

• If the dough keeps shrinking as you roll, cover it and let it rest another 10 minutes. Fighting it only makes tough tortillas.
• Adjust the heat as you go. If tortillas take longer than a minute per side to spot, the pan is too cool and they will dry out and turn stiff.
• Weighing the dough balls gives even sizes that cook at the same rate.

Substitutions

Lard

Shortening gives an equally soft, more neutral tortilla. Butter adds flavor but contains water, so reduce the water slightly; oil makes an easy dough that is a bit less tender.

All-purpose flour

Replace up to a third with whole wheat flour for a nuttier, slightly less pliable tortilla. Add a tablespoon more water and rest the dough a little longer.

Hot water

Warm milk makes richer, softer tortillas that brown faster; lower the heat slightly.

Variations

Small taco-size tortillas

Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll each to 15 cm (6 in). Cook for 20 to 30 seconds per side.

Chipotle tortillas

Whisk 1 teaspoon chipotle powder and ½ teaspoon ground cumin into the flour for a smoky wrap.

Troubleshooting

Tortillas are stiff and crack when folded

They were cooked too long on low heat or left uncovered. Use a hotter pan, cook briefly, and stack them under a towel right away so steam softens them.

Dough springs back when rolled

The gluten is still tight. Rest the balls longer, at least 30 minutes, keeping them covered so they do not dry out.

Raw, doughy spots

The tortillas were rolled unevenly or too thick. Roll to about 2 mm all over and give them a few more seconds per side.

Storage

Cool tortillas completely, then store them in a zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Freeze with parchment between them for up to 3 months. Reheat in a dry hot skillet for 10 to 15 seconds per side.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough; raw flour can carry harmful bacteria. Contains wheat, plus milk if made with butter.