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a stack of the finished flour tortillas
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Flour Tortillas Recipe

Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Servings: 16 small tortillas

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups of all-purpose flour plus more for rolling out the tortillas
  • ¼ Cup of fat like lard shortening, or softened butter
  • 1 Teaspoons of salt
  • ¾ Cup of warm water roughly 100℉

Instructions

  • Mix the salt into the warm water until fully dissolved and set aside.
  • Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl add the flour and lard/shortening/butter. Then use your hands to squeeze and press the fat into the flour until thoroughly incorporated. You basically want the consistency to be similar to a pie crust in that the flour and fat will clump up when pressed together. Next, pour the warm salted water into the bowl and combine everything with your hands until a shaggy dough is formed. The consistency shouldn’t be too sticky or too dry, sort of like Play-doh. If it is too sticky then simply add in a tablespoon or more of flour, if it is too dry then add another splash or two of water.
  • Knead the dough either by hand on a clean flat surface or in a stand mixer for 5 minutes or until it is smooth.
  • Rest the dough: Cover the dough with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This step is extremely important as it will allow the gluten in the flour to relax making it soft and easy to roll out.
  • Divide the dough: At this point, you need to decide whether you want large tortillas for burritos or small tortillas for tacos. And if you want to be extra precise you can weigh each piece of dough with a kitchen scale. For burrito-sized tortillas simply divide the dough into 6 to 8 equally sized pieces roughly 70 to 80 grams each. For taco-sized tortillas divide the dough into 16 to 20 equally sized pieces roughly 25 to 30 grams each. Once the dough is divided roll each piece into round circles and cover them with a clean towel.
  • Form the tortillas: Lightly flour a clean flat surface and place one of the balls of dough down on it. Use your hands to press down on the ball until it forms a small disk. Then use a lightly floured rolling pin and roll out the dough once. Flip the dough 45 degrees and roll it out again. Repeat this process of flipping and rolling the dough until it is flat enough that it is almost translucent. Set that tortilla aside, cover it with a clean towel, and roll out the remaining pieces of dough.
  • Cook the tortillas: Place a large pan (preferably cast iron) over medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot place one of the uncooked tortillas on it. Let the tortilla cook for 30 seconds, then flip it over and let cook on the other side for an additional 15 seconds. Remove the cooked tortilla from the pan and keep it warm between some clean towels. Repeat this until all of the tortillas are cooked.
  • Use your homemade flour tortillas however you like and enjoy!