Homemade Flour Tortillas

For years I tried to make homemade flour tortillas and every time I tried they would be stiff, and crisp and there was no way I was going to make a rolled stuffed burrito with them….until now!

I love making things from scratch and love the fresh flavor you get. I don’t always make homemade tortillas and there are plenty of delicious store bought brands out there, but there is nothing better than a fresh soft warm tortilla!

These are easy to make and will definitely make any Mexican dish just a little bit better with these homemade tortillas!!

You just need flour, oil, salt, baking powder and warm water! That’s it!!! I was so shocked when they turned out so perfectly!

You just combine the dry ingredients and mix them well, then add the oil and mix until it’s crumbly. Add your warm water, mixing until it’s fully combined. The dough will be slightly sticky but easy to work with. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface.

Divide your dough into balls. For street tacos I make them into smaller sized balls, about the size of a small cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon (the dough will be a heaping tablespoon). I ended up with 15 street taco sized balls. For burritos use a 1/4 cup as an idea of the size they should be, roll them into balls. You should end up with close to 6 dough balls for burrito sized tortillas (the number of balls you end up with will depend on your ball size).

Cover the balls with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

To roll them out, I cut squares of parchment paper (make sure your parchment paper is bigger than the tortillas after they are rolled out), this way you can roll them all out, and won’t risk them tearing when you lift them of the counter (they will tear easy because they should be really thin). Roll them out paper thin, (each on their own square of parchment paper), don’t worry if they are not perfectly round. Then stack them so you can cook them up fast! This works great if you are having a party and cooking them to order for people as they fill their plates!

To cook the tortillas, heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high and let the skillet heat up for a few minutes. When you are ready to cook the tortillas turn the heat down to medium low and place a tortilla on the pan. Watch it closely and when it starts to bubble, flip it and let it brown on the other side. After the tortilla is cooked I place my warm tortillas in a clean kitchen towel covered, until ready to serve.

Tips: if I am using the tortillas for burritos, I cook them “underdone” so they are easier to roll into a burrito!

You can sprinkle some cheese on the tortilla after you flip it. The melted cheese on the tortilla is perfect for a taco or to be rolled up in burritos or enchiladas.

Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Nothing is better than a warm, soft, fresh homemade flour tortilla!  
This recipe makes about 15 street taco sized tortillas or about 6 burrito sized tortillas.
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Ingredients

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup warm water

Instructions

  • In a large bowl add the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
  • Add the oil in to the dry ingredients, and mix until the dough is crumbly.
  • Add the warm water and stir, or mix with your hands until everything is mixed well.  The dough will be slightly sticky but still easy to work with.
  • Place dough on a floured surface. Roll into balls according to the size of tortillas you want. (see notes below).
  • Place a clean kitchen towel over the dough balls and let rest 20-30 minutes.
  • When you are ready to roll out the tortillas, roll them paper thin. (See notes for tips on rolling them out.)
  • When ready to cook, heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat, and let the pan heat for a few minutes until hot.  
  • When ready to put the tortillas on the pan, lower the heat to low.  Place a tortilla on the skillet (watch closely) and heat until the tortilla starts to bubble, then flip the tortilla and cook the other side.
  • Remove from the heat when the tortilla is cooked to your liking (I like mine a little underdone).  
  • Place the freshly cooked tortillas in a clean kitchen towel to stay warm while you cook the rest.

Notes

Tortilla Size: For street tacos sized tortillas, I make them into smaller sized balls, about the size of a small cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon (the dough will be a heaping tablespoon). I end up with about 15 street taco sized balls. For burritos use a 1/4 cup as an idea of the size they should be, roll them into balls. You should end up with close to 6 dough balls for burrito sized tortillas.  (The number of balls you end up with will depend on your ball size and will vary).  You can make any size of tortilla you want, if you find that your roll out a tortilla and need it bigger or smaller then adjust the size of dough balls.
Rolling Out Tips: You will need to roll these out paper thin, if not thinner. To help you roll them out and so you don’t have to do a lot of picking up and moving after rolling them out, I cut large squares of parchment paper to roll out the tortillas on. This way you can roll out each individual tortilla on its own piece of parchment paper.  Then the stack of tortillas can be covered with a kitchen towel and set aside until cooking.  The parchment paper separates each one so they don’t stick together so they are already rolled out, and can all be cooked at once fast. This is perfect if you are having a big party and need to cook them all at once or if you are cooking to order for people. 

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.

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