Mexican Flour Tortillas: Great Recipe for Your Tortilla Needs

Mexican flour tortillas are about the easiest and simplest thin flatbreads you can make. All you need are a few ingredients, a rolling pin (or something like it), and a heat source to create this simple, homemade fresh bread. With food prices increasing, why not save a little and make them yourself?

Tortilla Origins

Corn Tortillas were First

“Tortilla” is Spanish for “little cake” but originally from the Spanish word “torta” meaning “cake” or “sandwich”. It is thought that the first tortillas were made of maize (or corn) around the time that corn was domesticated by the Maya people in Mesoamerica during the Archaic Period of 7000-2000 BC.

Spanish Brought the Wheat

It was during the Spanish conquest in the early 16^th century that wheat was introduced to the Americas, particularly to the Aztecs. “Tortilla” became the new Spanish given name for the Aztec word “tlaxcalli” to describe the corn disks. The Spanish were interested enough that they returned to Spain with the corn tortilla idea. Tortillas, however, were not entirely new for the Spanish as they had a similar version using dried chickpeas. The “New World” was also enlightened as the Aztecs then created a new tortilla using the newly discovered Spanish wheat.

Tortillas are a Mainstream Flatbread in North & South Americas

While both corn and wheat tortillas are loved for different reasons, they make up the base of many Mexican food favorites. You can almost interchange them, though the textures will be different. Corn seems to be the preferred tortilla ingredient in Central Mexico down through South America since that is the traditional main tortilla ingredient. Whereas flour is more common in the United States and Northern Mexico as it produces a sturdy tortilla that can hold heavy fillings and satisfy North American palates.

My Version of Mexican Flour Tortillas

I’ve made homemade flour tortillas for years. I love the smell and freshness of homemade tortillas. While they have few ingredients, you can certainly add spices and herbs for additional, special flavor. The most basic Mexican flour tortilla recipe includes flour, lard, and water. Salt is often added for flavor and vegetable shortening or butter can be a substitute for lard. For my recipe, I decided to add baking powder as the little leavening provides a light and tender tortilla. You can, of course, leave it out.

Mexican Flour Tortillas: Ingredients

My simple, recipe ingredients include all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, vegetable shortening, and water.

Mix the Dry Ingredients

For the sake of ease, I prefer to use my stand mixer, but you can mix everything by hand in a bowl. First, add 420 grams (3 ½ cups) of all-purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons of baking powder, and 1¼ teaspoons of salt. Mix well until combined.

Add Shortening & Water

Mix in Shortening

Attach the machine paddle or use a spoon and work by hand. With the mixer on low, add 6 tablespoons (77 grams) of diced shortening. Lard is traditional, so if you have access to that, go for it! Mix until blended. You’ll notice pea-size pieces like the dry dough (before adding the liquid) in a pie crust. Switch to the dough hook attachment.

Pour in Water

On low speed, slowly pour in 250 milliliters (~1 cup) of warm water (warm tap water is fine or water heated in the microwave for 30 seconds). Knead for 5 minutes increasing the speed to medium. The dough should be soft and pull away from the bowl edges. Add additional water or flour as needed (1 tablespoon at a time). If kneading by hand, knead on a lightly floured work surface for 5 minutes.

Rest Time

Remove the bowl from the machine. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball and place it at the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes. You can prepare the dough a day ahead of time and store the dough in the fridge overnight or until you’re ready to make the tortillas.

Divide Into Dough Pieces & Form Smooth Balls

Remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into preferred sizes. You can eyeball the cuts or weigh the dough. For 10 large tortillas, each dough ball should weigh 75-76 grams each. For 20 small tortillas, each dough ball should weight 37-38 grams each.

Smooth Ball Tip

Roll each dough piece into a smooth ball in your hands; gather up edges to smooth out one side. Then, place each dough ball on the work surface (all flour moved aside). Cup your hand behind each ball and roll the ball towards you along the surface so the friction creates a smooth ball all around eliminating creases and folds.

Cover & Rest

Set the dough balls aside and cover them with a towel to rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat Skillet & Roll Dough Balls Into Tortillas

Heat a DRY, large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. While the skillet is heating, use a rolling pin to roll out one tortilla into a 10-12-inch circle for a large tortilla or a 5-6-inch circle for a small tortilla. Roll thin enough to see through the dough (almost transparent).

Cook Tortillas

The skillet has heated enough to cook the tortillas when a splatter of water sizzles when it hits the skillet. Adjust the stove temperature as you go. Start out hot and decrease as needed. Add one tortilla and cook one at a time. As one tortilla cooks, roll out the next one. This makes cooking each tortilla go rather quickly. The first tortilla may take a couple of minutes to cook until the heat is really hot. In general, the tortillas should only take 1 minute to cook on the first side and 30 seconds on the back side.

Tortilla Cooking Guidelines & Tips

• The tortillas should form bubbles as they cook, but they will deflate as they cool.
• If the heat is too low, tortillas will be stiff.
• If the heat is too high, tortillas will brown (even burn) too quickly.
• Tortillas should be soft and foldable.
• Flip tortillas when brown spots appear.
• Place cooked tortillas on a foil-lined heat-proof plate. Stack tortillas as they cook and cover the top tortilla with foil.
• Place heat-proof plate with tortillas in a 200˚F (93˚C) oven stacking as they bake to keep all of them warm before serving.
• As you cook, you may notice the smell of flour burning in the pan (from loose flour on the tortillas). Use a paper towel to wipe out the flour after every 2 or so tortillas to keep the flour from burning.

Mexican Flour Tortillas: A Closer Look

Notice the typical dotted browning. The dispersed browning is a result of the bubbles that form and are what touches the pan during the cooking process. Check out the layers resulting from the melted shortening, like what happens to a flaky pie crust. The shortening when melted causes pockets in the dough resulting in layers.

How to Use These Mexican Flour Tortillas

You can use these flour tortillas in any recipe that calls for soft flour tortillas like burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, tacos, wrap sandwiches. I even use these to make both sweet and savory homemade tortilla chips. My tortilla chip recipes (savory & sweet versions) are coming soon!!

How to Store Mexican Flour Tortillas

Store the cooked tortillas in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for a few days. Remember they are bread, so they will turn stale over time. For longer storage, stack them in a freezer bag and place in the freezer for several months.

Mexican Flour Tortillas: Final Thoughts

Flour tortillas have few ingredients and only require a little time, but they can be made in a little over an hour. You can cook them and store them in the freezer ready whenever you want them. Fresh tortillas are easy and simple to make. You can have them anytime you’re craving fresh bread. Add a bit of cheese and seasoning and you have a great little snack. If you want another take on a Mexican tortilla, check out my 4-ingredient Zanzibar Chapati Flatbread recipe as it uses coconut oil instead of lard or shortening. It looks like a tortilla but island-y different. 😉

Mexican Flour Tortillas: Baker’s Perspective

I really like making homemade tortillas. The freshly baked bread makes the house smell like a bakery without the yeast smell. They look just like the store-bought version but taste better because they are fresh. There aren’t any unrecognizable ingredients, and they are sturdy enough for any filling. The recipe is standard and rolling them out is not difficult, particularly since you have to stand by the skillet anyway for each of them cook. An assembly line is the easiest and fastest way to get the job done. Time goes by quickly and all tortillas are cooked in hardly any time. Keeping the tortillas covered in foil as they bake guarantees hot tortillas when they are all cooked and ready to eat.

Baker’s Tips for Making & Cooking Successful Mexican Flour Tortillas:

• Ensure you have smooth round dough balls as they produce almost perfectly round tortillas.
• Roll dough balls thin enough until almost transparent (or they will be too thick, will be difficult to cook through, and become stiff)
• Adjust skillet heat so the flat tortillas bubble, turn brown in spots, and remain foldable without any stiffness.

Mexican Flour Tortillas: Taster’s Perspective

This recipe is as good if not better than any store-bought version. My gluten eater loves homemade tortillas. They are wonderful when eaten fresh out of the pan but also great days later heated in the microwave. Scott eats them as is, like bread. He enjoys them dipped in hummus (because we have hummus almost every day in my household). They make wonderful wrap sandwiches, particularly if you’re out of bread. Since I store my tortillas in the freezer, I have many times made homemade tortilla chips when I forgot to buy them at the store (or ran out) for guacamole or salsa. They are truly a versatile bread and is there anything better than homemade? I speak for both myself and Scott since he prefers my baking (his words, seriously. I’m totally flattered, but I also try very hard. It’s my competitive nature… thanks dad!!).

Check out my YouTube on making these flour tortillas. “Mexican Flour Tortillas: Great Recipe for ALL Your Flour Tortilla Needs!”

Interested in other flatbread recipes? Check these out!

Classic Italian Focaccia Flatbread

Chinese Shaobing Flatbread

Zanzibar Chapati Flatbread

Zanzibar Sesame Flatbread

Unleavened Bread Gluten & Gluten Free Versions

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