Mexican Flour Tortillas
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?
Servings: 10 large tortillas
Ingredients
- 420 g (3½ cups) all-purpose flour fluff, scoop, & level off if using measuring cups
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (77 g) vegetable shortening or lard (butter or coconut oil) diced into small pieces (softened)
- 250 ml (~1 cup) warm water warm tap water, plus more as needed
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined. Attach the machine paddle. With the mixer on low speed, add shortening and mix until blended. Switch to the dough hook attachment and on low speed, slowly pour in water. Knead for 5 minutes on medium speed. The dough should be soft and pull away from the bowl edges. Add additional water or flour as needed (1 tbsp at a time).TIP: Instead of using a stand mixer, mix ingredients in a large bowl and knead by hand on a lightly floured work surface.
- Remove the bowl from the machine and use your hands to form the dough into a ball and place it at the bottom on the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and allow the dough to rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes.TIP: You can prepare the dough a day ahead of time. Place the dough in the fridge overnight or until you’re ready to divide, shape, and cook the following day.
- Remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into preferred sizes (10 large pieces at 75-76 g each) or 20 small pieces at 37-38 g each). You can eyeball the sizes without weighing them.
- Roll each dough piece into a smooth ball in your hands. You can 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.
- Set the dough balls aside and cover them with a towel to rest for 15 minutes.
- Heat a large (12-inch) dry skillet over medium-high heat. 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).TIPS: Skillet has heated enough to cook the tortillas when a splatter of tap water sizzles when it hits the skillet. Adjust the stove temperature as you go. Start out high and decrease as needed. If you cook the tortillas at a temperature too low, they will be stiff. If they are cooked at too high of a temperature, they will brown (even burn) too quickly.
- Cook one tortilla at a time. As you cook one tortilla, roll out the next one. Place a tortilla in the skillet and cook for 1 minute (or until brown spots appear on the underside and bubbles form. Flip the tortilla and cook for another 30 seconds or until brown spots appear. Set the tortilla aside on a foil-lined plate with another sheet of foil on top to keep it warm. Continue to roll out and cook the remaining tortillas stacking them on the plate as they cook. Keep foil over the top tortilla.TIPS: Use a paper towel to wipe loose flour out of the pan after every 2 or so tortillas to keep the flour from burning. The tortillas should be soft and foldable. They should form bubbles, but they will deflate as they cool. You can also place a heat-proof plate in a 200˚F (93˚C) oven and stack tortillas as they bake to keep all the tortillas warm before serving.
Video
Notes
Serving Suggestions:
Use tortillas in any recipe that calls for soft flour tortillas.
-burritos
-chips (brushed with oil, topped with salt, cut into triangles, & baked at 400˚F (204˚C) for 10 minutes flipping at 5 minutes)
-enchiladas
-fajitas
-quesadillas
-rolled flatbread (wrap) sandwiches filled with cheese, meats, veggies, & preferred condiments
-tacos
-taquitos
-tostadas
Storing:
Store cooked tortillas in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature for a few days or freeze for a couple of months. Thaw on the counter for ~30 minutes and reheat in the microwave between 2 damp towels or in a dry skillet over the stove.