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stack of flour tortillas in a basket with parchment paper
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5 from 7 votes

Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe

Soft, pliable, and sturdy, these Homemade Flour Tortillas are made from just 5 simple pantry ingredients (and no yeast - so no rising time!).
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Basics, Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: homemade tortillas
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 86kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup vegetable or avocado oil you want a neutral or light flavored oil
  • 1 cup warm water just warm to the touch, like bath water

Instructions

Prepare

  • Set out some wax or parchment paper, so the raw tortillas don't stick to the counter or work surface. Set them aside for now. Set out an airtight container, a pot with a lid (one that's just a bit bigger than the 7" tortillas), or a resealable plastic bag.

Combine ingredients

  • To a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to stir to combine.
  • Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and add the oil and water.

Make the dough

  • Stir well, making sure your stirring utensil is getting all the way down to the bottom of the bowl, until there are no flour streaks remaining. Stir until the dough starts to form a shaggy loose ball shape.
  • Lightly flour a work surface (I use my counter), and turn the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes, until it becomes a smooth dough. Shape into a ball.

Cut the dough

  • Slice the ball in 4 equal pieces, then slice each piece into 4 smaller pieces, so you end up with 16 similarly sized pieces of dough.

Rest the dough

  • Form each piece of dough into a ball, then flatten gently with the palm of your hand. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for at least 15 minutes (or up to a couple of hours).

Roll out the dough and prepare to cook the tortillas

  • Roll each dough ball into a roughly 6-7” circle and layer them with the wax or parchment paper you set out earlier.
  • If the dough keeps springing back when you're rolling it, that means the gluten needs more time to relax, so let the dough rest another 10 minutes or so and try again.
  • Preheat a skillet over MED heat. No need for oil or anything in the skillet, dry is what you want.

Cook the tortillas

  • When skillet is hot, add a tortilla to the skillet and cook about 1 minute, until the top is bubbly and the bottom has brown spots.
  • Flip tortilla over and cook another 20-30 seconds. Remove tortilla and place in an airtight container and cook remaining tortillas, adding them to the airtight container after they cook.
  • ** Doing this allows the steam from the hot tortillas to keep the rest of them nice and soft/pliable **
  • If the skillet starts to accumulate flour, wipe it out with a damp paper towel. For best results, I like to wipe the skillet with a damp paper towel after cooking 2-3 tortillas, just so there's no risk of the flour burning in the skillet.

Serve

  • Serve hot/warm, or if making ahead, cool, then follow storage instructions written in the post above this recipe (just scroll up a tiny bit).

Notes

  1. Prep/cook time does not include the resting time, since that will vary from person to person.
  2. This recipe makes approximately 16  6-7" tortillas.
  3. Recipe from The Cafe Sucre Farine, which is from Genius Kitchen.

Making Flour Tortillas with a Stand Mixer:

  1. Combine dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) to the bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk until combined.
  2. With the mixer running on a MED LOW speed, add vegetable oil and water, and keep mixing for about a minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  3. When mixture comes together and starts to form a ball, reduce mixer speed to LOW, then mix another minute until dough is smooth.
  4. Continue with the above cooking instructions, starting with the "Cut the dough" section.

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.04g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg