Flour tortillas
Flour tortillas are the soft flatbreads of northern Mexico, made from flour, lard and hot water and then quickly cooked on a griddle. Homemade tortillas are far softer and more fragrant than store-bought ones, and they're perfect for rolling burritos or making tacos and quesadillas.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rising or chilling
- 30 min
- Total time
- 1 hr 15 min
- Method
- Pan-cooked or waffle iron
Ingredients
Instructions
Step 1
Mix 360 g all-purpose flour with 4 g baking powder and 7 g salt, then add 70 g lard and rub it into the flour with your fingertips. Fat coating the flour makes the tortillas tender with lots of thin layers. The mixture is ready when it looks like damp sand with no large lumps of fat.
Step 2
Slowly pour in 210 g hot water at about 50°C, stir with a spoon, then knead by hand for about three minutes. Hot water softens the fat and makes the dough supple and easy to roll thin. The dough is ready when it's soft, smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.
Step 3
Divide the dough into ten equal pieces, roll each into a ball and flatten it slightly. Pieces of the same weight give tortillas of the same size that cook at the same rate. The balls are right when they're smooth with no cracks around the edges.
Step 4
Arrange the balls on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let them rest for about thirty minutes at room temperature. This rest lets the gluten relax so the tortillas don't shrink back as you roll them. The balls are ready when they feel soft and have almost no spring when pressed.
Step 5
Roll each ball from the center outward, turning it a quarter turn after each pass, to make a circle about 20 cm across. Turning it steadily keeps the tortilla equally thin all over. They're right when they're about two millimeters thick and fairly evenly round.
Step 6
Heat a dry nonstick pan over medium heat until very hot, cook each tortilla for about thirty seconds until bubbles appear, then flip and cook for thirty seconds more. A hot, dry pan turns the moisture to steam so the tortilla puffs slightly without drying out. They're done when both sides have light brown spots and the tortilla is still soft when folded.
Step 7
Immediately move each cooked tortilla into a clean towel and stack the next ones on top. The trapped warmth makes them even softer and more pliable. They're ready when they roll up without cracking and are still warm to the touch.
Equipment
- Nonstick skillet
- Rolling pin
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Plastic wrap
Tips
- You can swap the lard for vegetable shortening or unsalted butter; the tortillas will still be soft but taste a little different.
- If one spot puffs up too much in the pan, press gently on the bubble with a towel so the steam spreads through the whole tortilla.
- Don't let the pan get too hot, or the tortillas will scorch in spots before they cook through and turn crisp and hard.
Storage
Put cooled tortillas in a sealed bag and keep them at room temperature for one day or in the fridge for up to five days. You can freeze them with parchment paper between each one and reheat them in a hot pan for a few seconds per side.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The tortillas are hard and crisp like crackers.
- They cooked too long or the heat was too low. Raise the heat to medium, cook each side for no more than a minute and wrap them in the towel right away.
- The dough sticks to your hands and is hard to roll.
- There was a bit too much water or the dough hasn't rested enough. Dust with a little more flour and let the balls rest for another ten minutes before rolling.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
