Homemade Tortillas (Soft Flour Tortilla Recipe)
Forget store bought tortillas, and make your own with this flour tortilla recipe. This homemade tortilla recipe can be easily doubled or tripled if you wanted to make larger batches. They freeze perfectly!
Tortillas were one of the first types of bread I learned how to make just because of how easy it is. After making tortillas a couple of times, I slowly worked my way up to more complicated breads. So this is a great beginner’s bread recipe to learn from!
If you’re new to bread making, this is a great recipe to start with for a couple of reasons.
1) You don’t need yeast. Yeast gives you a great piece of bread, but it can be very temperamental and takes a while to relax and rise.
2) This recipe is easy to follow and quite quick. No rise times needed my friends! All you need to do is rest your dough so it’s easier to roll out.
3) And even if something goes wrong while making tortillas, you can probably hide it by frying up the evidence and making some flour tortilla chips. A delicious mistake!
These tortillas are made without lard or animal fat, so they’re 100% vegan! Lard isn’t an ingredient that I like to keep on hand just because I never use it.
I’ve also tried making tortillas with butter, but I find that butter doesn’t give the tortilla as much softness and fold-ability as the vegetable oil. (Is fold-ability a word…?) The softness you get from the vegetable oil is what I think makes this the best tortilla recipe.
How to make tortillas:
To start making your tortilla dough, combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Add your vegetable oil and warm water to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together until it starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and soft (about 2 minutes).
Cut the dough into 8 even pieces. Roll and shape your pieces into smooth balls. Cover the pieces of dough and let them rest for at least 15 minutes at room temperature to make rolling the dough out easier.
Once your dough has rested, roll your pieces of dough into thin tortillas. I like to roll my dough out until it’s under an 1/8 inch thick and about 5 inches in diameter. You want these paper thin!
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add your first tortilla and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on the first side. You’ll know it’s time to flip when you start to see some bubbles forming on the top of your tortilla, and the bottom should have golden brown spots.
After your tortilla is cooked, transfer it into a tortilla keeper or a plate lined with a tea towel. Cover your tortillas with either another tea towel or lid. It’s very important to keep your tortillas covered until right before you plan on eating them, otherwise they’ll dry out and harden.
Repeat cooking until all of your tortillas are done.
Enjoy! Tortillas are best served fresh and warm.
Difficulty rolling out dough:
If you’re trying to roll out your tortillas and you find the dough starts springing back and shrinking on you, it usually just means the dough needs to rest. Letting your dough rest helps relax the gluten in it, which makes it easier to roll out.
Whenever your dough starts to give you trouble, try covering it and letting it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. You should be able to roll it out no problem after that.
How to store tortillas:
Like I mentioned above, tortillas should be covered until right before you plan on serving them (to prevent drying out).
If you don’t finish all of your tortillas while they’re still warm, transfer them to an airtight container or plastic bag after they’ve cooled completely to help preserve their freshness. Seal well, making sure to push out as much air as you can if you’re using a plastic bag.
Tortillas will keep well at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you don’t plan on having them before then, tortillas also freeze very well!
How to freeze tortillas:
To freeze these flour tortillas, let the tortillas cool completely then transfer them to a freezer bag. Push out as much air as you can from the bag and seal. Freeze tortillas for up to 3 months.
To defrost frozen tortillas, set them out at room temperature for a few hours or in the fridge overnight to thaw. Before serving, I also like to warm the frozen tortillas in a skillet over medium heat for about a minute on each side, just to make them pliable and soft again.
If you liked these flour tortillas, check out some of these similar recipes!
• ranch chicken wraps
• rolled buttermilk biscuits
• homemade soft pretzels
• dinner rolls
• sandwich bread
• easy no knead bread
Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup warm water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
- Add vegetable oil and warm water to the dry ingredients. Mix until the dough starts to come together into a ball. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until it becomes smooth and soft (about 1 to 2 minutes).
- Divide and shape the dough into 8 even balls. Cover and let the balls rest for 15-20 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball of dough out until it's very thin (under 1/8 inch). Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Place on tortilla into the skillet and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on the first side. You'll know it's time to flip once the bottom has golden brown spots and the top starts to bubble and puff up.
- Flip your dough and cook the other side until you start to see golden spots (about 30 seconds). Take the tortilla out of your skillet and place it on a tea towel lined plate or a tortilla keeper. Cover the dough with a tea towel or lid to prevent it from drying out.
- Repeat the cooking and covering process with your remaining dough. Make sure you leave your tortillas tightly covered until you're just ready to serve to prevent having them dry out.Tortillas are best served fresh and warm.
Enjoy!
I am definitely trying these! Thank you SO much!
You’re very welcome! I hope you like them