This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure policy here.
Nothing beats a fresh homemade flour tortilla. Making them at home is so easy and you will never buy store bought tortillas again.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
I could just eat homemade tortillas for dinner, just add a little butter and salt. it’s the way my dad taught me to eat them. You could also dip the flour tortillas in some of this yummy salsa that I keep in my refrigerator. Once you see how easy they are to make with a handful of simple ingredients, you’ll never buy store-bought tortillas again. The flavor and texture is amazing.
There are so many ways to use them. Use them to make a quesadilla, burritos, your favorite wraps.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour. I use unbleached all purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Sugar
- Salt
- Hot water, about 125 degrees F
- Butter, salted and melted
How to Make Flour Tortillas
- Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Pour melted butter into mixture and stir to combine.
- Add in hot water (hottest water out of the tap) a few tablespoons at a time, stirring to combine between each addition.
- Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and smooth, 1-2 minutes.
- Divide into 12 dough balls, about 50 g each.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let balls of dough sit for 10-15 minutes. This dough rest allows the gluten to relax and makes it easier to roll them out.
- Flatten the ball of dough with your hand and place on lightly floured surface.
- Use a rolling pin to roll into a circle. Roll the flatten ball up and down, rotate dough 45 degrees and roll it up and down again. Continue rolling and rotating until you have about an 8 inch circle or bigger.
- Preheat griddle or cast iron frying pan over a medium-high heat, until hot (the cast iron pan will smoke a bit). You are going to cook the tortillas in a dry griddle, no oil is needed.
- Place tortilla on griddle or in pan and allow to cook until it begins to bubble and until golden brown spots form on bottom of tortilla. About 15 seconds.
- Turn tortilla and cook other side until golden brown spots form. About 10 seconds.
- Stack tortillas on a plate under a towel to keep them soft and warm,
Tips from leigh Anne
- Make Ahead Tip: After cooking the tortillas allow them to cool, covered with a towel and then place the stack of tortillas in a zippered plastic bag with a paper towel on the top and bottom of the pile.
- Roll all of the tortillas out at one time and then cook them all at one time. You can pile the rolled out tortillas on top of one another and keep them covered with a kitchen towel as you are cooking them to prevent them from drying out.
Pair This With:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do flour tortillas need to be refrigerated?
They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature on the counter or in the refrigerator.
What can I use besides butter?
If you prefer, you can use lard or a mild flavored oil such as canola or vegetable oil. You can also use vegetable shortening such as Crisco.
Can I make tortillas in a stand mixer?
A stand mixer will work great with the dough hook attachment. Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and water and mix on low just until the dough comes together. Raise the speed of the mixer to medium and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and soft. Continue with the recipe as written
Try these other great recipes too!
Be sure and follow me over on YouTube for weekly cooking demos.
Flour Tortilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour all purpose
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup hot water hottest tap water
- 1/3 cup butter salted and melted
Instructions
- Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- Pour in melted butter and stir to combine.
- Add in hot water a few tablespoons at a time, stirring to combine between each addition.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and smooth, 1-2 minutes.
- Divide into 12 balls, about 50 g each.
- Cover with a towel and let balls of dough sit for 10-15 minutes. This helps to relax the gluten and makes them easier to roll out.
- Flatten the ball of dough with your hand and place on lightly floured surface.
- Use a rolling pin to roll into a circle. Roll the flatten ball up and down, rotate dough 45 degrees and roll it up and down again. Continue rolling and rotating until you have about an 8 inch circle or bigger.
- Preheat griddle or cast iron frying pan until hot and slightly smoking.
- Place tortilla on griddle or pan and allow to cook until tortilla begins to bubble and until golden brown spots form on bottom of tortilla. About 15 seconds
- Turn tortilla and cook other side until golden brown spots form. About 10 seconds.
- Stack tortillas on a plate under a towel to keep them soft and warm pr place them in a plastic bag.
Tips & Notes:
Recommended Products
Nutrition Facts:
Laurie says
Do you have any recipes for preparing black beans? I mean like Cafe Rio where you could eat them by themselves if you wanted to? Would love some suggestions.
Leigh Anne says
Try this recipe – let me know what you think!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/cafe-rio-style-black-beans/
Laurie says
Thank you, I will try it. I was gonna do it last night but had a last minute meeting mess up my plans. I’ll let you know what I think. Thanks again.
Frieda says
Yay! Homestyle tortillas rock! You’ve done a great job on this tutorial ~ My recipe uses canola oil (no shortening) and sometimes I sub half the APF with whole wheat. My family didn’t even notice the difference…they were gobbling them up! I’ve made these so often that I finally broke down and bought a tortilla warmer.
Mindy says
Thanks for the post. I’m supposed to get a lesson on making tortillas next week. I’m gonna try these first and practice before I get the lesson.
Leigh Anne says
Would love to know any great tips or tricks you learn – come back and share!
Anna says
these look great! getting them round IS so difficult – i am so terrible at that! i really enjoy your blog 😀
April W. says
I love that yours are rustic looking. It takes me waaay too much effort to make them perfectly round. In my book, as long as they’ll hold a nice amount of filling, they’re great! I’d also encourage you to try making them with whole-wheat flour, if you’re into that kind of thing, because I’ve found they’re almost identical to the AP version.
Leigh Anne says
I think they taste better not round!! Will definitely give the whole wheat a try. I am also baking with spelt flour now for my daughter so will try that too.