Flour Tortilla Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
Learn how to make homemade flour tortillas with my easy flour tortilla recipe! They have a soft, pliable texture and taste far better than store-bought. Perfect for quesadillas, fajitas, and more!
Homemade Flour Tortillas
I love this flour tortilla recipe (and so does Zach–he’ll eat a whole batch by himself!). It makes super soft, pliable, and flavorful homemade flour tortillas that pair well with a variety of fillings (like my easy chicken enchiladas!).
Similar to homemade naan, homemade tortillas far surpass store-bought and are well worth the extra effort if you have time. Around here, we enjoy them nearly weekly in my cheeseburger quesadillas (recipe coming soon!), but they are also tasty with grilled chicken, refried beans, cheese, steak, etc. Use them for my crispy chicken tacos or eat them plain before you even get a chance to fill them, like Zach does. They are just that good! 😉
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No lard! My recipe uses a combination of butter and oil instead of lard (which I just don’t keep in my kitchen). Traditional tortillas are of course made with lard, and you can substitute that here.
- Meticulously tested and perfected. We tried a lot of different methods for soft tortillas, like using heavy cream (made the tortillas too flaky and fragile) and even tangzhong (worked great, but didn’t move the needle enough to warrant the extra effort). In the end, simple pantry staples and techniques won out.
- Can be made in advance. In fact, the dough gets easier to work with the longer it rests!
- Cheaper, healthier, and tastier than store-bought. We’re using just a few ingredients (and no preservatives) to make these, and they are all the better for it!
Ingredients
Nothing fancy or complicated here–just a handful of pantry staples.
- Flour. Plain, all-purpose flour will work just fine. Make sure you measure your flour properly; over-measuring your flour can make for dry, tough tortillas.
- Butter & oil. Fat is important for soft, flavorful tortillas. While lard is traditional, I use butter and oil in my flour tortilla recipe. The oil makes them soft and pliable while the butter adds a nice flavor without being overwhelming or too rich.
- Water. You’ll notice this is listed as a range in the recipe; how much you will need will vary depending on your climate and other factors. In my house in the spring, I usually need ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons, but in more dry climates you may need more and in humid ones you will need less. Use as much as you need to make the dough cling to itself, feel tacky, and look shaggy.
- Baking powder. This gives our tortillas just a little lift and lightness.
- Salt. Important for flavor! Table salt or fine sea salt will work.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Sam’s Tip
If you need to make these homemade flour tortillas dairy-free/vegan, you can replace the butter with more oil.
How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas (Step-by-Step)
- Combine flour & fats. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then work the butter in with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture. Add the oil and stir again; the mixture will still be dry, but everything should be evenly incorporated.
- Add water. Gradually stir in the water as needed; the amount you specifically need will vary depending on your kitchen. I suggest starting with ¾ cup and adding more as needed until you have a shaggy, soft, and sticky dough. It will seem a bit wet at first; this will resolve after kneading and resting.
- Knead. Gently knead the dough until it starts to form a very sticky ball–this should only take a minute or two. Do NOT over-work the dough! Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 25 minutes before proceeding.
- Divide. Uncover and divide the dough into 10 equal pieces, then re-cover and let them rest for another 15-30 minutes. Technically you could skip this second rest, but the more you rest the dough, the easier it will be to work with (and you’ll be able to make your tortillas thinner!).
- Roll. Work with one tortilla at a time, rolling it into a thin circle roughly 8-9″ wide. I recommend you avoid adding more flour to roll out the dough, as this can make your tortillas dry (though it does make it easier to make them into round, even circles).
- Cook. Place your tortilla in an ungreased, preheated skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for about 30 seconds per side, then remove and wrap in a clean towel to keep warm and soft until ready to eat.
Sam’s Tip
If your tortillas are losing their shape or shrinking while you try to place them in your skillet, simply let them rest for a minute or so after rolling. Then gently loosen them and use both hands to drop them in the skillet.
Frequently Asked Questions
The softness comes from fat, which in in my flour tortilla recipe, is butter and oil (or just oil if you need a dairy-free version). My tortillas aren’t designed to be super fluffy (certainly not as thick/fluffy as my buttermilk pancakes), but they do get a little lift from the baking powder.
It’s very important to keep your tortillas covered after cooking, otherwise they will lose their softness. I just use a clean kitchen towel for this.
Adding too much flour (which makes them dry), adding too much water (which is why we start slow and add as needed!), over-working the dough (leads to tough tortillas), not resting the dough long enough (makes for a frustrating rolling experience!), over-cooking, and not covering after cooking.
As with most things, it is definitely cheaper to make homemade flour tortillas than to buy them pre-made. This is especially true if you already have all ingredients on hand, and with my recipe, you most likely will!
Related Recipes
For those of you who enjoy my sourdough recipes, I have a sourdough version of this recipe coming soon–stay tuned!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Flour Tortilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened
- 3 Tablespoons cooking oil
- ¾ – 1 cup warm water, 115F
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.3 cups (g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Add butter and use your hands to mix/rub the butter into the flour until the mixture is evenly crumbly and no large pieces remain.3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add oil and stir again until evenly distributed (mixture will still be dry and crumbly).3 Tablespoons cooking oil
- Gradually stir in water as needed (start with ¾ cup and add more as needed) until the dough comes together and is soft, shaggy, and sticky (it will seem quite wet, don’t panic, this is normal).¾ – 1 cup warm water
- Stir gently until dough clings into a ball, then turn out onto a clean, unfloured surface and gently knead for just a minute or two (avoid over-working the dough) until it clings together in a sticky ball (you may notice some small lumps as you knead, this is fine). The dough may seem very sticky at first but will become smoother as you knead and after resting – avoid adding extra flour unless absolutely necessary.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and allow to rest for at least 25 minutes and up to 3 hours before proceeding.
- Divide dough into 10 even, separate pieces, cover and rest 15-30 minutes.
- After resting, work with one dough piece at a time and roll out into a thin 8-9” circle. (Note that I do not like to use flour to roll out the dough, while adding flour can make it easier to shape the tortillas into even circles, it also can make them more dry).
- Heat a 10” cast iron skillet over medium-high heat (no oil).
- Once heated, cook the tortillas, one at a time, for about 20-40 seconds per side.
- Remove to a plate and wrap in a clean cloth to keep warm and soft.
Notes
Dairy free
Swap the butter for additional oil for a dairy-free version.Resting
The more you rest the dough, the easier it will be to work with. Honestly, if I’m in a hurry I’ll skip the second rest, just expect thicker tortillas. If your tortillas are shrinking/distorting their shape when transferring to the skillet, try letting them rest on the counter for 30-60 seconds after rolling then gently loosen from the counter and use both hands to carefully move to the skillet.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
