Homemade Flour Tortillas are simple to make with staple pantry items. This is a small batch recipe to get you through a couple of days.
These homemade flour tortillas first made an appearance so many years ago. I wanted to preserve the recipe my mom shared with me because it’s important to me to keep family traditions alive. My momma used to make homemade tortillas when we were growing up and my sister Diane and I would love to help her out. As soon as she had one done, I would snatch it up and spread some butter on it. Yum yum!
My mom kept that tradition alive when the kids were young and would make them homemade flour tortillas with her chicken and rice, carne guisada, Dads Caldo de Res, and many more dishes. My favorite was probably for breakfast tacos.
When I started this blog, it was mainly to preserve recipes for myself so I could keep them handy. So I asked my mom to make some flour tortillas so I could share the recipe with you on here. Over the years, I have found it easier to just drop by one of my favorite mexican restaurants and buy them, but now that we are all having to stay home, homemade flour tortillas are all the rage at my place.
My niece and I made them yesterday for breakfast and she said they reminded her of when my mom would make them for her and her brothers. That was the best compliment I could have ever received.
Tips for Homemade Flour Tortillas:
- The dough should be a soft consistency and not sticky or crumbly
- Form the dough into balls with the bottom tucked into itself – forming round balls will ensure your have smooth round tortillas. I always manage to get nine tortillas out of this small batch.
- Warm the comal (you can use a griddle or cast iron skillet as well) to high heat to get it hot then reduce temperature to medium heat; you don’t want it hot the whole time or you will start to burn the tortillas, but I like to help it get hot so I can start making them and cooking them at the same time.
- My mom used to pass the tortillas between her hands before putting it on the comal – I’m not sure if this helped to keep the shape, but I keep that tradition.
- When you are ready to form the circles, you can cheat and use this tortilla press, or push down on the dough a bit then start rolling with a rolling pin. Roll, turn it a quarter turn (90 degrees), roll, and repeat until you get it to the size you desire.
Mom’s Homemade Tortillas
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 c. flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 3 Tbsp vegetable shortening
- 3/4 c. hot water (not boiling just very warm/hot)
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients (except for the water)in a medium mixing bowl. Get in there with your hands and mix until shortening is combined with flour. Slowly add the water and knead until you form dough consistency. The dough should be soft to the touch. Place in a bowl and put a moist towel over the top of the bowl to keep the dough from drying out. Let the dough sit for about 20 minutes and then knead again.
- Warm up the "comal" on medium heat once you are ready to start forming the dough into balls.
- Pinch off some dough and form into what resembles a muffin top. My mother curls hers under as if you are tucking in the dough on the bottom.
- Once you have formed all the balls, start rolling out the dough one at a time. You want to roll it out into a circle and where it is not too thin or too thick. This is a personal preference on how thick you want your tortillas. You don't want them too thick because then they won't cook all the way through and will be gooey inside.
- Place the dough on the hot comal as you form them. You will need to work quickly here and keep an eye on the comal so the tortillas don't burn. You will notice air pockets form and this is when you start checking to see how they look on the bottom and flip, and cook until done.
