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Homemade Tortillas Recipe: How to Make Tortillas

Meat free Mondays, Taco Tuesdays and Fishy Fridays – I have been making a weekly menu plan for our family meals for 7 years now.

I started before Bear and Bee were born and I must admit it was a whole lot easier back then to decide what we were having for dinner each night. Now that I need to take into account the tastes of two slightly fussy children, my meals choices are more limited than I would like them to be.  So to make meal planning easier each week, while also attempting to include a little variety in my children’s diet, I have designated a different cuisine or type of dish for each night of the week.  As the three listed above we also have Stir Fry Wednesday, Pasta Thursday, Self-Serve Saturday and Slow Cooker Sunday.

Taco Tuesdays are my daughter, Bee’s, favourite.  She loves both crunchy taco shells and soft tortilla wraps.  Bear and hubby prefer to eat the soft wraps with their taco fillings so I decided to try making homemade tortillas.  The tortillas we buy each week are pretty healthy but if we use them in lunches too we end up going through a lot of tortillas and the cost quickly adds up.

homemade tortilla recipe

The recipe I use to make the tortillas is budget friendly and simple too.

It is based on a recipe from The Café Sucrè Farine and it is the best one I have found so far.  I usually use my stand mixer to make the dough but if you don’t have a stand mixer that’s okay.  Mixing by hand works just as well, plus it means you can get the kids involved as well!

recipe for flour tortillas

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Makes 16

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups plain (all purpose) flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup warm water (lukewarm like a baby bath)

flour tortilla recipe

To make:

1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

2. Add the oil and water and mix well until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.

3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth.  Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.

4. Shape the dough into a sausage shape about 40cm long.

5. Divide the dough in half and half again and so on until you have 16 pieces roughly the same size.

recipe flour tortilla
6. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten it out with the palm of your hand.

7. Cover the dough pieces with a clean tea towel and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.

8. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.

9. Working on one at a time, roll out each dough piece on a lightly floured surface (or try a tortilla press if you are making a big batch).  Try to get them nice and thin.

10. Place the dough circle into the hot frying pan and cook for 1 minute or until a few golden brown spots appear on the underside.  Some bubbles will also start to form on top.

tortilla recipe homemade

11. Flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30 seconds.  If the tortillas are browning too fast, turn the heat down a little.

homemade tortilla recipe cooking

12. Remove the tortilla from the pan and place in a large zip seal plastic bag or covered container.  This will keep them flexible and warm.

13. Repeat steps 9 to 12 with the remaining dough circles.

14. Serve warm with your favourite taco fillings. We love this chicken tortilla filling.

tortilla recipe

Hints & Tips:
These tortillas freeze well too making them great for busy nights and they even work as pizza bases.  To freeze the tortillas, allow them to cool completely then layer each tortilla in between plastic wrap or freezer paper.  Place in a zip seal plastic bag and then into the freezer.

Homemade Tortillas
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Ingredients

  • 3 cups plain (all purpose) flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup warm water (lukewarm like a baby bath)

Instructions

  1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
  2. Add the oil and water and mix well until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
  3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth.  Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.
  4. Shape the dough into a sausage shape about 40cm long.
  5. Divide the dough in half and half again and so on until you have 16 pieces roughly the same size.
  6. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten it out with the palm of your hand.
  7. Cover the dough pieces with a clean tea towel and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
  8. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
  9. Working on one at a time, roll out each dough piece on a lightly floured surface.  Try to get them nice and thin.
  10. Place the dough circle into the hot frying pan and cook for 1 minute or until a few golden brown spots appear on the underside.  Some bubbles will also start to form on top.
  11. Flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30 seconds.  If the tortillas are browning too fast, turn the heat down a little.
  12. Remove the tortilla from the pan and place in a large zip loc bag or covered container.  This will keep them flexible and warm.
  13. Repeat steps 9 to 12 with the remaining dough circles.
  14. Serve warm with your favourite taco fillings.
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https://childhood101.com/homemade-tortillas-recipe/

Maree Mortimer is mum to 5 year old twin girls who love to cook. After working as a secondary Home Economics teacher and a teacher librarian in primary and secondary schools, she took time off to raise her daughters. Maree believes that as food and cooking are essential for a healthy life, parents need to be encouraged to cook with their children as much as possible. You'll often find her family spending time together in the kitchen - re-connecting over food and trying out new recipes and ingredients.

Read more of Maree's adventures at http://threefootcooks.blogspot.com.au/.

Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. Homemade tortillas are the best! But my kids eat so many that rolling them all out kills me! I am very keen to get my hands on a tortilla press... has anyone ever tried one??

    • Yes, but they really don't work well for flour tortillas, they work great for corn ones though.

  2. I'm with Kate about the rolling!! I did them once for a meal I cooked for a new mum!! ha! It took me forever - it was certainly a labour of love ;) We use that same recipe and love it! I've never heard of a tortilla press Kate so keen to know more! :) Thanks for reminding me that I should be making these myself rather than buying the pre packaged ones! :)

    • I wouldn't want to do too many either Kate. I had never heard of a tortilla press before but now I have I would love to try one out. Will have to ask my blog's facebook friends. The homemade ones do taste much better so maybe it's a good reason to buy a press and test it out.

    • I have a tortilla press. They make the world a better place. You can get them at most Food 4 Less markets, or at Mexican markets. They really do help.

      • Its not politically correct to say "Mexican markets" They do how ever have them at most Hispanic markets.

  3. I've never tried homemade tortillas but they look great. In fact I can't remember having tacos in like forever! They are so going on my meal plan next week. Thanks for the reminder :)

    • Sorry for the late reply. Yes I have successfully frozen the dough before. I would recommend rolling it out into tortillas and then separating each one with some plastic wrap before sealing in a ziploc bag. Otherwise if you freeze the dough as a ball you will need to allow it to thaw overnight in the freezer.

  5. DH just got put on a special super low salt, low fat, type 1 diabetic diet so we're been looking at ways to get carbs into his meals without messing up the new rules. This weekend we tried making tortillas but the recipes didn't work. I just made a quick batch of these without salt and they're the best! Really a great find! Thank you for the recipe! We will be using this for a staple for sure.

  7. Im from san antonio and we use tortilla pressers..i get mine from the local flea markets..

  8. tortilla presses are AMAZING when you're making a lot of tortillas. it cuts the time in half..amazon has them for about 15 bucks if you cant find them local. i highly suggest using one. :)

    • I haven't. Have you tried making bread or anything similar with the gluten free flour? If it works for that it should work for the tortillas. The gluten in the flour makes the tortillas bendy and stops them cracking when folded or rolled. The few recipes I have seen for gluten free flour tortillas include a teaspoon or 2 of a product called xanthan gum or guar gum which imitiate gluten. Maybe you could try one of these.

    • I have a Gluten (and Dairy) issue myself. I decided to give these a whirl. I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Fre 1 to 1 Baking Flour . When I followed the recipe exactly they were too dry and cracked at the edges. I added about an extra 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and use Egg Replacer - equivalent of 1 egg. The extra water made the glob seem too wet, but after working it for a few minutes it seemed to be just right. I did let the dough rest but I don't know how necessary it was since it doesn't have gluten in it. When I went to pick them up in dough form to put them in the pan, they fell apart, so instead I put them on the pan and then rolled them out again. They didn't bubble like the pictures here. My best advice - make sure not to overcook them - they get crunchy. They turned out decent enough for a GF alternative.

  10. I can't wait to try this recipe but I have a few questions. I was wondering if you put oil into the frying pan to cook them or if it makes it too greasy? I was also wondering if you think it would be a noticeable flavor if I substituted olive oil instead of vegetable? In the same vein would coconut oil flavor it as well?

    • Hi Kelly, no we don't use any oil in the frying pan. We use a non-stick frying pan so it doesn't need it. If you don't have a non-stick pan you probably would need to use a light spray of a cooking oil. You could definitely use olive oil. It would depend on the type of olive oil as to whether it would change the flavour. If you like the taste of your olive oil I would go ahead and use it. I am not sure about the coconut oil. You can get some tasteless coconut oils which should be okay. I don't know if regular coconut oil would add too much flavour which would then clash with the fillings. If you try it let me know how you go.

  12. i made these today and they were perfect! I would recommend that you collect the tortillas in an airtight container when you take them out of the pan to keep them soft otherwise they will turn hard and crumbly. Cheers!

  13. Hey katepickle in Mexico the womens always make tortillas by hand and they always use a tortilla press!! I have one!! in Mexico they are very easy to find and cheap!! thanks for the recipe!

    • I have a dough hook for my stand mixer that I like to use for most dough recipes. You can mix and knead this by hand however and still get great results. It will just take a little longer.

  16. Just tried this for the first time and oh my goodness!! So much better than store bought flour tortillas. I think the reviewer above is confused about the fact that these are definitely flour tortillas and not corn tortillas. But that makes me want to try making corn tortillas, too. Hardest part is the rolling for sure but I got a rhythm going. I think this would be fun to do with a few people over. Have all filling ingredients ready ahead of time and start cranking these bad boys out while everyone's having a drink. I enjoy watching these being made at certain Mexican restaurants so same kind of idea! Thanks for such a great recipe and directions!

    • No you don't need a dough hook. I use it because I have one but you can just use your regular beaters on your mixer. You might find that you need to knead the dough by hand after all the ingredients are mixed together as the dough can be too stiff for regular beaters. You can also do the whole recipe by hand - mixing the ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon and then kneading it by hand for approximately 10 minutes.

  18. I made these last night, and because I couldn't find my presser, I just rolled them out. They are delicious, easy, and I've tried MANY different recipes. I cook just about everything homemade from scratch, and this is by far, one of my favorite recipes. I've never left a comment for a recipe before, because they weren't too worthy of it, in my opinion. But I do thank you for this one :)

  19. How long do these last? I was wondering if I could make two batches at one time, eat one and store the other? Would it be like freezing them only keeping them in the fridge instead of the freezer?

  20. A friend of mine says that when she didn't have a press she used a plate and it worked just fine

  21. You can get a cast iron tortilla press at Target. That's where I got mine, it was $24 and shipped free a few years ago. Yum!

    • Robin, tortilla press is used for corn tortillas for flour tortillas you roll them out with a rolling pin. Make sure to let the dough rest about 10 minutes makes it easier to roll out.

  23. I've tried a tortilla press before, generally used for corn tortillas but work to get a great circle. Tortilla press can be easily found at any store who sells more to the Hispanic consumer.

  24. I've not tried these yet; however, using the machine is easy and relatively cheap. If you don't want to clutter your kitchen with yet another device, throw a flattened ball of dough into a plastic baggy (cut the 2 sides of it first) and flatten it with a rolling pin. Just as fast and easy. :)

  26. Just wondering - do you burst the bubbles that form? I'll be trying recipe soon. Why have I been buying them ??!!

    • It's not necessary to burst the bubbles that form but if you do be careful not to burn your hand with the steam that is released .

  27. As a mexican, I've always loved eating homemade tortillas but never made them for myself, hearing from others that it was too hard. But I tried your recipe just a few minutes ago (tortillas are still warm as I type) and they are amazing! My husband couldn't be happier! Thank you so much for this recipe and for making it seem easy!

  28. I grew up making tortillas. My grandma made a batch every morning at 5 am and there was a pot of New Mexico green chile for every meal. My grandma hand rolled perfect round every one out with a mahogany rolling pin. She measured every thing with her hands and passed on the recipe to me. I make them often without measuring anything except the flour. The longer you let the dough sit they get puffy when cooked. Mine will never be round, more like the shapes of the states lol. The sound of that rolling pin tapping the table where my grandma rolled them out is a fond memory.

  29. I use masa flour and a wooden handmade tortilla press. No rolling, flattens it. Both sides of the wood are covered with Saran Wrap so the masa doesn't stick to the wood.

  30. I made this flour tortilla recipe today and they were sooooo good! Thank you for posting this! Reminded me of my childhood :)

  31. My mother taught me how to make flour tortillas when I was around 11 years old. Mom is now 92 and still sometimes makes them for my stepdad.

  33. I made this recipe yesterday, am new to cooking and I thought it was easy, it sound it easy and didn't took me too long neither I leave sit for a little longer than 15 mins(original recipe) let say it was two hour or and the dough looks fine but k cam get them to flat round nor be flofly my turned out kinda of crispy :-\ not sure if it was because I leave them seat too long .

  34. I loved this tortilla recipe! They turned out perfect! I haven't tried freezing them yet, because we ate them all up in less than a day! Next time I'll have to try doubling the recipe. ~Lolly

  35. I place my tortillas in a dish towel or papertowel after they come out of the pan.

  36. I grew up watching my grandmother, mother & aunties making home made tortillas. Tortillas were a main stay in our household. This receipe is good, we always used shortening instead of cooking oil, hey but if oil works go for it. I am 66 and still make "torts" as we call them. I have a press, but don't use it. My first tortillas came out looking like butterflies, my mom said no worries cause they don't go down your tummy round anyway. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

  39. I've made these a few times and love them! Today I'm going to attempt making with whole wheat flour. Anyone have experience making wheat tortillas?

  40. I just made these , nice dough but a little salty. Will use lot less salt next time. Very easy to roll out!!

  42. My father in law gave me a tortilla stick it is about a inch and a half round dowel it is 60 years old works great I personally feel tortilla press is mainly for corn tortillas but that is my view the more you make them the more round they get keep turning the dough as you rol them and stretch them befor placing on the griddle to cook and place in a dish towel and later store in a zip lock bag

  44. I learned how to make tortillas simply from a lady in Mexico. She was so sweet. She said when I rolled out my tortillas that they looked like huaraches (the sandals!) :) Anyway, after time, I lost the simple recipe and most of the ones that have been recommended to me were not as good. These might be the same and am definitely going to give them a try! Thank you!

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