The Best Homemade Flour Tortillas
Easy to make, delicious homemade flour tortillas with just five ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour see note
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (2.4 ounces) neutral flavored cooking oil see note
- ⅔ cup (6 ounces) hot water see note
Instructions
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook add flour, baking powder, and salt and mix.
-
Pour in vegetable oil and hot water and knead on medium speed for about 2 minutes (or alternately you can mix by hand and then knead for about 5 minutes). Dough should be soft, stretch and workable, but not overly sticky (see note).
-
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for an hour or up to two hours (see note).
-
Divide dough into 10 even portions (about 1.8 or 1.9 ounces each, see note), I use a bench scraper for this. Cup the dough pieces in your hand and roll into a ball on your other palm or another flat surface.
-
Preheat cast iron (or heavy bottom) skillet on medium high for about 5 minutes or until a drop of water sizzles on top.
-
Lightly flour a work surface and roll dough balls using a floured rolling pin. Flip and turn dough 90 degrees after each roll until dough forms a round shape 8 to 10-inches in diameter. Keep lightly dusting surface and dough with flour as you roll and turn to keep dough from sticking.
-
Cook each tortilla on preheated skillet for about 30 to 45 seconds on each side or until brown spots appear on the underside. Adjust temperature of the stove if needed. Be careful not to overcook or tortillas will be dry and crumbly.
-
Store cooled tortillas in an airtight container or resealable bag with a paper towel on the top and bottom to soak up moisture. Tortillas will stay good at room temperature for a few days, in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for a few months.
Recipe Notes
1. For best results, weigh your ingredients, but if you don't have a kitchen scale makes sure to measure the flour with a light hand. Fluff it in the container, then spoon it into measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife.
2. Tortillas can be made with part or all whole-grain flour.
3. I've made them with canola oil or avocado oil with great results.
4. I normally microwave the water for a minute or so until it's hot but not boiling.
5. If after mixing dough still seems too sticky, add flour (a tablespoon at a time) until it reaches a good consistency. Or if dough seems too dry, mix in water (a tablespoon at a time).
6. I experimented quite a bit with resting time for this recipe. I found that the best texture was after the dough had rested for about at least an hour (I only tested it up to two hours). I realize that sometimes we don't have an hour and I can tell you the tortillas are still REALLY good after resting even just 10 minutes. The longer resting time will help them be kind of that bubbly airy texture that is so good. But if you're not particular, go ahead and let them rest as long as you have time for.
7. Tortillas can be made larger or smaller than the recipe specifies, depending on the size you need.