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    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    Homemade Flour Tortillas

    Published: Mar 12, 2013 · Modified: Nov 19, 2022 by Jessie · This post may contain affiliate links; if you buy something we'll earn a commission at no cost to you.

    Jump to Recipe
    Silver tortilla press on a white countertop. this recipe
    Several flour tortillas stacked on a dark brown plate.

    I was craving some thick, fluffy, homemade tortilla-y goodness. So I busted out the tortilla press and away I went!

    Two uncooked flour tortillas on a beige tea towel.

    It's actually very easy to make your own flour tortillas. Especially if you invest in one of these tortilla presses. The dough is very springy, so rolling it out by hand can be a pain. And make your arms hurt. But when I use the press, the dough is much less likely to spring back on itself and my tortillas are much quicker to make and much better about holding their shape.

    Several flour tortillas in a pile.

    All you have to do to transport yourself to homemade tortilla land, though, is throw some flour on your press (or on a cutting board, if you'd rather roll it out by hand with a rolling pin! It'll take a bit longer but works just fine):

    Woman\'s hand sprinkling flour onto a tortilla press.

    Then roll up a ball of dough that fits in your palm:

    Woman\'s hand holding a piece of flour tortilla dough that fits in the palm of her hand.

     And put it on the floured side of your press. Make sure to flour the top of your dough, too, so that it doesn't stick to the top of the press!

    Hand sprinkling flour over tortilla dough that\'s sitting on a tortilla press.

    Then flip the top piece down onto the dough,

    Closing a tortilla press with a small piece of dough inside.

    Then pull the handle back over the top of the press, and push down for about 20 seconds (to make sure the dough is all stretched out and will hold its shape!)

    Woman\'s hand pressing a tortilla with a silver tortilla press.

    And voila! A beautiful, raw tortilla. Set the formed tortillas on a floured tea towel until you're ready to cook them.

    Tortilla dough rolled out on a tortilla press.

    To cook the tortillas, heat up a dry pan (I used cast iron) until it's feelin' HOT HOT HOT. Then cook tortillas for 30-40 seconds on each side, until they've developed some pockets of a nice, brown, crispy color.

    Raw tortilla dough on a large skillet.

    See?? How easy was that? These tortillas are a bit thicker than what you might be used to, but they are great for tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, you name it! I'm in love. Look, here's one in action: (Recipe comin' atcha later this week!)

    Tortilla topped with steak, veggies, and fresh cilantro.
    Print
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    Stack of flour tortillas on a brown plate.

    Homemade Flour Tortillas (With a tortilla press!)

    ★★★ 3 from 1 reviews
    • Yield: 10-13 tortillas 1x
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    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 3 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 3 Tablespoons cold vegetable shortening or coconut oil
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 and ½ cups water (you probably won’t need it all!)

    Instructions

    1. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and vegetable shortening. Work through the mixture with your hands, breaking up the shortening until the mixture is incorporated and has a slightly mealy texture.
    2. With the dough hook on your mixer (or by hand, if you prefer) stream in about 1 cup of the water and stir until it has been absorbed by the flour. Then, add water a tablespoon at a time while your mixer kneads the dough (or add a tablespoon of water, then break and knead by hand for a minute to incorporate it) until you have a smooth dough. Dough should be smooth and elastic, but not sticky. I used a little under 1 and ¼ cups of water when I made these, to achieve the right consistency. If you add too much water and the dough is too sticky, even it out by kneading in another tablespoon of flour.
    3. Roll the dough into balls that fit comfortably in your palm. Using a tortilla press or a rolling pin, roll each ball of dough out into a round tortilla shape.
    4. Heat a large, flat pan (preferably cast iron) over high heat until it is HOT. Cook tortillas for 30-40 seconds on each side until they’ve browned up a little bit. Serve immediately or store them in the fridge and reheat whenever you’re craving a quesadilla.

    Tag @lifeasastrawberry on Instagram to show us what you're cooking! Nutrition information is calculated per serving; it is approximate and will vary based on many factors.

    Stack of flour tortillas.

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    1. Jasmine Rockefeller

      June 01, 2020 at 9:06 pm

      I enjoyed this idea.

      Reply
    2. DaveF

      April 28, 2020 at 8:21 pm

      I've only had my press for a week, but I've been using parchment paper in the press, and then put the whole packet (parchment and all) onto the skillet.

      The flour I've been using is bread flour, so it is extra gluten and extra springy, so it shrinks horribly when I peel it way from the paper, but if I left it on the high temp paper, it held its size very well as I cooked it.

      Reply
    3. Shane

      February 18, 2020 at 2:54 pm

      Everytime I make these, they taste good, but are dry and break apart. What am I doing wrong??

      Reply
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