Did you know you can make tortillas at home with just a food processor and a rolling pin? Yes! These soft, homemade flour tortillas are easy and always a big hit!
I’m so excited to tell you guys that I’ve got this big item to cross off my ever-daunting and always-growing to-make list! These flour tortillas were MAJOR for me.
We eat a lot of Tex-Mex food that requires soft flour tortillas and I generally always use them in place of corn tortillas. And when we have leftovers, I make wrap sandwiches to bring to work. Win win!
Ingredients for Homemade Flour Tortillas
If you’ve been around these parts long enough, you know that I love to DIY loads of store-bought items in order to cut out ingredients we can’t pronounce and to save a few bucks in the process. Just check out the short and basic ingredient list below and you’ll see how unprocessed these tortillas are!
Here are the ingredients:
flour
baking powder
salt
shortening, butter, or lard
salt
water
Shortening vs Lard vs Butter for Tortillas
The fat in tortillas is what makes them soft and pliable. In this recipe, you can use vegetable shortening, lard, or unsalted butter – it’s your choice!
The shortening and lard will give the tortillas the best texture; the butter will give them a little extra flavor.
Using vegetable shortening will also allow you to make vegan tortillas. Though we’re not a vegan household, I make these tortillas exclusively with shortening and they’re always outstanding.
How to Make Tortillas
This homemade flour tortilla recipe is my latest feat in DIY-ing store-bought food and when I tell you that these tortillas are soooo worth the little bit of effort, I’m not kidding. After only 30 minutes, I had a warm stack of fresh tortillas ready to use for multiple meals.
To make these tortillas, you’ll simply:
1. Whir the dry ingredients together in a food processor.
2. Pulse in the fat you’re using.
3. Pour the water in through the feed tube while the food pro is running until the dough forms.
4. Knead the dough for a few seconds on the counter and then divide it in the 12 or 16 pieces and let them rest for a few minutes.
5. Roll each piece out with a rolling pin. You can also use a tortilla press for this step. I love this tortilla press so much and have been using it to make tortilla for years.
6. Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron works great for this!) and cook the tortillas flat in the pan for about 30 seconds on each side.
How to Keep Tortillas Warm and Soft
As you cook the tortillas, you’ll need to keep them warm before you serve them. Slip the fresh tortillas between 2 kitchen towels or into a tortilla warmer that’s been lined with a kitchen towel.
This is the tortilla warmer I love to use for my homemade tortillas.
PRO TIP: Keeping the tortillas warm before serving them will ensure that they stay soft and pliable. If they cool in the open air, they will dry out and crack when you try to fold them.
The Differences Between Homemade Tortillas and Store-Bought Tortillas
And as far as quality goes, there is just no comparison with store-bought tortillas. Where store-bought are rubbery and dry, the homemade version yields soft and always pliable tortillas.
You don’t have to worry about the bottoms splitting in your hand and you can fold them and roll them without any cracking. They’re life-changing! Ha!
Can you Freeze Flour Tortillas?
Yes! Allow them to cool completely inside of a kitchen towel or tortilla warmer and then wrap up the stack of leftover tortillas in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. Drop the wrapped stack in a zip-top bag and seal it up. Don’t forget to label the bag with the contents and date you’re freezing them.
How to Reheat Frozen Flour Tortillas
To warm the frozen tortillas, unwrap them completely and rewrap them in just the foil. Let them warm up for about 10 minutes in a preheated 300° F oven.
Basically, for the Tex-Mex food lovers that we are, these homemade soft flour tortillas couldn’t be a more perfect addition to our meals. Now go on and try them for yourself!
……
What can you make with these
soft flour tortillas?
Homemade flour tortillas are super simple to make with just a food processor and a rolling pin! Yes! These soft flour tortillas are always a big hit and they go perfectly with all of your favorite Mexican and Tex-Mex meals!
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 heaping tsp table salt
5 tbsp shortening, lard, or softened unsalted butter
¾ cup warm water
Instructions
In the bowl of the food processor fitted with the dough blade, pulse the flour, baking powder, and salt a few times to stir up the ingredients. Add in the fat and process in quick pulses until the mixture starts become crumbly. With the food processor on, slowly stream in the water through the feeder at the top, just until the a cohesive ball forms and starts traveling around the sides of the bowl.
Turn the food processor on and let the dough knead for about 30 seconds. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl and be soft but not overly sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board or countertop and divide it into 12 equal-size portions, 2 oz each if you're weighing them. Cover the dough pieces with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a large, dry saute pan (cast iron works great here) over medium-high heat. One at a time, roll the dough balls into thin rounds (about 8 inches each), dusting the top with just enough flour to keep the tortilla from sticking to the rolling pin. Try not to roll out too many at a time or they will start to dry out while they wait to be cooked.
Lay one tortilla flat in the heated pan and cook on each side for 20-40 seconds, until the tortilla starts to bubble in places and the bubbled areas start to brown. While each one cooks, you can roll out the next tortilla to get it ready for the pan.
Keep the finished tortillas covered with a kitchen towel to keep them warm and pliable until you're ready to use them. Unused tortillas can be cooled completely and refrigerated in a large zipper bag for up to 5 days.
Notes
I rolled my tortillas out into 8-inch rounds and they yielded some pretty hefty-sized tortillas, even for soft tacos. So in the future, I'll reduce the size to 6 inches by cutting the dough into approximately 1 ½ oz pieces (or about 16 pieces). If you want larger tortillas, like for burritos, cut the dough into fewer pieces and roll them out to 10 or 12 inches in diameter. If you don't have a food processor, you can make these tortillas by hand, using a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the ingredients into each other and a wooden spoon to mix everything up.
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I’m very excited to try this with your instructions. My mom makes the BEST flour tortillas, but mine always turn out like crackers, so maybe the processor will make a difference. Thank you!
Wow–I can’t wait to try these! I HATE tortillas that crack when you roll them. Question: Can you substitute WW flour, or white whole wheat flour, for some or all of the AP flour? And what’s the best way to store if you want to keep them for more than 5 days? Can you freeze the dough in balls, then thaw in fridge and roll out when needed?
Thanks! (from a new and not-so-savvy New Englander)
Elizabeth: Yes, I believe you can sub in half WW or white WW for half of the white flour. I’d imagine freezing them would be ok since you can freeze store-bought tortillas – make them first then freeze them in a zipper bag. Hope that helps! 🙂
You can use HALF whole wheat flour. And yes… you can refrigerate the balls for up to a month. Just make sure all of the air is sucked from the bag (don’t use Tupperware) or they will dry out and get freezer burn. Thaw them completely (24 hours) in the fridge before rolling them. GrandpaCooks-com
Allison: I used the lard – just lard, no other substitution. It was kind of a leap for me since I’ve only used it once previously in baking but it worked great.
Dear Tara, my grandmother made some of the best flour tortillas in all of Mexico (having lived there all my life I’ve tried many versions) and your look really good and authentic! I might try your recipe, but yes, lard is the key to the gorgeous results you got. Thank you for sharing it!!!
I LOVE that you made these from scratch – and I completely agree with you regarding making more things just to avoid unpronounceable ingredients! That’s a big motivation for me as well. These tortillas turned out beautifully and I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and I love the inspiration I get from your food…
These looked so delicious that Ikept coming back to your site just to look at them! Finally 48 hours later I gave them a try, at 10:45 pm! I started out using my processor, but finally figured out that mine isn’t big enough and couldn’t handle all the flour, so I had to transfer it into a bowl and add more water and do it by hand. I only had shortning on hand and they came out really tasty and lovely. Only problem is they do crack once they begin to cool a bit. May I ask, when you use the lard do they then not crack?
Jennifer: Hmmm, I’ve only made them with the lard so I don’t know if there is a difference. (Something to test out though!) I did, however, keep them stacked between 2 kitchen towels as they came out of the pan which kept them warm and pliable and that may help keep them from cracking. Let me know how your next batch turns out!
Ohhhh my, what a difference! I made them with the lard today and what a different experience! I managed to make the entire thing in my “little” food processor and they rolled out so easily and most importantly didn’t crack! Yay!!!
To others out there a tip of advice – use lard! Plus, make sure your pan is very hot, on my first batch I don’t think it was hot enough because it took about 2 minutes per side to bubble and turn brown, which is probability as to why they cracked.
This may be a silly question, but how do you get yours in a circle once rolled out? When I tried with a different recipe a couple weeks ago, they came out in every shape but circle lol. Any tips would be great! Thanks!
Heather: Honestly, I’m never able to roll anything out into a perfect circle. But here’s how I try anyway: 1) Roll the dough into balls 2) Pat down each ball into a disc and with your fingers, work the disk out into a larger, flatter circle. 3) With a rolling pin, roll the circle out further, starting from the center of the circle and rolling out away from you (don’t roll the pin back towards you). 4) After a couple of rolls, give the dough a 1/4 turn and roll again. Repeat the 1/4 turns and rolling until you have the circle large enough. Remember to keep the board and pin well-floured. Hope that helps!
Heather, I started making tortillas when I was 14….. My mom made them so nice and round, mine were definitely not there yet. I used a plate to make sure they were round, because with three brothers, I would never live it down !! I got better with time, but just make sure you just turn it around more that just twice or you’re making a square….
I made these tonight with my Kitchenaid mixer…used the paddle until it was time to knead then switched to dough hook for thay.. They turned out PERFECT! 🙂
I have made flour tortillas by hand, by cuisinart 11 cup food processor and by my Kitchenaid.
They all come out great. I ‘ve been using my standup Kitchenaid mixer. I really like how easy it is to use the standup mixer. I use the dough hook. And use very HOT water, not boiling though.
I let the dough rest for about 20 minutes covered. Then I make them to balls. Cover them while I roll one tortilla and place on med or med. hi cast iron griddle. Cold griddle will cause them to get hard.
When finished rolling and cooking them, I place in clean kitchen towel and place them in tortilla
warmer. With left overs , when cool, I place in zip lock bag and place in fridge. Just rewarm and enjoy. They do not get hard.
I hope this helps.
I just want to say that these are very good. I made them because I wanted to see if they would be good as mine or my moms and let me tell you it was pretty close. People always asked me for my recipe but I could never tell them how cuz I never use measurements I just throw it in. So from now on I will give them this recipe. My husband and kids were my judges and they all really liked them. Thank you. Great job!
Nicole: Yes, they can be frozen. Make sure they are completely cool then stick them in a gallon-size zipper bag and freeze. Lard can be found near the butter in most grocery stores. Hope that helps!
Try the butter and let us know how they turn out! One of the commenters (Jennifer) noted that lard yielded a better result than shortening so there may be small differences between the different types of fat.
I always use butter. The only issue is, you have to store them flat in the fridge, because the butter gets harder than the crisco. Butter definitely tastes better.
I tried these today. This was my first attempt. I felt the dough was too tough (I did it by hand). I used butter flavored crisco. The did seem to crack and I did keep them in between towels. I will definitely try again. Pretty good for my first attempt!
Some tips from the handed down Mexican family recipe: You don’t need a food processor! Use your hands to break up the butter in the dry ingredients, until its very tiny. Your hands are your biggest asset when getting great tortillas. Once you add the water it gets sticky, but keep going. The masa should be smooth and not sticky when you are done kneading the dough. And, when you roll them, the smaller the rolling pin the thinner they will be. Thick, round rolling pins are generally better for pastries, and although you can use them, you’ll end up with a whole lot of tortilla.
Great tips, Michelle! When you mention masa, do you mean the dough? In this case, masa isn’t the type of flour used (which I can never find in my area grocery stores anyway).
You can find masa harina in a lot of places (even winco) you just have to look in the Mexican food section instead of baking. I use it for a tortilla soup and it took me a while to figure out where to look for it.
I think when she says “masa” she is referring to the dough. In spanish we use the word masa for dough regardless if it’s the “masa harina” store bought stuff, dough for corn tortillas, even the stuff used to make tamales.
Found this recipe via Pinterest, making them tonight for the second time. Truly the best and freshest tortillas I have ever tasted! I decided to make my own after going GMO free, these were so easy to make and so delicious, I will never buy store bought tortillas again!
Thank you
My grandmother would turn out dozens at a time but her recipe was completely eye ball so I’ve never been able to duplicate. Hope this works :). By the way…my grandma would talk 2 pieces of paper towel and put them in a zip lock bag. Place your hot off the pan tortillas in between the paper towels. They will stay nice and warm but not wet. We always threw left overs under the broiler with cheese. Oh yeah mmm
This may be a silly question, but where do you buy lard? We have to be soy-free due to allergies and so all of our meat/products have to come from places that don’t use any form of soy (in feed, in equipment, etc…) and I’ve never once seen lard being offered from the butcher. Is it the same as pig fat? Thank you for a great looking recipe. I may have to just try making it with (raw home-made) butter and see how it works. Can’t wait to try it!!
yes, I used coconut oil, and it worked wonderfully! I also used all whole wheat flour, and I just had to add a bit more water to make the dough the right consistency. There was too much dry flour at the bottom of the bowl before adding the extra water.
I’m so glad to hear this. I was going to look for a whole grain recipe & I don’t want to use shortening (trans fats) or lard (EEEWWW, gross). Do you remember how much extra water you had to add?
Just to jump in here, not all shortening has trans fat – Crisco, in fact, cut out the trans fat from their shortening. And lard is just the rendered fat from a pig – it’s not an ingredient to be grossed out by.
Check the Crisco label closely, shortening is generally hydrogenated oil, and hydrogenation produces trans fat. Their label may have such a small serving amount and be able to legally say only ‘1 g’ or something like that, but I don’t think they have changed anything else. Non-hydrogenated lard, on the other hand, is one of those old fashioned ‘real’ foods, better for us in ways we are just beginning to understand.
Nikki
June 20, 2013 at 8:14 PM
If the trans fat content is less than 0.5g they are allowed to say trans fat free. This was actually just on my nutritional science exam this morning 🙂
Made these last night (used butter since I was too lazy to go to multiple stores looking for lard) and they were fantastic! So much better than store-bought tortillas. Thanks for the great recipe!
Very yummy tortillas!! I used butter, and used my hands like someone mentioned. So easy!! I also kept them in a large ziplock with paper towels on top and bottom, like someone also mentioned. Perfect!!!
We have been making these for years and found out resting them longer, 45 minutes or more as it makes it far easier to roll thinner. We make them very thin, almost paper thin and they still very pliable. Also we both work at it, I roll them out, she does the cooking and you can go like crazy doing it like that. Two seems so much easier than one doing this…
This is a great suggestion! I thought maybe the gluten needed a little extra time to rest and I’m glad to hear that it does actually make a difference. And I couldn’t agree more on making these with 2 people – it’s a workout for one person!
I am grateful for your recipe. I grew up eating homemade tortillas but mother never measured her ingredients and they were the best homemade tortillas. While I have attempted to make them, it was difficult to get the correct measurements. Thanks. This is a lost art form.
I’m Mexican and my mom taught me how to make homemade flour tortillas years ago, but we have never added baking powder. The rest of the ingredients in this recipe are the same. We prefer to use butter-flavored Crisco shortening. My mom told me when she was in Mexico visiting her sisters, my aunt sent my cousin to the store to buy shortening to make the tortillas. She accidently picked up the butter-flavored Crisco instead of the plain white one. They used it anyways and they said it was the best flavored tortillas they’ve ever made, so that’s what they use to make them now…and it’s true, the buttered-flavored is more flavorful!
Made these tonight and they were delicious! Not sure what I did wrong though, because mine were done after 4-5 seconds on each side in my cast iron skillet instead of the 20-40 called for. Also I could not for the LIFE of me get the things to lay flat in the pan, every time I managed to fold them. Oh well, they still tasted great!
What benefit does the baking powder add? I’ve been making them for years without it, so I’m wondering if I am missing anything or if I should just carry on.
It gives the tortillas a little “lift”. And actually, the more I make them, the more I think they could probably do without the baking powder – sometimes they are just a little too bulky for my liking. Something to think about…
I followed the recipe to a “T” using lard and the flavor is amazing. My only question is this: Did anyone else have a problem with them being crispy? My first ones I left in the cast iron skillet until they got just a tinge of brown in spots and they were stiff like I had grilled them. The next ones I only left until they bubbled, flipped them, and then took them off. These were better than the first ones, but still kind of crispy. Any ideas? Skillet too hot maybe? We ate them all as they tasted great, but could not roll them up at all. Thanks for any help!
I can’t wait to try these! I so love fresh tortillas, I’ve always wanted to make my own, but after stamping and making cards all day long, I never felt I had the kind of time to do this. This seems really easy – I’m trying them tonight. Thanks so much for sharing!
Ugh, these didn’t work for me at all 🙁 It’s probably my fault, considering all the other great reviews, but I found the dough to be too sticky, difficult to roll out, and the tortillas became crispy rather than soft as soon as they were removed from the heat.
I found so too. Not such a great review here. Nothing about this recipe worked for me. As well I had to add prob twice as much liquid as the recipe called for. 🙁
Sounds like you’re both having opposite issues. As when you work with any type of dough, the humidity level in your kitchen will affect the consistency of your dough.
And regarding crispy tortillas, yes, your pan was probably too hot.
Yes to both. Freeze them in a gallon-size freezer bag and let them thaw at room temperature. They won’t take long to thaw so try to keep them wrapped up in a kitchen towel so they don’t dry out.
I didn’t have unsalted on hand either so I just used regular ole salted butter and did a flat tsp of salt rather than a heaping one and the flavor was great!
I agree with Michelle you don’t need a food processor. I’m Mexican and I never buy flour tortillas. I make mine with whole wheat flour, King Arthur is the best. I never use shortening it is bad for you, and I don’t like the taste of the lard. I use oil or olive oil. I measure the flour by weight in grams (that is the way I learned from my mom in Mexico. 500grams flour needs 125 grams of grease. I use warm milk instead of water. They are soft and delicious.
These were very good! Best recipe I’ve found so far that comes close to my mom’s tortillas. Sadly they still don’t measure up to hers :{ and like many Mexican mommas, she doesn’t measure anything either! Glad to have found this!
I made these to go with our shrimp tacos last week and they tasted really good, however, I wasn’t happy with their consistency (I guess that’s what you’d call it). They seemed really thick even though I rolled and rolled and rolled. Also, I couldn’t get them to be nice and round like yours are (though that may just be practice).
Tips for rolling them out thinner? I was thinking of adding a little bit more water to thin out the dough. What do you think?
let the dough sit longer, someone mentioned 45 minutes to get the gluten to relax more. also a skinny rolling pin instead of the standard ones that are in most kitchens help push the dough thinner. hope it helps!
I used a tortilla press and it was much easier to make even circles. Is there a reason I shouldn’t use it, though? I have only used it for corn tortillas and I’d heard you weren’t supposed to use it for flour ones… Also, my tortillas stuck to the cast iron pan a little bit and the pan started smoking a LOT by the time I was done. :-/ Pan too hot? When I turned it down, they didn’t puff very well.
All that being said, the tortillas were delicious. Thank you!!!!
If a tortilla press works for you, by all means use it! Most people don’t have this tool in their kitchens (including myself) so that’s why I don’t use one here. I’m not sure about the general consensus about not using one for flour tortillas though.
you can get flour tortillas to spread in a press, that I’d amazing! Lol. The reason a press isn’t used with floor tortillas is because of the gluten. They don’t press down like the corn tortillas do. After 40+ years of making tortillas by hand, my mom tried cutting corners and using a press and it didn’t work.
OK, so the taste is awesome. But unfortunately, even only rolling a few at a time, they still dried out before I could cook them so they didn’t turn out the same. Thoughts on how to rehydrate them? I still have most of the batch left to cook
A super dry kitchen could very well be an issue, yes. Try keeping the remaining dough balls and rolled-out ones under a barely-damp kitchen towel or paper towel while you cook the others. When I make these, I only roll out one dough ball while one is cooking, so that there is one just ready for the pan when one is finished cooking. You have to work sort of quickly this way but it helps to keep the dough from drying out. I hope this helps!
[…] I nearly forgot. I also made homemade tortillas for this the 2nd time I made it. Holy moley did that make it taste even better. Give it a try. You seriously won’t regret it, and they’re super easy. Recipe here. […]
They should puff a little when you cook them but you could try cutting back on the baking powder a little so they turn out a little thinner. What kind of fat are you using? If you’re using butter, the evaporation of the water in the butter could cause them to shrink. Otherwise, you can try letting the rolled out dough rest for a couple minutes to allow the gluten to relax before you cook them. I haven’t had trouble with tortillas shrinking, but those are my two thoughts about why it could happen. Keep me posted!
If they’re getting hard when cooling, you’re probably cooking them for a little too long. Next time, try cooking them for less time and keeping them wrapped up in a kitchen towel right after they come out of the pan.
[…] it found me…the perfect recipe for homemade tortillas. I was in heaven and my mouth was watering just looking at the pictures on Smells Like Home. I knew […]
I have been looking for a tortilla recipe that I can work with and I just got done with making these and they turned out perfect! Definitely using this one from now on! Thanks for the super easy to follow recipe 🙂
On 10/17/2017 I made this recipe. Was very pleased.
Today, February 11, 2019 I made again, but using 4 Tablespoons of cold bacon grease and only 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. I used 1 cup of HOT water plus 2 Tbsp. .
Perfect and did not have to flour board. Soft and pliable!
Made in my standup mixer with dough hook.
Next time will only use 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Hi Cecilia! Love the changes that you made to this recipe, especially the bacon grease as the fat source! Delicious idea! Thanks for coming back to leave a review and your changes!
These were the best I have ever tried to make at home. I rested the dough before making balls and after. Then I used lots of flour to roll them extra thin. I got 10 that were 10 inches approx. They really held up to being rolled this and were very tasty. THANKS very much for this recipe.
You’re so welcome! I’m so excited to hear this, Glen! And yes, resting the dough is really important to be able to easy roll the dough out. If you haven’t done so already, please leave a star rating at the top of the recipe card (between the recipe description and the Print button). This will help other readers know what a great recipe this is and the stars show up on Google and Pinterest too! (And ratings are anonymous!)
Here are the ingredients:
I’m very excited to try this with your instructions. My mom makes the BEST flour tortillas, but mine always turn out like crackers, so maybe the processor will make a difference. Thank you!
Say whaattt? Why did I always assume tortillas were impossible to make? This is totally next on my list!
Annie: They are SO easy – you must try it!
Wow–I can’t wait to try these! I HATE tortillas that crack when you roll them. Question: Can you substitute WW flour, or white whole wheat flour, for some or all of the AP flour? And what’s the best way to store if you want to keep them for more than 5 days? Can you freeze the dough in balls, then thaw in fridge and roll out when needed?
Thanks! (from a new and not-so-savvy New Englander)
Elizabeth: Yes, I believe you can sub in half WW or white WW for half of the white flour. I’d imagine freezing them would be ok since you can freeze store-bought tortillas – make them first then freeze them in a zipper bag. Hope that helps! 🙂
You can use HALF whole wheat flour. And yes… you can refrigerate the balls for up to a month. Just make sure all of the air is sucked from the bag (don’t use Tupperware) or they will dry out and get freezer burn. Thaw them completely (24 hours) in the fridge before rolling them. GrandpaCooks-com
To quickly clarify, you can FREEZE the dough balls for up to a month, not refrigerate. They will definitely go moldy in the fridge during that time. 🙂
Yum! Homemade is so much better than store bought!
When you made yours which fat did you choose? I have heard a combo of shortening and butter is good if lard is not available.
Allison: I used the lard – just lard, no other substitution. It was kind of a leap for me since I’ve only used it once previously in baking but it worked great.
I make tortillas, and I use bacon grease in mine alot, they turn out good.
I use olive oil in mine and they turn out fabulous. I also sub milk for the water.
Good to know!
Great post. I am printing the recipe and will be giving these a try this week.
Dear Tara, my grandmother made some of the best flour tortillas in all of Mexico (having lived there all my life I’ve tried many versions) and your look really good and authentic! I might try your recipe, but yes, lard is the key to the gorgeous results you got. Thank you for sharing it!!!
I LOVE that you made these from scratch – and I completely agree with you regarding making more things just to avoid unpronounceable ingredients! That’s a big motivation for me as well. These tortillas turned out beautifully and I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and I love the inspiration I get from your food…
Javelin: No objections and thanks!
These looked so delicious that Ikept coming back to your site just to look at them! Finally 48 hours later I gave them a try, at 10:45 pm! I started out using my processor, but finally figured out that mine isn’t big enough and couldn’t handle all the flour, so I had to transfer it into a bowl and add more water and do it by hand. I only had shortning on hand and they came out really tasty and lovely. Only problem is they do crack once they begin to cool a bit. May I ask, when you use the lard do they then not crack?
Thanks so much for sharing!
Jennifer: Hmmm, I’ve only made them with the lard so I don’t know if there is a difference. (Something to test out though!) I did, however, keep them stacked between 2 kitchen towels as they came out of the pan which kept them warm and pliable and that may help keep them from cracking. Let me know how your next batch turns out!
Ohhhh my, what a difference! I made them with the lard today and what a different experience! I managed to make the entire thing in my “little” food processor and they rolled out so easily and most importantly didn’t crack! Yay!!!
To others out there a tip of advice – use lard! Plus, make sure your pan is very hot, on my first batch I don’t think it was hot enough because it took about 2 minutes per side to bubble and turn brown, which is probability as to why they cracked.
I so love this blog by the way!
This is kind of off topic, but where did you get your mat for rolling out dough? I’ve been looking for one with the sizes for years.
Krista: I bought the mat from King Arthur Flour. It’s the best mat I’ve ever used!
This may be a silly question, but how do you get yours in a circle once rolled out? When I tried with a different recipe a couple weeks ago, they came out in every shape but circle lol. Any tips would be great! Thanks!
Heather: Honestly, I’m never able to roll anything out into a perfect circle. But here’s how I try anyway: 1) Roll the dough into balls 2) Pat down each ball into a disc and with your fingers, work the disk out into a larger, flatter circle. 3) With a rolling pin, roll the circle out further, starting from the center of the circle and rolling out away from you (don’t roll the pin back towards you). 4) After a couple of rolls, give the dough a 1/4 turn and roll again. Repeat the 1/4 turns and rolling until you have the circle large enough. Remember to keep the board and pin well-floured. Hope that helps!
Heather, I started making tortillas when I was 14….. My mom made them so nice and round, mine were definitely not there yet. I used a plate to make sure they were round, because with three brothers, I would never live it down !! I got better with time, but just make sure you just turn it around more that just twice or you’re making a square….
Great tips, Diana!
Do you think I can use a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook instead? My processor is wayyyy too tiny to handle dough!
Luci: I would just mix the dough by hand. The stand mixer will over mix the dough and make it tough.
I made these tonight with my Kitchenaid mixer…used the paddle until it was time to knead then switched to dough hook for thay.. They turned out PERFECT! 🙂
I have made flour tortillas by hand, by cuisinart 11 cup food processor and by my Kitchenaid.
They all come out great. I ‘ve been using my standup Kitchenaid mixer. I really like how easy it is to use the standup mixer. I use the dough hook. And use very HOT water, not boiling though.
I let the dough rest for about 20 minutes covered. Then I make them to balls. Cover them while I roll one tortilla and place on med or med. hi cast iron griddle. Cold griddle will cause them to get hard.
When finished rolling and cooking them, I place in clean kitchen towel and place them in tortilla
warmer. With left overs , when cool, I place in zip lock bag and place in fridge. Just rewarm and enjoy. They do not get hard.
I hope this helps.
I just want to say that these are very good. I made them because I wanted to see if they would be good as mine or my moms and let me tell you it was pretty close. People always asked me for my recipe but I could never tell them how cuz I never use measurements I just throw it in. So from now on I will give them this recipe. My husband and kids were my judges and they all really liked them. Thank you. Great job!
Adriana: Thanks for letting me know! It’s great to hear that they really are close to authentic and that your family enjoyed them as much as we did. 🙂
I have been making these for years….very similar recipe, but what works best for me and my sister is Crisco, and only that….consistent every time
Janell: Yep, Crisco can be used as a 1-to-1 swap for the lard. The lard is a more natural ingredient than Crisco, which is why I chose to use it.
Can these be frozen? What is the best method for freezing them? Where do you buy lard? I’ve never used it for anything!
Nicole: Yes, they can be frozen. Make sure they are completely cool then stick them in a gallon-size zipper bag and freeze. Lard can be found near the butter in most grocery stores. Hope that helps!
Has anyone tried these with butter instead of lard? I wonder how big of a difference it would make…
Try the butter and let us know how they turn out! One of the commenters (Jennifer) noted that lard yielded a better result than shortening so there may be small differences between the different types of fat.
I always use butter. The only issue is, you have to store them flat in the fridge, because the butter gets harder than the crisco. Butter definitely tastes better.
I used County Crock butter this evening with this recipe, only because I did not have lard on hand. They turned out pretty good and flavorful.
Good to know!! Thanks for coming back with your feedback!
Like Adriana, I’ve been making tortillas for years and never had measurements to give when asked for my recipe. Thank you for sharing this recipe. 🙂
I tried these today. This was my first attempt. I felt the dough was too tough (I did it by hand). I used butter flavored crisco. The did seem to crack and I did keep them in between towels. I will definitely try again. Pretty good for my first attempt!
Some tips from the handed down Mexican family recipe: You don’t need a food processor! Use your hands to break up the butter in the dry ingredients, until its very tiny. Your hands are your biggest asset when getting great tortillas. Once you add the water it gets sticky, but keep going. The masa should be smooth and not sticky when you are done kneading the dough. And, when you roll them, the smaller the rolling pin the thinner they will be. Thick, round rolling pins are generally better for pastries, and although you can use them, you’ll end up with a whole lot of tortilla.
Great tips, Michelle! When you mention masa, do you mean the dough? In this case, masa isn’t the type of flour used (which I can never find in my area grocery stores anyway).
You can find masa harina in a lot of places (even winco) you just have to look in the Mexican food section instead of baking. I use it for a tortilla soup and it took me a while to figure out where to look for it.
I think when she says “masa” she is referring to the dough. In spanish we use the word masa for dough regardless if it’s the “masa harina” store bought stuff, dough for corn tortillas, even the stuff used to make tamales.
Masa harina or Maseca is for corn tortillas and masa trigo is for flour tortillas.
Found this recipe via Pinterest, making them tonight for the second time. Truly the best and freshest tortillas I have ever tasted! I decided to make my own after going GMO free, these were so easy to make and so delicious, I will never buy store bought tortillas again!
Thank you
My mom always mixed dough by hand, never used a food processoe. Still came out so delicious!!
these were absolutely amazing! i did not know i could make these at home and they were so easy!
I have always made flour tortillas but never with lard. They were the best. From now on I will use lard.
My grandmother would turn out dozens at a time but her recipe was completely eye ball so I’ve never been able to duplicate. Hope this works :). By the way…my grandma would talk 2 pieces of paper towel and put them in a zip lock bag. Place your hot off the pan tortillas in between the paper towels. They will stay nice and warm but not wet. We always threw left overs under the broiler with cheese. Oh yeah mmm
Great tip!!
This may be a silly question, but where do you buy lard? We have to be soy-free due to allergies and so all of our meat/products have to come from places that don’t use any form of soy (in feed, in equipment, etc…) and I’ve never once seen lard being offered from the butcher. Is it the same as pig fat? Thank you for a great looking recipe. I may have to just try making it with (raw home-made) butter and see how it works. Can’t wait to try it!!
I found it in my regular grocery store next to the butter. It’s a byproduct of pig fat. Butter will work ok here too in place of the lard.
Lard is by the Crisco in Walmart at least. I’m also very allergic to soy so I know all about substitutions for things.
You can get pig fat from the butcher and render it yourself into lard
I used bacon grease…..
Just made these with vegan substitutes and they were still awesome!
Has anyone subbed coconut oil in place of lard/butter?
yes, I used coconut oil, and it worked wonderfully! I also used all whole wheat flour, and I just had to add a bit more water to make the dough the right consistency. There was too much dry flour at the bottom of the bowl before adding the extra water.
Great to hear about both substitutions! Thank you!!
I’m so glad to hear this. I was going to look for a whole grain recipe & I don’t want to use shortening (trans fats) or lard (EEEWWW, gross). Do you remember how much extra water you had to add?
Just to jump in here, not all shortening has trans fat – Crisco, in fact, cut out the trans fat from their shortening. And lard is just the rendered fat from a pig – it’s not an ingredient to be grossed out by.
Check the Crisco label closely, shortening is generally hydrogenated oil, and hydrogenation produces trans fat. Their label may have such a small serving amount and be able to legally say only ‘1 g’ or something like that, but I don’t think they have changed anything else. Non-hydrogenated lard, on the other hand, is one of those old fashioned ‘real’ foods, better for us in ways we are just beginning to understand.
If the trans fat content is less than 0.5g they are allowed to say trans fat free. This was actually just on my nutritional science exam this morning 🙂
Made these last night (used butter since I was too lazy to go to multiple stores looking for lard) and they were fantastic! So much better than store-bought tortillas. Thanks for the great recipe!
Very yummy tortillas!! I used butter, and used my hands like someone mentioned. So easy!! I also kept them in a large ziplock with paper towels on top and bottom, like someone also mentioned. Perfect!!!
We have been making these for years and found out resting them longer, 45 minutes or more as it makes it far easier to roll thinner. We make them very thin, almost paper thin and they still very pliable. Also we both work at it, I roll them out, she does the cooking and you can go like crazy doing it like that. Two seems so much easier than one doing this…
This is a great suggestion! I thought maybe the gluten needed a little extra time to rest and I’m glad to hear that it does actually make a difference. And I couldn’t agree more on making these with 2 people – it’s a workout for one person!
I am grateful for your recipe. I grew up eating homemade tortillas but mother never measured her ingredients and they were the best homemade tortillas. While I have attempted to make them, it was difficult to get the correct measurements. Thanks. This is a lost art form.
You’re so welcome! I hope this recipe brings back great memories of making tortillas with your mom.
Do you need to grease the pan? I don’t have cast iron; will stainless steel work if I grease it?
I’m not really sure though I think the pan really should be dry. There should be enough fat in the tortillas to keep them from sticking to the pan.
I’m Mexican and my mom taught me how to make homemade flour tortillas years ago, but we have never added baking powder. The rest of the ingredients in this recipe are the same. We prefer to use butter-flavored Crisco shortening. My mom told me when she was in Mexico visiting her sisters, my aunt sent my cousin to the store to buy shortening to make the tortillas. She accidently picked up the butter-flavored Crisco instead of the plain white one. They used it anyways and they said it was the best flavored tortillas they’ve ever made, so that’s what they use to make them now…and it’s true, the buttered-flavored is more flavorful!
Made these tonight and they were delicious! Not sure what I did wrong though, because mine were done after 4-5 seconds on each side in my cast iron skillet instead of the 20-40 called for. Also I could not for the LIFE of me get the things to lay flat in the pan, every time I managed to fold them. Oh well, they still tasted great!
Sounds like your pan was too hot. And I totally hear you about getting them flat in the pan – such a pain!!
About how many Tortillas does this recipie make?
What benefit does the baking powder add? I’ve been making them for years without it, so I’m wondering if I am missing anything or if I should just carry on.
It gives the tortillas a little “lift”. And actually, the more I make them, the more I think they could probably do without the baking powder – sometimes they are just a little too bulky for my liking. Something to think about…
I followed the recipe to a “T” using lard and the flavor is amazing. My only question is this: Did anyone else have a problem with them being crispy? My first ones I left in the cast iron skillet until they got just a tinge of brown in spots and they were stiff like I had grilled them. The next ones I only left until they bubbled, flipped them, and then took them off. These were better than the first ones, but still kind of crispy. Any ideas? Skillet too hot maybe? We ate them all as they tasted great, but could not roll them up at all. Thanks for any help!
Your skillet was probably cold that is why they dried out and turned stiff. Heat the skillet properly first and then cook t.he totillas
I can’t wait to try these! I so love fresh tortillas, I’ve always wanted to make my own, but after stamping and making cards all day long, I never felt I had the kind of time to do this. This seems really easy – I’m trying them tonight. Thanks so much for sharing!
Ugh, these didn’t work for me at all 🙁 It’s probably my fault, considering all the other great reviews, but I found the dough to be too sticky, difficult to roll out, and the tortillas became crispy rather than soft as soon as they were removed from the heat.
I found so too. Not such a great review here. Nothing about this recipe worked for me. As well I had to add prob twice as much liquid as the recipe called for. 🙁
Sounds like you’re both having opposite issues. As when you work with any type of dough, the humidity level in your kitchen will affect the consistency of your dough.
And regarding crispy tortillas, yes, your pan was probably too hot.
Do these freeze and if so do they defrost ok?
Yes to both. Freeze them in a gallon-size freezer bag and let them thaw at room temperature. They won’t take long to thaw so try to keep them wrapped up in a kitchen towel so they don’t dry out.
Could I use salted butter but cut back on the added salt?
Definitely! I would cut the salt in half, at least.
I didn’t have unsalted on hand either so I just used regular ole salted butter and did a flat tsp of salt rather than a heaping one and the flavor was great!
I agree with Michelle you don’t need a food processor. I’m Mexican and I never buy flour tortillas. I make mine with whole wheat flour, King Arthur is the best. I never use shortening it is bad for you, and I don’t like the taste of the lard. I use oil or olive oil. I measure the flour by weight in grams (that is the way I learned from my mom in Mexico. 500grams flour needs 125 grams of grease. I use warm milk instead of water. They are soft and delicious.
Maggie, what are the proportions you used for all your ingredients?
These were very good! Best recipe I’ve found so far that comes close to my mom’s tortillas. Sadly they still don’t measure up to hers :{ and like many Mexican mommas, she doesn’t measure anything either! Glad to have found this!
I made these to go with our shrimp tacos last week and they tasted really good, however, I wasn’t happy with their consistency (I guess that’s what you’d call it). They seemed really thick even though I rolled and rolled and rolled. Also, I couldn’t get them to be nice and round like yours are (though that may just be practice).
Tips for rolling them out thinner? I was thinking of adding a little bit more water to thin out the dough. What do you think?
let the dough sit longer, someone mentioned 45 minutes to get the gluten to relax more. also a skinny rolling pin instead of the standard ones that are in most kitchens help push the dough thinner. hope it helps!
I used a tortilla press and it was much easier to make even circles. Is there a reason I shouldn’t use it, though? I have only used it for corn tortillas and I’d heard you weren’t supposed to use it for flour ones… Also, my tortillas stuck to the cast iron pan a little bit and the pan started smoking a LOT by the time I was done. :-/ Pan too hot? When I turned it down, they didn’t puff very well.
All that being said, the tortillas were delicious. Thank you!!!!
If a tortilla press works for you, by all means use it! Most people don’t have this tool in their kitchens (including myself) so that’s why I don’t use one here. I’m not sure about the general consensus about not using one for flour tortillas though.
you can get flour tortillas to spread in a press, that I’d amazing! Lol. The reason a press isn’t used with floor tortillas is because of the gluten. They don’t press down like the corn tortillas do. After 40+ years of making tortillas by hand, my mom tried cutting corners and using a press and it didn’t work.
It’s sounds like a great recipe. I’d like to know if I can use a different flour instead of white?
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OK, so the taste is awesome. But unfortunately, even only rolling a few at a time, they still dried out before I could cook them so they didn’t turn out the same. Thoughts on how to rehydrate them? I still have most of the batch left to cook
P.S. My apartment is really dry for some reason. I’m getting a humidifier, but might that be the problem?
A super dry kitchen could very well be an issue, yes. Try keeping the remaining dough balls and rolled-out ones under a barely-damp kitchen towel or paper towel while you cook the others. When I make these, I only roll out one dough ball while one is cooking, so that there is one just ready for the pan when one is finished cooking. You have to work sort of quickly this way but it helps to keep the dough from drying out. I hope this helps!
Yeah, I probably should’ve only done one at a time instead of a few. But the damp paper towel thing is definitely something I’ll try. Thanks!
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I tried this recipe and it tastes really good! 🙂 God bless! 🙂
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Oh yeah…I bet bacon fat makes some pretty amazing tortillas!
This is awesome to hear and I’m so happy they turned out great for you! Now on to yeast breads for you! 🙂
They should puff a little when you cook them but you could try cutting back on the baking powder a little so they turn out a little thinner. What kind of fat are you using? If you’re using butter, the evaporation of the water in the butter could cause them to shrink. Otherwise, you can try letting the rolled out dough rest for a couple minutes to allow the gluten to relax before you cook them. I haven’t had trouble with tortillas shrinking, but those are my two thoughts about why it could happen. Keep me posted!
If they’re getting hard when cooling, you’re probably cooking them for a little too long. Next time, try cooking them for less time and keeping them wrapped up in a kitchen towel right after they come out of the pan.
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I have been looking for a tortilla recipe that I can work with and I just got done with making these and they turned out perfect! Definitely using this one from now on! Thanks for the super easy to follow recipe 🙂
Yay!! So great to hear, Amy! Thanks for coming back to let me (and others) know!!
On 10/17/2017 I made this recipe. Was very pleased.
Today, February 11, 2019 I made again, but using 4 Tablespoons of cold bacon grease and only 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. I used 1 cup of HOT water plus 2 Tbsp. .
Perfect and did not have to flour board. Soft and pliable!
Made in my standup mixer with dough hook.
Next time will only use 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Hi Cecilia! Love the changes that you made to this recipe, especially the bacon grease as the fat source! Delicious idea! Thanks for coming back to leave a review and your changes!
These were the best I have ever tried to make at home. I rested the dough before making balls and after. Then I used lots of flour to roll them extra thin. I got 10 that were 10 inches approx. They really held up to being rolled this and were very tasty. THANKS very much for this recipe.
You’re so welcome! I’m so excited to hear this, Glen! And yes, resting the dough is really important to be able to easy roll the dough out. If you haven’t done so already, please leave a star rating at the top of the recipe card (between the recipe description and the Print button). This will help other readers know what a great recipe this is and the stars show up on Google and Pinterest too! (And ratings are anonymous!)