Recipes

How to Make Flour Tortillas

Let’s be clear: We love all flour tortillas. But homemade flour tortillas are next level. They come off the skillet fresh and smooth — no dry, flaky layers here — and they taste soft, lightly sweet, and bready.

Once you’ve made a stack, you’ll want to use them for everything. We made them to go with our amazing brisket tacos, and they’d be a natural for enchiladas, quesadillas, and wraps. Folks around here have been stealing them for snacks — they’re great dipped in hummus, slathered in salty butter, cinnamon, and sugar, or plain. And, yes, you should definitely make tortilla chips with them.

Our tip: Tortillas fare well in the freezer. Make a double batch (or a triple, if you’ve got a family of tortilla eaters) and stick a dozen or so in the freezer for future dinners, snacks, and Taco Tuesdays.

Yield: 12 to 14 tortillas

Ingredients

⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp shortening or lard, heaping

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp salt

1 ¼ cups hot water

Directions

  1. Cut the shortening into teaspoon size pieces, and then combine it with the flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until combined but not over mixed.

  2. Add the hot water and pulse until incorporated and you have a sticky dough.

  3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

  4. Divide the dough into 12 to 14 even portions.

  5. Lightly flour the portions, roll them into balls, and gently press them — you want to flatten them slightly.

  6. Cover the dough balls with a damp (not wet) tea towel or linen towel, and let them rest for 30 minutes.

  7. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough balls into tortilla rounds — they should be about the thickness of a penny.

  8. Heat the skillet or sauté pan to medium-high heat.

  9. Place the tortillas in the pan one at a time, cook for 30 to 45 seconds. Flip them, and cook the second side for 30 seconds. Place the warm tortilla on cooling rack.

  10. Repeat with remaining tortillas until you are out of dough. Eat immediately or store in an airtight container for a week in the fridge or two months in the freezer.