Quickly scan this ingredient list:
Bleached wheat flour, interesterified soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, water, sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum sulfate, monocalcium phosphate, sugar, sodium acid pyrophosphate, calcium propionate, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, monoglycerides, enzymes, sodium stearoyl lactylate, wheat starch, sodium metabisulfate.
When combined, these ingredients will make:
A) cement
B) barbiturates laced with bleached flour
C) flour tortillas from a big supermarket chain
If you guessed A or B you were close!
And here is the ingredient list for your soon-to-be incredible homemade flour tortillas:
Homemade Flour Tortillas Recipe
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, 3 Tablespoons lard, 1.5 teaspoons salt, 1 cup warm tap water.
Four ingredients!
They taste better than storebought tortillas.
They are healthier.
They cost 8 cents each.
And luckily they cannot be used as a cement alternative.
Before we make them, let’s talk about ingredient #2 up there: lard. Be honest, are you magnetically repelled from lard and anything that even remotely resembles it?
That’s OK, it’s a tough word to swallow.
Lard.
I am biased because I use it all the time. When done right it can be one of the cleanest fats out there. It’s balanced more towards unsaturated fats, so it actually has more in common with olive oil than it does with butter. At the very least, it can be considered an equal alternative to conventional fats and oils.
Please try making homemade tortillas with good quality lard at least once in your life. Yes, you can make them with conventional oils, just know that every time you do you are causing Mexico to shed a tear. (Here's a version made using olive oil.)
Most local butchers, and some gourmet stores, will carry farmer direct lard in their freezers. This is a good option for your first batch of homemade tortillas. Here’s what it looks like in my butcher's freezer:
Of course, you can always make your own lard too. It’s super easy and will keep in the fridge for months.
That's what we are using today, but it's definitely not a requirement for these homemade tortillas. (Here’s a step by step tutorial on how to make your own lard if you want to try it eventually.)
The least attractive option for lard is the baking section of your supermarket where you’ll find shelf-safe lard that’s loaded with hydrogenated oils. This isn't a viable long term solution for your blossoming lard needs.
OK, got your lard handy?
Stir the salt into the flour. Add the lard and use your hands to mix it in.
Coat each bit of lard with flour and squish it between your fingers. You’ll feel it disintegrate into the flour mixture.
Once all the lard is mixed in, add the warm tap water.
Stir it as much as you can with a spoon and then dump the whole thing onto a flat surface.
Knead this clump into a ball and keep adding the stray bits of flour. Continue kneading until you have a cohesive ball.
Cover and let rest for 30-60 minutes. This will make the dough less elastic when rolling it out.
After resting, divide into golf ball sized chunks and roll them between your hands.
Dough balls this size will make tortillas 5-6 inches in diameter. If you have time, let these rest for another 15-30 minutes. It's OK if you don't, they will just be a little more elastic when you roll them out.
I like to roll these out super thin, to the point where you can almost see through them. Using a tapered rolling pin will help as it’s easier to push into the middle of the tortilla, but a standard rolling pin works fine too.
Keep flipping them over and rotating them so you are always rolling in opposite directions.
If they are sticking to the surface or the rolling pin, add a light dusting of flour onto the rolling pin.
Don’t worry about making them into perfect circles. It’s impossible to do, and if they have irregular shapes they will taste better.
Heat up a comal or skillet to medium-high temperature. On my stove 6 out of 9 on the big burner does the trick for these tortillas.
Add the tortilla to the comal. Cook until you see bubbles forming:
Ideally, this will happen in 45-60 seconds. If it's taking longer to bubble raise the temp of the stove. If they are bubbling instantly then lower the temp.
When you flip it over you'll see some light brown spots. Perfect!
Cook the opposite side for the same amount of time and set aside to cool.
Continue with the rest of the batch, but be sure to take a moment to do some quality control:
This batch made 14 thin, light, delicious flour tortillas.
Using an ingredient list that was 4 entries long.
These will keep in the fridge for at least a week but they come with special permission to eat as soon as possible.
If you botch a few of them don't fret, it just takes a few tries to get the heat and timing of the stove right.
Once you've got that down you'll always have the option of making a batch of these beauties.
Use liberally for your tacos, enchiladas, and late afternoon snacks. Not recommended as a cement alternative.
Enjoy!
(Update: I recently tried making these flour tortillas with bacon fat and was pleasantly surprised by them. See here for results.)
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Homemade Flour Tortillas Done Right
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons lard
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Add the salt to the flour and mix well. Use your fingers to crumble the lard into the flour mixture. Add 1 cup warm water and stir as much as you can with a spoon, then dump onto a flat surface and knead into a cohesive ball. Let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Tear into golfball sized chunks, rolling between your hands to shape them into smooth balls.
- Use a rolling pin to roll them out approximately 5-6 inches in diameter.
- Heat a comal/griddle to medium high temperature and add a tortilla.
- Cook each side for 45-60 seconds or until light brown spots form.
- As one tortilla cooks, roll out the next to expedite the process.
Notes
This article we wrote on types of tortillas has a current list of all the tortilla recipes we have on our site.
You might also like our homemade bolillos recipe.
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Diane
Tortillas, oh what an art. I have been around homemade tortillas my whole life, my aunt made her last batch of tortillas at 97 two years ago, rolling away and cooking on a placa( iron hot plate). Two people in my life time my Abuela and my Tia, two of the best flour tortilla makers. I can only hope to be that good someday, it has not happened yet after 55 years. Never give up, keep trying, even if they look like the moon or the cow, they taste great. My grandfather did make his own lard and we also had chicharones tasty. A metal pipe cut to size cleaned over and over before use, or the end of a broom handle cut, sanded and seasoned well as a rolling pin, just the right size. Happy Rolling!
Patrick
Thanks for your note Diane. Now that you mention it, a heavy metal pipe might be really handy in getting the tortillas super thin!
Thomas
Well, tried the ethnic markets and none of them sell pork fat or lard, just the hygrogenated stuff; the same with the high-end gourmet markets. Luckily, the local, high-end butcher shop sells pork leaf fat, and it turned out that the local mid-range supermarket sells pork back fat; though, the leaf fat was less expensive than the back fat, for some odd reason. But all is well, and I’m looking forward to making some flour tortillas in order to make some beef taquitos (with some Wagyu beef a friend gave me). I’m assuming that I can use my tortilla press, which I’ve been using to make corn tortillas.
Patrick
Hi Thomas thanks much for the lard trip report -- I remember noticing the same thing, i.e. the hydrogenated stuff everywhere but real lard and back fat being very scarce. Seems kinda backwards. And that is kind of strange that the leaf fat would be cheaper as usually it's the opposite.
I think you'll be very satisfied though if you make a batch of flour tortillas with some home-rendered lard, they are scrumptious! Also keep in mind that you won't be able to use the tortilla press with the flour tortillas. Those work with corn tortillas but it is easiest to get the flour tortillas thin by using a rolling pin. Good luck!
shirley k smith
oops you do have a cook book right? I did sign up for your emails great! Hubby liked tortillas so much he decided to make me a roller specially for them this morning how cool is that!
Patrick
Ha that is awesome. Yeah I have an e-book on Amazon that you can find through the Ebook link in the main menu of this site -- no hardcover book yet but it's on my list!
shirley k smith
OH boy! I made these this morning WOW love them reminds me of my mexican friends Mom's tortillas when I was growing up down Houston way! Love this its a keeper and I am looking forward to more recipes from your site and hope to purchase your cookbook too.
Great wording and photos to keep me interested.
Hubby is out making me a special wooden rolling pin as I type 🙂
Patrick
Hi Shirley thanks much for the feedback, I'm glad they are keepers for you -- makes me crave a batch!
Angela
Great recipe! I've used one like this in the past, but the rest period for the dough truly is a major key to success, and patience rolling the dough will also result in getting to a larger, thinner tortilla. Seems to me that letting them rest after you roll them out as well helps a little more with the way they cook. I rolled 11, 9-ish" all at once keeping them between was paper until I could cook all at once. Beautiful!!
Patrick
Awesome, thanks much for your notes Angela! Sounds like your patience paid off -- that can be the hard part, especially when you're hungry!
Vicki
These were wonderful. I did use coconut oil because I didn't have lard when I saw this recipe. I have never made tortillas before but now I will always make them fresh because they are so easy... and only four ingredients! I can't wait to try the chipotle tortillas too. Thank you for sharing.
Patrick
Thanks much for your note Vicki! I've gotten a couple emails from people using coconut oil in this tortilla recipe and it makes me curious! Might have to try a batch....
Seb
Hi there, I made this as described (well 1.5x ingredients). Tasted awesome, but I had trouble with thickness; I couldn't roll them out nice and thin...seems to thick or too elastic.
Full disclosure... I didn't measure exactly, but close. And resting time was not as suggested (many others things going on in the kitchen).
Any suggestions why? Too much lard? Resting time not correct?
Patrick
Hey Seb, thanks much for the tortilla trip report!
I know exactly what you're talking about as I've been there. I don't think it was the lard -- I've tried this recipe with more lard before and it didn't affect the thickness but they did come out quite greasy.
Letting them rest a bit longer should help as I never have trouble with them snapping back or being elastic when rolling out. But most importantly I think it's worth pushing the boundary when rolling them out as it's kinda surprising how thin you can get them. Rolling from the center outwards seems to help (as opposed to rolling all the way across) and I use a tapered rolling pin to dig into them but you can get by with a standard rolling pin too. They'll almost turn transparent when rolled out super thin and I like them best this way.
Hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.
P.S. What lard did you use?
seb
I have a wooden press from mexico I wanted to try out. With this recipe, it was fairly useless. I ended up resorting to a roller pretty quick. I didn't have a tapered one on hand. I will try again... maybe with a little less other stuff going on in the kitchen (..this may have been an issue).
I found "Dana Elsita pork lard Manteca" in the mexican section at my grocer.
Thanks
Patrick
Yup I've been seeing those wooden presses around lately too, you will probably have better luck with it when making corn tortillas.
Sounds like it might be worth a Round Two to test the thinness boundary. One other thing to consider....when I first starting making tortillas at home I had visions of making ultra-thin burrito sized tortillas on the cheap. Over time though I found it easier to make thin tortillas in the soft taco realm, i.e. not as wide. I found that these were much easier to manage and still tasted great. So reducing the dough ball size can be a good way to experiment with how thin you can get them.
(Okay good just wanted to make sure you weren't using the lard from the grocery's baking section.)
Yvonne Fitzpatrick
Just curious Patrick, why do you discourage baking aisle lard?
Patrick
Hi Yvonne, I usually don't buy the baking aisle lard because it's been hydrogenated to increase shelf life and can be a bit trans-fatty:
https://www.healthline.com/health/ways-to-avoid-hydrogenated-oil
If you have the option of buying lard from a local butcher (usually in the fridge or freezer) then you'll usually get a cleaner product.
Hope that helps a bit, let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers.
Blanca
Tortilla pressers are for corn tortillas , not flour tortillas 😉
Cece Ortiz
The absolute key is to let the dough balls rest covered for at least an hour more if you have time. This allows the fat to rise to the surface of the dough ball and soften it. If you try to roll them out as soon as you make the dough they will just spring back. Once the "masa" has rested get a small plate with flour flatten dough ball and dip in plate dusting both sides. Another tip, roll out as round as you can then pick up and stretch the tortilla into a thinner circle.
Lisa
The trouble with rendering your own lard is trying to find the proper fat. I went to three local butchers and all of them told me they cannot get leaf fat because pigs are now bred and raised to be so lean that there is little to no excess fat on them to sell separately. I was very disappointed, as this was something I wanted to try. Fortunately, there are some artisan lard and tallow makers now and I can always find it at Whole Foods or similar stores.
Patrick
Thanks for your note Lisa! Wow this is kind of surprising to hear. Can I ask....were you looking for only leaf fat or did you ask about back fat as well?
Chantel
These are delicious! I substituted the lard for coconut oil and they turned out fantastic. Even my 2 year old loved them, and that says a lot! Thank you for the recipe!
Patrick
Wow thanks much for the feedback Chantel, really good to know they work using coconut oil. Glad they were a keeper for you 🙂
Paul
I've heard that it works better with fats that are stiff at room temp, like coco, lard, or butter. I like to use half shortening, half butter. Such beautiful pictures on your website, really nice. Thank you.
Patrick
Hey Paul thanks for your note! Cheers.
keithy
The lard from my local supermarket here in Edinburgh, UK seems OK. The only additive is rosemary extract which apparently is an anti-oxidant. The flatbread which I made previously weren't particularly good but using lard really does make a big difference. Thanks for your tip.
Patrick
Awesome, great to know Keith! Sounds like you already have a good option to get some quality lard, but don't forget that it's super easy to render your own and a single batch tends to last for months in my fridge. Good luck!