I’ve been wanting to try making homemade flour tortillas for a long time! This week is the start of Lent, so I’m posting a fish taco recipe in homage to the Lenten tradition of meatless Fridays–that gave me the perfect excuse to just bite the bullet and try tortillas!
And you know what? They were actually quite easy to do! I was afraid that they would be finicky. That I’d roll them thin and then they would tear when I tried to transfer them to the pan. That I’d burn them or not be able to tell when to flip them over.
I shouldn’t have worried. The dough was quite elastic and held together without tearing. The tortillas started to puff up in places as they cooked, letting me know it was almost time to flip them over. . . the only issue I had was letting my cast iron skillet get a little too hot initially–the first 2 came out great but then the 3rd one was iffy. I turned down the heat a tad, waited a few minutes and we were fine.
I’m so glad I tried this recipe. It’s very easy and they are inexpensive to make. It also means I can put burritos and enchiladas on the menu without worrying about buying tortillas–I can always whip up some of my own!
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 3 C Flour or more as needed
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 C lard
- 1 - 1 1/2 C Warm Water
Instructions
Make Dough:
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Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl
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Work lard into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse cornmeal. (I just use my hands)
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Add 1 C water, mixing gently with a fork until it starts to clump up, and eventually sticks together. You may need to use additional water.
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Turn dough out of bowl onto a flour surface and knead for several minutes until it forms a nice ball. (I had to keep sprinkling the counter with flour to keep it from sticking)
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Cover with a cloth and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
Roll out tortillas:
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Heat cast iron skillet on medium
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Take a golf ball sized piece of dough
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Roll in flour
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Place on floured counter and roll it into a very thin circle. I reposition the dough several times by picking it up and giving it a 1/4 turn to get more of a "circle"
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Cook Tortilla in dry hot skillet for 1-2 minutes per side.
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Tortilla should not look doughy when done.
Note: You could always use shortening instead of lard.
You go girl!! Once you start making them though, you’ll never want store bought again. And it doesn’t matter what shape they are, they still taste good!!! 🙂
Lori-Seriously, these are just as quick to make as biscuits. . . and making them is even cheaper then buying them. Plus I get to control the ingredients (I’ll be trying 1/2 home ground whole wheat soon). It’s a win however you look at it!
About how many would you estimate that this recipe makes? Also – would a regular non-stick skillet work?
ACK! I meant to put that in the recipe (DOH!) This made about 12-14 small flour tortillas for me. I’ll go back and edit the recipe now so that it will be in there.
The nonstick skillet would work as well. Just remember-you don’t need any oil–the point is to sort of “toast” the outside of the tortilla, not to fry it 🙂 Nobody wants a greasy tortilla. . .
Thank you for the confidence to try this! I used an electric skillet and most of mine look more like Florida than circles, but they taste great!
Woohoo! Way to go Adrienne-I’m so excited that you tried them! I bet your family was impressed 🙂
I think the circle thing is just a knack–and you’ll get the hang of it the more often you make them.
Yummy!
Thanks! I have been wanting to learn how to make these. They are always on our grocery list and have recently gotten terribly expensive.
Cristy–I’m sure you won’t be sorry!