Homemade Flour Tortillas are a delicious and versatile addition to any meal. These warm, pliable tortillas are perfect for soft tacos, burritos, and pinwheel roll up appetizers. Made with simple ingredients like all-purpose flour, vegetable oil, and hot water, these tortillas are a breeze to prepare using a tortilla press.
Why You'll Love This Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe
Homemade tortillas offer a superior flavor and texture to store-bought versions. By making your own tortillas, you can control the ingredients and create a fresh, customized product. Made with basic pantry staples, you can personalize them with your favorite flavors and herbs.
- Soft and pliable: These tortillas stay tender and flexible, making them perfect for rolling, folding, or stuffing without tearing.
- Customizable flavor: A touch of butter or a pinch of salt can be adjusted to suit savory or slightly sweet fillings.
- Quick and fresh: Made from scratch in minutes, they taste far better than store-bought and add a homemade touch to any meal.
Ingredients Overview
Simple basic pantry staples are all that's needed to make these quick and easy homemade flour tortillas. The tortilla press smashes them thinner than you can get with a rolling pin, so I do highly recommend the investment in one.
- All-Purpose Flour - You can use whole wheat flour as well.
- Boiling water
- Vegetable oil
- Salt
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas
Made with simple ingredients like all-purpose flour, vegetable oil, and hot water, these tortillas are easy to prepare and can be customized to your liking.
Using a tortilla press makes it a breeze to create these perfectly round and thin tortillas. With a little practice, you'll be rolling out tortillas like a pro in no time. The satisfaction of making your own fresh tortillas is unbeatable, and the flavor is incomparable to store-bought versions.
Step 1: Mix the salt into the flour in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.
Step 2: Add the boiling water and the oil into the middle of the bowl of flour.
Step 3: While the dough is hot, form six equal sized balls.
Step 4: Place between parchment paper and set in a tortilla press and flatten. They will be about 8 inches.
Heat a skillet to medium.
Pro Tip
If you don't have a tortilla press, you can roll them out using a rolling pin. But, the tortilla press is much faster and easier.
Step 5: Place a tortilla in the pre heated skillet. Cook 2 minutes on each side.
After removing from the skillet, either spritz with a mist of water, or cover with a cloth.
Flour Tortilla Serving Suggestions
With these homemade soft flour tortillas, you can elevate your Mexican dishes and enjoy the satisfaction of creating your own fresh and flavorful ingredients.
The tortillas will be hot and firm when first removed from the skillet. The trick to have soft pliable tortilla wraps is for them to soften as they cool, then store in a bag. You can do this several ways.
Substitutions and Variations
Some useful tips and substitutions when making this recipe:
- Substitute the flour with a gluten free flour blend such as gluten free oat flour, rice flour, tapioca, etc.
- Make green spinach wraps by adding three tablespoons of spinach powder to the flour mixture. Dried, powdered vegetables are available in many grocery stores.
Tips for Success
Helpful tips to help you when making this recipe:
- Use hot water: Incorporating hot water into the dough helps relax the gluten, making the tortillas soft and pliable.
- Rest the dough: Let the dough rest at least 20-30 minutes before rolling to prevent shrinkage and toughness.
- Roll evenly: Roll each tortilla to a consistent thickness to ensure even cooking and proper puffing. Use a tortilla press for the best results.
- Preheat the skillet: Cook tortillas on a hot, dry skillet or griddle for the best texture and light golden spots.
- Don't overcook: Cook each side briefly-just until spots form-to keep the tortillas tender and flexible.
Storage Options
Here is how I store leftovers when making this recipe:
- Store leftover tortillas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To reheat, warm them up on a skillet or griddle.
- You can also freeze them for up to a month.
Related Recipes
- Cinnamon Bagels with Cinnamon Crunch Topping
- Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Hungarian Nut Roll Recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Tortillas can turn out dry and brittle if the dough is not rested long enough or if the pan is too cool or too hot, so be sure to let the dough rest and cook each tortilla briefly on medium‑high heat to keep them soft.
Some recipes include baking powder to give a slight puff and lift, but you can leave it out if you prefer flatter, more traditional tortillas.
Using hot water helps relax the gluten and incorporate the fat into the dough, which leads to a softer and more pliable tortilla.
Yes, using solid fats like lard or butter adds flavor and affects texture, with lard giving a richer, traditional result, though vegetable shortening or oil can also work.
Appetizer Bread Recipes
Get the Recipe!
Homemade Soft Flour Tortillas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup water boiling hot
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- Measure the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the salt. Mix well. Make a well in the center of the flour.1 cup whole wheat flour, ½ teaspoon salt
- Pour the oil and boiling water into the center of the bowl of flour. Use a spatula and mix the hot dough until it is smooth and forms a ball.½ cup water, 2 teaspoon olive oil
- Divide the ball of dough into six equal portions. Flatten them between parchment paper in the tortilla press to about 8 inches each.
- Preheat a skillet to medium high.
- Lay out a tortilla wrap onto the hot skillet. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until they are bubbly and lightly browned.
- Set cooked tortilla wrapper on a cloth dish towel or plate. Repeat process with remaining rolled out tortilla wrappers.
- If needing softened wrappers quickly, use a spray mister of water and spritz them lightly. They will soften for rolling naturally though if let to sit covered with a clean cloth dish towel. Serve with fajitas, make soft tacos, use a sandwich wraps.
Notes
- Use hot water: Incorporating hot water into the dough helps relax the gluten, making the tortillas soft and pliable.
- Rest the dough: Let the dough rest at least 20-30 minutes before rolling to prevent shrinkage and toughness.
- Roll evenly: Roll each tortilla to a consistent thickness to ensure even cooking and proper puffing. Use a tortilla press for the best results.
- Preheat the skillet: Cook tortillas on a hot, dry skillet or griddle for the best texture and light golden spots.
- Don't overcook: Cook each side briefly-just until spots form-to keep the tortillas tender and flexible.
Kelly says
We really enjoyed this recipe.