How to Make Flour Tortillas at Home

After learning How to Make Flour Tortillas at Home, you’ll never go back to the store bought kind! These tortillas are easy to make and so darn delicious. 

Growing up Italian, I’ve always been an Italian-food lover. But, as I’ve grown, I think Mexican food has quickly forged its way to the top of my list. I mean, there are so many good Mexican recipes to try!

Making Mexican food at home is so much fun, but I never thought I’d be able to make tortillas at home! After some experimenting, though, I realized it was possible and now I LOVE them! I’m so excited for you to make this recipe too.

Recipe Origins

Flour tortillas are, of a course, a staple in the United States when eating Mexican (and Mexican-American) food. 

Traditionally, corn tortillas were the popular tortillas choice, stemming from the Aztecs up to 12,000 years ago! 

Flour tortillas are a lot more recent, and, as far as can be told, were invented in the 1500s or 1600s. Many believe that flour tortillas actually have Christian and Jewish roots! It is estimated that flour tortillas were born when Spanish Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition and settled on the Northern border of Mexico.

At the time, corn was not allowed to be eaten during Passover (and other holidays), so the Jewish had to find a different way to enjoy tortillas. And so, the flour tortilla was born! 

Why Make this Recipe

1. So Much Better than Store Bought: Sometimes when you buy store bought tortillas, you can just taste that they’re packaged. Does that make sense? Making your tortillas fresh from home is the perfect fresh recipe!
2. Great for Quesadillas: I made these homemade flour tortillas because I wanted to make some good, high quality quesadillas! Using homemade flour tortillas meant that I could have thicker, more sturdy tortillas for my quesadillas! 

What Do I Need to Make this Recipe? 

Ingredients 

1. Flour: All purpose flour 
2. Oil: Vegetable Oil 
3. Other: Baking powder, salt, warm water 

Tools 

1. Parchment Paper
2. Rolling Pin: I love this wooden rolling pin. This one should do the trick!
3. Small Skillet: I love this combination of pots and pans from Cuisinart. 

How to Make Flour Tortillas 

Step 1: Make the Dough

Add the flour, salt and baking powder together and mix with a fork. Add the water and oil and mix again until a dough forms. 

Put the dough on a floured board or countertop and knead for about 5 minutes. 

Place the dough in a glass bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes. 

Then, cut the dough into 8 pieces.

Step 2: Roll out Tortillas

Roll each portion into a ball and place between two pieces of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a thin, 8-10” tortilla. 

Step 3: Cook

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tortilla until slightly charred and large bubbles form. Flip and cook on the other side. 

Remove to a plate and cook the rest. Enjoy! 

Expert Tips

• If you don’t have a rolling pin, you can just use a bottle of wine or a similar sized bottle like I use in the photos! 
• You can also use a stand mixer to knead the dough if you prefer 

Recipe FAQs 

How Long Will Flour Tortillas Stay Good? 

Store your tortillas in a plastic resealable bag. Add a paper towel into the bag so that the paper towel will absorb any moisture in the air before the tortillas do. 

They should keep well in the bag for about 7 days or so. 

What Should I Make with Tortillas? 

The options are endless for recipe ideas to make with your new tortillas! Some good ideas include: 

• Quesadillas
• Burritos
• Tacos 
• Tortilla Chips 
• Breakfast burritos 
• And so many more

And (just an extra piece of advice) if you have some extra corn tortillas laying around, try making these Garnaches from Belize 😉

Did you like this recipe for How to Make Flour Tortillas? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you: 

• Pineapple Coconut Agua Fresca from Mexico 
• Lobster BLT Scrambled Eggs
• Salsa Eggs
• Pico de Gallo 
• Pineapple Corn Salsa