I LOVE homemade flour tortillas!
As a child, I remember going over to a friend's house when her mother made fresh tortillas. The smell filled the house and we would line up to get them fresh off the grill. They were delicious all by themselves. But add a little butter or cinnamon sugar and they were heaven. Fast forward a few years, and head to Austin, TX. At Central Market on Lamar (either location), you'll find fresh tortillas made in the store. My favorite were the butter tortillas. They brought me back to my childhood in Southern California. They were ohhhh so good and much better than any other store bought tortillas I'd had over the years. I remember buying several dozen at a time to bring back home and freeze until I needed them.
When I went back to California, there was a local store that carried fresh tortillas. They didn't make them in the store, but they were very close to Central Market's and my friend's kitchen. A few doors down from the grocery store was a taco shop that had killer carne asada burritos. They were a meal in themselves (think 12 inches long and about 4 inches in diameter filled with marinated flank steak, pico de gallo, and guacamole).
About a year ago, I learned that I was lactose sensitive. So no more butter tortillas for me. I started looking at the ingredients in tortillas available at the grocery store hoping for something without butter.Let's just say I wasn't happy with the ingredients I was finding. So I dug out my old recipe for flour tortillas with butter and started to experiment with different oils and flours. This recipe is as close, if not better than, the ones I had in my childhood. It calls for all purpose flour. I tried whole wheat in different proportions and it didn't work. Only the white flour made tortillas the way I like them. I also tried different oils (except canola and corn because I don't use them). Olive oil and coconut oil were the best two. The olive oil had a more authentic taste than the coconut oil. But try it for yourself. After trying this recipe, you may never buy store bought tortillas again.
Homemade Tortillas (with oil, not butter)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the oil and water until well combined. If using a mixer with dough hook, knead until dough becomes smooth. You may have to add a little extra flour. If hand kneading, turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 10-12 times until you get a smooth dough. Let the dough rest about 15 minutes.
- Separate dough out into 8 pieces. Roll out each tortilla on a floured surface until dough is about 6-7 inches wide. The tortilla will be as thick as two quarters stacked on top of each other (just under 1/4 inch).
- Heat a pan on medium. ( I like to use an iron skillet because it distributes heat more evenly). Place each tortilla in the hot pan and cook for 30-45 seconds, or until light brown. The tortilla will begin to fluff up as it cooks. Turn the tortilla and continue to cook for 30 seconds or until light brown.
- Remove from pan and keep warm. To keep the tortillas warm, you can cover them with a kitchen towel, place in a covered dish, or in a special tortilla warmer.
You'll want to make a double batch of these homemade flour tortillas every time. One batch is never enough! Little hands always sneak into the kitchen when I start making these. There are just too hard to resist.
Try these tortillas with melted shredded cheese (quesadilla), cinnamon sugar or drizzled honey, with your favorite taco fillings, or in one of these recipes.
Pollo Corrido (Fast Chicken Tacos)
You’re right about corn tortillas. They are good, but with some things, there just isn’t a substitute. I didn’t try them with gluten free flours. Let me know how they turn out.
I hope you enjoy them. I like to bake these tortillas with a little cinnamon sugar.
These sound and look amazing! I tried home made tortillas once and they came out really crispy and not foldable at all. I’m going to try your recipe soon.
Laura, I didn’t have any trouble with these not being foldable. After cooking each tortilla, I place them into a covered dish to prevent them from drying out. Let me know how they turn out for you.
in a attempt to save money I was looking up recipes for tortillas and I found this one. 🙂 turned out good…better then expected, and saved me money. 🙂
I really enjoyed your tortilla recipe that you shared at my Shine a Spotlight Linky Party this week. I’ve never made tortillas before but now I’m inspired to try. Thanks for stopping by and sharing and be sure to stop by again on Saturday. Your recipe might be one of my featured posts!—Deb at DialMforMoms.com
I’ll be sure to stop in again and join on Saturdays. If you get the chance to make homemade tortillas, you’ll won’t be sorry. They are so much better than anything you get at the store.
These sound delicious, Nicky. I’m pinning them, and am going to give them a try. Did you try any combination of white and whole wheat flour? When I make bread I find that I can add some whole wheat, but not 100% (or my family balks!)
I’ve been able to add half whole wheat and half white wheat without any problems.
Oh my gosh! I have been trying to figure out how to make these for a while now! I am TOTALLY trying this recipe this week! 🙂
Let me know how they work out. If you want to use butter, just substitute melted butter for the oil.
Yum! These look so soft and yummy! I have never found a good tortilla recipe that is soft like these. Thanks for sharing!
I hope you enjoy these. If your tortillas are too crispy, try turning down the heat a little. They should always be soft when you take them off the riddle. Store them in a covered container or dish towel to keep them soft and warm.
I’ve only ever made homemade tortillas once and they were corn ones but these look delicious, thanks for the recipe.
As a young teenager I made lots of homemade bread and tortillas. Pretty sure I used crisco in both. I’m trying an experiment and will be using coconut oil as the shortening ingredient in a batch of tortillas. Keeping my fingers crossed but if they don’t turn out right, I’ll try the olive oil.
Coconut oil works great too. The taste is a little different though.