Easy Homemade Flour Tortillas

Homemade Flour Tortillas: Yes. You. Can. Homemade tortillas are delicious and not tricky at all to make. This recipe calls for 5 ingredients — there’s no yeast, no kneading, no long rest periods, and no special equipment required here. Simply mix, roll, heat, and you’re done!

There was a period many years ago during which I ate Taco Bell once a month. And I loved it. I more than loved it, in fact — I looked forward to it: From prying open the steaming nearly transparent tortilla holding oozing cheese and beans to smothering the open burrito with hot sauce, this monthly burrito ritual felt like such a treat.

While it has been years since I have eaten at Taco Bell, at the time — when I was just beginning to learn about feedlots and their impact on the environment and animals — I was very grateful to have access to a satisfying, vegetarian meal I could grab on the go. Bonus: the beans were truly tasty! Cooks Illustrated agreed: Taco Bell Home Originals Refried Beans prevailed as the winner of their refried bean taste test.

I can’t ever seem to find those Taco Bell beans, but other brands of refried beans — I like Trader Joe’s — work just as well in my experiments to recreate the bean-and-cheese burritos at home, which is a very simple process. But do you know what the key to making especially delicious homemade bean and cheese burritos is? Making the flour tortillas from scratch.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Store-bought tortillas are convenient, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t always have a stash of them on hand. That said, they are loaded with ingredients — have you ever looked at a tortilla package label? For something that should only require 5 ingredients (or less, see below), it’s shocking to see. I have no doubt all of those ingredients help keep the tortillas soft and pliable for weeks, which is something impossible to achieve with homemade tortillas.

When I have the time, I make the tortillas from scratch. Homemade tortillas are so much tastier than store-bought tortillas, and they are not at all tricky to make. The dough requires no yeast, no special equipment, minimal kneading, and just a short 30-minute rest before being rolled.

Here’s an overview of how you make them:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt
2. Cut softened butter into the flour mixture.
3. Stir in lukewarm water with a fork until a shaggy dough forms.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes, just until the dough comes together.
5. Cut the dough into small pieces; shape each into a ball.
6. Cover with a tea towel. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes and up to two hours (at room temperature or 24 hours in the fridge).
7. Roll out each ball into a thin, flat round.
8. Cook tortillas in a hot, dry skillet for about 30 seconds a side.

The History of Flour Tortillas in Mexico

Before I looked into the history of flour tortillas, I suspected flour tortillas were an Americanized version of Mexican corn tortillas, adapted to make use of the plentiful wheat we have available in the States. What I learned, however, is that wheat, introduced by Spanish conquistadors, has been cultivated in the Northern Mexican region of Sonora for over 400 years, and it continues to thrive there today. In Sonora, tortillas are typically made with flour.

Traditionally, moreover, Sonoran flour tortillas only contain four ingredients: flour, water, fat, and salt. The fat can vary from lard to shortening to oil to butter.

A few years ago, I discovered Caramelo Sonoran-Style Flour Tortillas. They offer three varieties — duck fat, pork fat, and avocado oil — and each is incredibly delicious. They are made in the traditional manner with only 4 ingredients, and they have ruined all other store-bought flour tortillas for me.

So why, you might wonder, do I use baking powder in the recipe below? Until I get around to revisiting this recipe, I use it for the added assurance that the tortillas bubble when they hit the hot pan. I will update the recipe once I give the non-baking powder version a good go.

5 Recipes to Make with Your Homemade Flour Tortillas

There is a simple recipe for a vegetarian refried bean and cheese burrito in the notes of the recipe box below, and here are five other recipes to make with your homemade flour tortillas:

1. Vegetarian Tortilla Casserole
2. Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
3. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos
4. Weeknight Tacos (This is the recipe I made a double batch of every other week.)
5. Sweet Potato Quesadillas

PS: Homemade Sourdough Flour Tortillas

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