Homemade Flour Tortillas - With only four simple ingredients, flour tortillas are surprisingly easy to make at home from scratch! They are about a hundred times better than store bought tortillas although they do require a little more work.
Once you get the hang of making your own flour tortillas, it will get easier and easier and you'll never want to buy store bought again! It's like when you go to an authentic Mexican market or restaurant and you get that floury delicious tortilla and it makes your meal that much better. This is it!
I use bread flour when making flour tortillas because it gives the tortilla the perfect texture and flavor. But, I have used regular all-purpose flour and the taste is pretty similar. So, if you don't have bread flour on hand, by all means use all-purpose flour.
I have never tried using whole wheat flour when making tortillas at home from scratch. If you decide to use wheat flour in this recipe, let me know how it goes. Although, I can almost guarantee they will taste nothing in comparison to using bread or all-purpose in this recipe.
Freshly made tortillas make amazing burritos, tacos, taquitos, flautas, fresh made chips, enchiladas and more! I will link some of my favorite recipes for you to try made with flour tortillas below.
This recipe makes about 12 small taco tortillas, or 6 large burrito tortillas.
Ingredients you need to make flour tortillas at home from scratch:
- Bread Flour (recommended) although you can use all-purpose flour
- Butter
- Baking Powder
- Water
Tools to have on hand:
What to make with these delicious homemade tortillas?
- Baked Chicken Flautas - Shredded chicken rolled in flour tortillas baked to crispy perfection. These flautas make for a perfect appetizer, party food, lunch or dinner!
- Easy Chicken Tacos - Easy stovetop chicken tacos served with fresh pico de gallo done in under 30 minutes.
- Baked Chicken Burritos - Â Shredded rotisserie chicken, black beans, cilantro lime rice and stuffed into flour tortillas. The burritos are then smothered in red enchilada sauce and baked.
- Restaurant Style Bean and Cheese Burrito - Â Made with homemade refried beans, cotija cheese and topped with sour cream, guacamole and salsa! The key to a real Mexican restaurant style bean and cheese burrito is the beans!
- Easy Mexican Shredded Chicken - Quick and easy Mexican style shredded chicken done in under 20 minutes! This shredded chicken is perfect for making tacos, enchiladas, salads, burritos, chili and more.
How to make homemade flour tortillas from scratch:
In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, add softened butter, flour, hot water and baking powder.
With the mixer on low speed or with your hands, gently knead until dough comes together. Then, cover bowl with towel and let sit for about 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a long skinny log about 12 inches long and cut about every inch for small taco sized tortillas. For burrito size tortillas, cut every 2 inches. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each tortilla thin.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is nice and hot, cook tortillas one at a time for about 20-30 seconds on each side until tortilla gets light brown spots (shown in photo below). Repeat with all tortillas.
How to store homemade flour tortillas:
Storing homemade flour tortillas is best when placed in a storage bag and left on the counter for up to 48 hours. They are best served fresh!
You can also freeze homemade flour tortillas. If you want to make a large batch and just thaw them as you need, this is the way to go. To thaw the flour tortillas, leave them out on the counter until they come to room temperature. You can lightly heat the tortillas on a skillet prior to serving.
Here are some absolutely delicious side dishes that go great with homemade flour tortillas:
- Authentic Mexican Refried Beans - These beans are the ones you hope to get on your plate when eating real Mexican food. They go great as a side dish or in a burrito, and more! Â
- Mexican Rice - Simple Mexican Rice is the perfect side dish to go along with your enchiladas, tacos, tamales, burritos and more!Â
- Guacamole- My husband makes this tasty guacamole at least once a week! When it’s avocado season, it’s more like 3 times a week and I am definitely not complaining! It’s the perfect guac and you can whip it up in less than 5 minutes.Â
- Spicy Pineapple Avocado Salsa - Â Fresh chunks of pineapple, avocado, tomatoes, peppers and cilantro with a touch of fresh lime juice, salt and pepper.Â
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bread Flour or all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Butter softened
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- â…” cup Hot Water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, add softened butter, flour, hot water and baking powder.
- With the mixer on low speed or with your hands, gently knead until dough comes together. Then, cover bowl with towel and let sit for about 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a long skinny log about 12 inches long and cut about every inch for small taco sized tortillas. For burrito size tortillas, cut every 2 inches. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each tortilla thin.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is nice and hot, cook tortillas one at a time for about 20-30 seconds on each side until tortilla gets light brown spots (shown in photo below). Repeat with all tortillas.
Stephani Johnson
Can you do a gluten free flour?
Amanda Cooks & Styles
Hi Stephani! You can most definitely use gluten-free flour. :)Amanda
TERESA BERRY
These sound amazing! Could I use a neutral oil instead of butter? Would I use the same measurement as the butter?