After years of making tortillas at home, I can tell you that homemade flour tortillas from scratch are far easier to make than you think. These are soft, hold stuffing well without cracking, and also store well, You need only pantry staples and a few tips to make the best tortillas that are perfect for making chicken tacos, chicken wraps, or breakfast quesadillas.

Reaching out a packet of flour tortillas is always convenient. But once you start making at home with simple, clean ingredients, you will see the world of difference in taste. I am not claiming that making tortillas at home is easy; you definitely need some practice to get the dough consistency right and roll them thin enough. I have been making them forever, and I will share a few tips that will help you navigate through any issues and get the best results.

5 Pantry staples to make Flour Tortillas

Flour– Regular all-purpose flour works the best. Look for brands that are slightly higher in protein, like King Aurther, for better gluten development.
Fat – Olive oil ( not extra virgin). You can also use Butter or lard.
Salt –Without salt the tortillas will taste bland. So don’t skip it.
Sugar – Add just a little bit of sugar to the dough; I like a hint of sweetness to it.
Baking powder- It’s optional, and sometimes I do skip adding it, still get good results.

Step-by-Step Instructions

I am sharing the recipe for kneading dough by hand. Using a stand mixer makes the process even quicker and easier. Use the dough hook of the mixer, and the dough will be ready in no time. If doing by hand, use a sturdy wooden spoon or dough mixing whisk to bring together the dough.

Begin by mixing flour, baking powder(if using), salt, and sugar in a wide mixing bowl.
Drizzle oil and rub flour in between your fingers to create a crumb-like mixture.

Add dry ingredients for flour tortilla and bring everything together.

Add half a cup of lukewarm water and start mixing the flour with hand or wooden spatula.(Make sure the water is just warm enough to handle with bare hands, otherwise, wait for a few minutes before starting to mix). Then add a tablespoon of water at a time and keep stirring until the dough is slightly sticky and starts pulling away from the edges of the bowl.
Shift the dough to a clean working surface or if the bowl is wide enough you can knead the dough right in there. Knead it for 5-6 minutes until the dough no longer sticks to the palm and it forms a smooth crack free ball. Cover with damp cloth and let it rest for 10-12 minutes. ( use a dough scraper if required to bring together the dough while kneading)

Divide the dough into equal portions, working with one portion at a time and keep the rest covered with a damp towel. Roll each portion into a smooth ball without any cracks. Lightly dust with flour and roll in to a thin circle. Keep dusting with a little flour to prevent the tortilla from sticking while rolling.

Portion the dough and roll into smooth dough balls.

It’s important to use a heavy bottom skillet, that heats evenly. Once it is medium hot, place the tortilla. Let it cook undisturbed for about 20-30 seconds. Once you start seeing small bubbles, its time to flip and cook again on medium heat.

Roll into thin circle and cook in hot skillet.

Why use olive oil in the dough?

Traditionally lard is used to make tortillas. But many recipes also call for butter. I personally prefer olive oil as it has a neutral taste and even after refrigerating the tortillas, they remain moist. Also makes the tortillas vegan. You can definitely substitute the oil with butter or lard.

Can we use whole wheat flour?

Whole grain Wheat flour has low gluten content but it can be used to make flour tortillas. Wholegrain flour needs extra water for the dough. Knead for an extra 2-3 minutes to develop gluten and get a soft dough. The final texture of the dough might not be as soft as the earlier one, but its tastes great.

Why are my tortillas dry and have cracks on them?

There could be many reasons for this.

First, if the dough is too tight because of less water used.
When the dough is not kneaded enough, there is not enough gluten developed. You should aim for a dough that is smooth, soft, and forms crack-free balls.
The third reason could be that you have used excess flour while rolling and the dough has absorbed the excess flour, hence dry tortillas.
The last reason is that the pan was not hot enough, and you might have cooked the tortillas a little too long to get the bubbles.

How to get perfectly round flour tortillas?

Well, I don’t mind having tacos or wraps made from tortillas that are not perfectly round. It takes time and practice to roll perfectly round ones. I have a hack for this, and no one can even guess ( pssttt…). Use a lid (around 8-10 inch diameter) with sharp edges, and once you roll the dough into a circle, cut out a perfect circle with the lid.

Recipe Tips For The Best Result

Dough consistency- It might be tempting to add all the water together. But every flour is different and absorbs different amounts of water. So always begin with 1/2 cup of water and then add a tablespoon at a time until you get a slightly sticky dough. Too thin dough, it’s messy to roll the tortillas, and a tight dough will yield dry tortillas.
Don’t skip resting the dough- Resting the dough relaxes the gluten and also allows the flour to hydrate. Post resting, handling the dough becomes much easier.
Rolling tortillas- Roll tortillas with gentle pressure on the rolling pin. Dust flour a little by little to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. Its tempting to add too much of flour, but too much flour would give dry tortillas.
After rolling the tortillas, brush off as much extra flour as possible before cooking on the pan.
Once rolled, don’t keep the tortillas for too long. It is better to cook them as soon as they are rolled.
Keep the shaped dough covered with a damp cloth and work with one dough ball at a time.
Cooking – The skillet temperature needs to be just right. If the skillet is not hot enough, tortillas will take longer to cook and will dry out. Too hot the pan and the tortillas will burn on the outside instantly, while still undercooked inside.
Here is a tip that is nowhere mentioned: after you flip the tortilla, while it is cooking, gently press the edges of it to the tortilla with the back of a spatula to cook it evenly, even around the edges.

Ways to use flour tortillas

There are various ways you could use flour tortillas. In most of the recipes, you can even interchange flour and corn tortillas.

Make a filling wrap for a quick lunch – Grilled Chicken Wrap , BBQ Chicken Wrap, Buffalo Chicken wrap , Protein packed spicy chickpea wrap.
Off course you can use torillas in lot of Mexican recipes like Taco – Shredded Chicken Taco, Spicy Tilapia Fish Taco, Buffalo Chicken Tacos, Black bean taco
Quesadillas – Loaded vegetable quesadillas , to fuel your mornings Breakfast quesadillas.

Homemade flour tortillas

Course breads

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

rest time 10

Soft as cloud, my homemade tortilla recipe is very easy to make with pantry staples and you will never go back to packed ones.

Ingredients

Instructions

Making dough

In a wide mixing bowl add flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Whisk it well.
Drizzle olive oil and rub the flour mixture in between your fingers until you have a crumb-like mixture. (just like you make pie dough)
Add half of the water(1/2 cup) to the flour mixture and using a wooden spatula/hand stir the mixture. Then add rest of the water little by little while mixing the dough with the other hand. (Make sure the water is just hot enough and you can handle it with your hand). When the dough is slightly sticky and pulls away from the edge of the bowl stop adding any more water.
Shift the dough to a clean wooden working surface. Knead for 6-7 minutes until the dough doesn't stick to your hand, it forms a smooth crack-free ball.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. (This step is essential for the gluten to relax, flour will hydrate and make it easy to handle the dough).

Shaping and rolling tortillas

Divide the dough into 8 larger or 10 smaller, equal pieces. Shape each portion into soft crack-free balls. Keep shaped dough balls covered with a damp cloth(to prevent it from drying) while you heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
Working with one dough ball at a time. Place it on a lightly floured work surface and dust it with a little more flour on top. Gently flatten the ball into a disc with your finger. Roll it roughly into a 4-inch circle, sprinkle a little more flour, and flip the tortilla. Roll again until you get a circle of about 8-9 inches.

Cooking Tortilla on stove top

Brush off any extra flour from the tortilla and gently flip on to the hot griddle. Let it cook on medium heat for about 1- 2 minutes, you will see small bubbles appearing on the surface and brown golden spots underneath.
Run a spatula under the tortilla to release it from the pan and then flip it. Cook again for another 1 minute. Gently press the tortilla with the back of the spatula around the edges so that it gets cooked evenly.
Stack the cooked tortillas in a container lined with a dry kitchen towel. If you would like to keep the tortilla until served, keep them wrapped in a kitchen towel in an insulated container. It will easily stay warm for a couple of hours.