Homemade Flour Tortillas
So I recently decided to attempt making tortillas- which I’ve always been very intimidated about. My goal was a semi-translucent tortilla made with lard, and I got pretty close to what I set out to do, minus a nice round tortilla shape, I assume that’ll come with practice.
After a decent amount of research, I learned that the style that I admired the most is Sonoran style- where they use lard and roll the dough out very thin. I ended up using a little more lard than normal recipes for a more translucent pliable tortilla.I did go against the traditional method by using baking powder to ensure some bubbles.
I really liked the way these turned out and I’m excited to play around with it! The whole process was a lot easier than I anticipated, just a little tedious. Enjoy!
Homemade Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 4–5 tablespoons lard (or butter/shortening)
- ¾ cup boiling water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Add the lard and rub into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Slowly pour in the boiling water while stirring with a wooden spoon or hook. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead for 2–3 minutes until smooth.
- Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to relax the gluten.
- Divide into 8 equal pieces (about 73 g each). Roll into balls, cover, and rest 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball very thin, about 8 inches across.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high. Cook each tortilla for 30–40 seconds, until blisters appear. Flip and cook another 20–30 seconds. Flip once more for 5–10 seconds if you’d like extra mottling. DO NOT cook them for too much longer or they will become crispy like a cracker.
- Stack tortillas immediately in a clean towel or tortilla warmer so the steam keeps them soft and pliable.
