Tortillas are the perfect vessel for your summer tacos – keep reading to learn how to make the easiest flour tortillas ever!
For the first year of Ryan’s life, I was off dairy and soy completely. He had MSPI, or milk-soy protein intolerance, and the proteins going to him through my breastmilk made him incredibly uncomfortable and sick. Did you know that soy and/or dairy is in just about everything delicious? Yeah. It is.
Because of this, I found myself doing a lot of research to make things myself. I learned to make breads and muffins and sweets without dairy and soy and I learned which alternatives would work best in my favorite recipes. Which is how I came across this recipe for tortillas, tweaking it here and there to make it even easier.
The original recipe for these flour tortillas is from the famous Rick Bayless (posted here) It’s good, but it requires too much hands-on work and I’m lazy and I usually have a kiddo in one hand, so kneading for any amount of time is a pain. So today I’m sharing my recipe and method for the easiest flour tortillas you’ll ever make.
Note: if you can’t have soy, skip your normal shortening (vegetable shortening is actually soy, which I think is obnoxious since it usually has pictures of carrots or something on the container.) and check out Spectrum shortening – it works like normal shortening minus the soy. (You can also use it in place of butter for some pretty tasty chocolate chip cookies!)
Easiest Flour Tortillas
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons of shortening or lard (here I used Crisco, but I also like using 2 TBS bacon fat and 3 TBS shortening.)
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine salt, flour, and lard. Using the dough hook, mix on level 2 or 3 for 2 minutes until everything is combined. If you see the fat sticking to the sides, stop and scrape the sides. (You can use the whisk or paddle attachment, but that’s just another dish in my world.)
Once combined, add water and mix for 3-4 minutes on level 2 until one solid ball is created. If it looks like there is extra flour/it’s a little dry, add in more water 1 teaspoon at a time. If the dough is sticky or wet, add in flour at the same rate.
Your dough should be soft, but not sticky. If you push it, the mark will remain and it will stay however you shape it.
Divide you dough into 12 portions and make balls. Cover for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Roll to your desired thickness (I like to make mine on the thicker side, since it is more forgiving when you cook it.)
To cook:
Preheat a large pan to medium heat. (In the summer, I cook them out on the grill. To do this, put your grill to high and place your oven safe pan inside. Cook each tortilla 1-2 minutes per side with the cover closed.) Place one rolled out tortilla into the center of the pan and cook 2-3 minutes. Flip once it starts to get slightly golden, and then cook another 1-2 minutes.
Cover cooked tortillas with a kitchen towel while you cook the others. Serve immediately. Leftovers are tasty, but not as tasty as fresh ones!
So tell me – favorite thing to make from scratch? Ever tried making flour tortillas? Let me know in the comments!
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Heather @ Polyglot Jot says
Yum! I feel ya on the dairy–now its second nature to me though. Its amazing how quickly we can adapt when we have to! I wonder if i could make this with rice flour? It’s hard when you cant have dairy or gluten because often times its either/or for people!
Morgan says
Ugh, that has ot be rough! I think a gluten free flour option would work – the dough is super glutenous/stretchy, if that makes sens.e
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
Awwww! I’ve never made fresh tortillas and this looks amazing. Totally trying this soon! Pinned!
Morgan says
Yay! Let me know how it goes – they’re so, so tasty.
Kendall says
This is very similar to a recipe I use as well. I’m so happy I discovered making tortillas. I love it and we’re guaranteed at least once or twice a month to have tortillas as part of our dinner meal! (I often will make a double batch for this reason.) 🙂
Morgan says
yes! they’re so tasty and easy – I was shocked the first time I made them.
emily @ a little bit of emily says
Wow, these do sound easy! I would have never thought to try to make them myself!
alexandra @ my urban family says
These actually seem easy to make – I honestly had no idea! Looks like I’m going to need to try this instead of buying these all the time.
Morgan says
Right? That’s how I felt the first time I made them. I was like, what is this magic, and where has it been my whole life?
Kristy from Southern In Law says
These look soooooo good! Homemade tortillas and flatbreads are so much tastier than store bought!
Morgan says
Right?! It’s a shame because for the most part, it’s a real pain (though, not these) I wish I lived near one of those places where they make htem fresh for super cheap every morning.
Elizabeth @ Guilty Chocoholic Mama says
I share your love for homemade flour tortillas, Morgan! My family thinks I am a kitchen rock star when I make these for them (I like to use my big electric griddle to make things go more quickly…lots of surface space there), and we maintain that practically anything tastes good wrapped in one of these! Blessings to you…stopping by from Coffee & Conversation!
Morgan says
The griddle is such a great tip! I need to pull mine out of storage, ha!
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says
Oooh I’m so not a fan of most store-bought tortillas. Homemade is the way to go! Love how simple this looks!
Morgan says
I’m very picky about my store bought tortillas – I mean, I’ll eat them because carbs, but homemade.. can’t beat ’em!
Katie says
Homemade tortillas are so delicious! I’ve been looking for a recipe to try. These look amazing and so simple to make. I’m going to have to give them a try! Mexican inspired food is our favorite. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Janet Vinyard says
Thanks for sharing this recipe as I haven’t found a flour tortilla recipe that works for me. I look forward to trying this soon. Blessings, Janet
Charlene Asay says
I would love to make my own tortillas. Thanks for the recipe. I hope you join us at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party again. Sunday-Wednesday. Check us out http://thinking-outside-the-pot.com/?p=2847
angie says
so many lessons to be learned here. Many go together to create a delicious meal. Goes to show we can all learn something every day
come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Miz Helen says
There is nothing like a homemade flour tortilla, these are wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday, your recipe is great! Hope you have a wonderful week and come back to see us real soon.
Miz Helen
Marie says
These look super easy and delicious! We love using tortillas for our lunches. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipe with us at Merry Monday this week!