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Mexican · Tex-Mex

Flour tortillas

Non-vegetarian

Tortillas de harina

Soft, pliable, thin wheat tortillas made with lard and cooked in seconds on a hot comal. Far more tender than shop-bought.

Flour tortillas is a Mexican bread from Mexico, ready in about 1 hour 15 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and lard. It serves 10 and is rated easy to cook.

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No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
20 min
Cook
15 min
Rest
40 min
Total
1 h 15 min
Serves
10
Level
Easy
Calories
163

Ingredients

10 tortillas

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, salt and baking powder (opens in a new tab). Rub in the fat with your fingertips until it disappears into the flour, then add the hot water and mix to a soft dough. Knead 3–4 minutes until smooth.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Divide into 10 balls (about 50 g), cover and rest 30 minutes so the dough relaxes and rolls thin without shrinking.

    • 30 min

  3. Step 3

    Roll each ball into a thin 20 cm round, turning it a quarter turn after each pass to keep it circular. Stack between floured baking paper.

  4. Step 4

    Cook on a dry, hot griddle or pan over medium-high heat for 30–45 seconds, until bubbles form and the underside has light brown spots; flip and cook 20–30 seconds more. Stack inside a towel straight away.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Northern Mexico, Mexico · Commonly attributedWheat tortillas are characteristic of northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua) and the US Southwest.Also popular in United StatesMore food from Mexico
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method
Toasted
Taste
mild, savoury
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Pescatarian, Pork-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly · Freezer-friendly · Make-ahead
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Lard · Baking powder
Techniques
Toasting · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

163 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 50 g · recipe makes 10

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 8%
  • Carbohydrate 57%
  • Fat 35%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy163 kcal327 kcal
Protein3.1 g6.2 g
Carbohydrate23 g45.9 g
Net carbohydrate22.1 g44.3 g
Sugars0.1 g0.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.8 g1.6 g
Fat6.3 g12.6 g
Saturated fat2.4 g4.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol6 mg11 mg
Sodium257 mg514 mg
Salt equivalent0.6 g1.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
32 mg
Calcium
19 mg
Iron
1.4 mg
Magnesium
7 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0.2 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
87 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Wrapping hot tortillas in a towel lets them steam and become soft and floppy.

Common mistakes

  • Overcooking makes tortillas stiff and crackly — they should only be lightly spotted.

Serve with

  • Use for burritos, quesadillas, breakfast tacos or with carne asada.

Storage

  • Bagged at room temperature for 2 days, refrigerated 1 week; freeze with paper between up to 2 months.

Reheating

  • Warm 10–15 seconds per side in a dry pan.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in step 1

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 20 min

    Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

  2. Rest · about 30 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 15 min

    Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

  4. Start to finish: about 1 h 5 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour300 g100%
WaterWater175 g58.3%
LardFat60 g20%
SaltSalt6 g2%
Baking powderRaising agent2 g0.7%
Total flour
300 g
Hydration
58.3%
With milk, eggs…
58.3%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
  • Salt 2% — normal for bread.
  • Fat 20% — a rich, tender dough.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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