Flour Tortillas
by Mely Martinez, “Mexico in my Kitchen”
![Flour Tortillas](images/flour_tortillas_01.jpg)
Homemade Flour tortillas are more common in the northern states of México, where they are still made using a traditional recipe.
New Mexican Vegetarian Easy prep10 mins cook20 mins total time1 hr yields10 tortillas calories147 addedFebruary 2024
Making the Dough
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra to form tortillas
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup shortening or lard
- 1 cup hot water (as needed)
- In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, salt, and mix. With the help of a fork, pastry blender or your hands, incorporate the shortening or lard until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Slowly add the hot water a little at the time until the dough holds together. Do not add all the water at once.
- Turn dough onto a work surface, and knead for a couple of minutes until it is smooth.
Form the Dough Balls
- Divide the dough into 10 equal portions, rolling every piece on your work surface with the palm of your hand to form a little disk.
- Cover the dough balls “Testales de harina” with a damped clean kitchen towel, plastic wrap, or a piece of parchment paper and let the dough rest for 30-45 minutes.
- The resting period will develop the gluten, and forming the tortilla disks will be easier. Be sure to complete this step.
Rolling the Flour Tortillas
- After the resting period, place an ungreased griddle/comal (this can be a pan or skillet) over medium heat.
- Grab your rolling pin to form the tortillas on a lightly floured surface. If you add too much flour to the surface, your flour tortillas will be dry.
- Now, place the dough ball onto the working area and press slightly with your hand; set the rolling pin at the center of the dough ball and press forward without making it to the edge and then press backwards towards yourself, stopping before the edge.
- Turn the tortilla 45 degrees (like a half-turn) and repeat pressing forward and then towards you. Flip the tortilla and repeat the same process until you have a thin disk of about 10 inches. If you are new to rolling tortillas, be patient; it takes a little practice.
Cooking your Tortilla
- Next, place the tortilla on your already hot griddle or comal. This step is a really quick one: be careful with your timing.
- During the first 20 to 30 seconds, the tortilla starts forming air bubbles, and light brown spots will show at the bottom side of the tortilla.
- Turn the tortilla, and during the next 20 seconds, more air bubbles will continue to form.
- turn again; at this time the flour tortilla will puff up like in the picture above. This last step will take about 10 seconds. Remove the flour tortilla and wrap it with a kitchen towel. Keep making the rest of the tortillas until you have a whole stack.
Nutrition
calories147 total fat7g saturated fat1g total carbohydrates23g protein3g sodium233mg calcium13mg iron1.5mg potassium53mg