Great Tortillas Recipe To Make At Home

This tortillas recipe makes tender, flavorful tortillas that are perfect for folding over, or wrapping around, your favorite ingredients. Their taste and texture cannot be rivaled by store bought tortillas.

They are so delicious you can even eat them just as they are. That’s right … no toppings, no filling just warm, fresh homemade tortillas straight from the pan.

Be careful though … you don’t want to eat so many that you don’t have a few to make yourself a really tasty taco, burrito, or quesadilla.

WHY YOU NEED THIS TORTILLAS RECIPE

You need this tortillas recipe in your kitchen recipe arsenal to up your taco night game for sure. But that’s definitely not the only reason to keep this recipe on hand.

There are many great dishes that you can make with this easy to put together kitchen staple. But we’ll cover that later on in the post.

For now, know that this recipe will serve you well by changing the way you think of tortilla shells forever.

Tortilla shells are not meant to be flat and flavorless. The product you pick up in the store pretty much resembles a lightweight cardboard. They are not tender and tasty at all.

Once you’ve made your own, and you see the difference they make in your tortilla dishes you’ll never go back to store bought again.

Additionally, you can make your shells any size you choose. This comes in handy when you want to make an extra large burrito for a hungry guy, or a few mini quesadillas for a charcuterie board.

And, most importantly, you control the ingredients that you put in your homemade tortillas. I’ve never looked at the ingredients that are listed on store bought tortillas, but I do know that they can sit on a store shelf an awful long time without going bad.

And that just simply isn’t how bread is supposed to be. I prefer to make fresh bread products in my own kitchen. They taste better and they are better for you, it’s a win-win!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS TORTILLAS RECIPE

The ingredients in this tortillas recipe are very basic, it’s almost guaranteed that you already have them in your kitchen.

Here’s what you’ll need to make them …

• FLOUR – Organic all-purpose white flour is a great choice for this recipe. I have not experimented with other flour, but I do know that cornmeal makes a great tortilla. I once had them prepared for me by a native Guatemalan, and they were outstanding. I intend to experiement with other flours in the future. Perhaps you will too.
• BAKING POWDER – This ingredient helps to keep the tortilla shells soft.
• SALT – Salt enhances the flavor of the shells, as it does in any recipe.
• WARM WATER – The water brings all of the ingredients together in this recipe. It should be warm, not hot.
• OLIVE OIL – Extra virgin olive oil provides fat to this recipe as well as flavor. You can use other liquid oils in this recipe. Consider what flavor profile they will provide before choosing them.

HOW TO MAKE TORTILLAS

This recipe is very easy to make, and overall it doesn’t take a lot of time to do. Granted, it takes a little chunk of time to roll out the dough and fry the shells.

But … the upscale in quality and flavor of the finished product is definitely worth the investment.

I’ll go over the basics of the recipe here to give you an idea of what it takes to make them. You can find measurements and more detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

To start you’ll need to mix your dry ingredients, create a well in the center of them, and add your wet ingredients.

Mix them together, from the outside in, until you have a shaggy dough.

You should end up with a reasonably smooth dough ball.

Cut that dough into 12 equal pieces, lightly roll each piece into a dough ball (don’t overwork them), and roll them in flour. Then cover them with a clean towel and allow them to rise for 30 minutes.

Once the dough has rested, roll each ball out into a thin tortilla. Stack them on a plate, lightly coated them with flour between each layer.

Finally, fry the shells on a hot skillet, browning each side lightly.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THIS TORTILLAS RECIPE

There are a few tips and tricks that will help you get the very most out of this tortillas recipe.

Here’s a list of the for you …

• You can use any oil you like for this recipe. The oil is a big part of the flavor. So, make sure you consider that when choosing your oil. My personal preference is extra virgin olive oil or farm fresh lard.
• Resting the dough before rolling it out is very important. It relaxes the gluten and makes rolling the tortillas much easier. It allows the dough to keep it’s shape once it’s rolled. Don’t skip this step.
• Roll the tortillas until they are almost translucent when you hold them up. This will ensure that they are nice and tender once they’re cooked.
• Cook the tortillas just until there are a few light brown spots on the surface of both sides. Don’t overcook them, as this will make them stiff.
• Stack the tortillas on a plate, and keep them covered with a clean towel as you’re cooking them. They will ‘steam’ each other as they sit. This helps achieve the perfect texture in the finished product.

WHAT TO DO WITH TORTILLAS

One of the greatest things about having this tortillas recipe in your kitchen recipe arsenal is that it is so versatile.

You can use it to make tacos, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, and wraps. It’s also great for quesadillas. And … oh my … there are so many varieties of that tasty appetizer to experiment with. It’s exciting just thinking about it.

You can top them with pizza toppings and make thin crust pizzas from them. They’re absolutely delicious. Be sure to go easy on the toppings as they make a very thin crust.

They can be cut into strips and deep fried to make really great tortilla strips for the top of your favorite dinner salads.

Or they can be cut into triangles and deep fried to make homemade tortilla chips for your favorite dipping sauces. Take the time to make yourself some homemade guacamole and pico de gallo for an especially outstanding snack.

Or you can take those same tortilla chips and roll them in cinnamon sugar for a nice little sweet treat.

HOW TO STORE TORTILLAS

The shells that this tortillas recipe make keep very well. I’m seeing that most bloggers out there are recommending putting them in the refrigerator the day you make them.

I wouldn’t do that. This is bread folks … it doesn’t need immediate refrigeration. AND it’s exponentially better when it isn’t refrigerated.

If your shells are still hanging around after a couple of days, you can go ahead and refrigerate them to extend their lifespan.

I’m also seeing it recommended that you warm them before using them after they’ve been refrigerated. And you can absolutely do that if you are making a recipe that benefits from it.

But, it’s not really necessary. They come to room temperature in a very short time. You can warm them up in your hands for goodness sake.

As a matter of fact, I’m sitting here eating them straight out of the container I stored them in the refrigerator in as I write this post. No complaints … they’re FANTASTIC!

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