Small Batch Flour Tortillas
This small batch tortilla recipe makes 4 to 5 soft, homemade flour tortillas with just four pantry ingredients and no yeast. The dough comes together in minutes and needs only a rolling pin and a skillet.
Servings: 5 tortillas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons salted butter -softened to room temperature, or use vegetable oil or lard
- ½ cup hot water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- If using butter or lard, work it into the flour with your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse, wet sand. If using oil, add it in the next step with the hot water.
- Pour in the hot water (and oil, if using) and stir with a fork until a dough begins to form.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 1 minute until smooth. If the dough sticks to your hands, add a small amount of flour.
- Divide the dough into 4 or 5 equal pieces and roll each into a ball.
- Cover the dough balls with a clean towel and let them rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll out all the dough balls before cooking. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a round about 8 inches across. They do not need to be perfect circles.
- Heat a cast iron skillet, nonstick skillet, or griddle over medium heat until hot.
- Place one tortilla onto the hot skillet and cook for about 30 to 40 seconds, until bubbles form on the surface and light brown spots appear on the bottom.
- Flip and cook another 20 to 30 seconds until light brown spots appear on the second side. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean towel to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Notes
Don't skip the rest. If the dough springs back when you try to roll it, it needs more time. Give it another 10 minutes and it will roll out easily.
Keep the surface lightly floured. Too much flour on your work surface will make the tortillas dry. Just enough to keep the dough from sticking is all you need.
Roll thin for the best texture. Tortillas puff up slightly as they cook, so roll them thinner than you think you need to. Thicker dough will produce a stiffer tortilla.
Watch your heat. Medium heat is the target. If the tortillas are browning in under 20 seconds, the skillet is too hot and the tortillas will turn stiff. If they take longer than a minute to get brown spots, raise the heat.
Roll all the tortillas before you start cooking. These tortillas cook in under a minute per side, so you want to give the skillet your full attention. Roll out all the dough balls first, then cook them one at a time.
Stack and cover immediately. As each tortilla comes off the skillet, stack it on a plate and cover with a clean towel. The steam from stacking is what keeps them soft and pliable.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tortilla | Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 233mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 2mg
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