Stuff You Need
- 250g AP flour
- 4g salt (I use diamond crystal)
- 62.5g fat (lard, tallow, Crisco, butter, etc.)
- 137.5g very hot water (just under boiling, ~190F)
Add the Flour to a Large Mixing Bowl + Your Salt
Mix everything well to incorporate.
Then take your fat (in my case, Crisco) and crumble it into the flour like you would for a pie crust; You want the mixture to be pebbly throughout the flour.
To be honest though, I almost always just use a food processor for this and let it run for ~10 seconds. Then I grab some ensure it’s “pebbly.”
I always have Crisco (vegetable shortening) on hand so that’s what I use.
Lard is far more traditional but I only have it if I render it – I’ve also used beef tallow successfully many times.
Butter can also work, but butter also contains water which may throw off the percentages above where-as the other fats are pure fat.
Add the HOT Water to the Mixture
By Hot I mean just slightly under boiling – I typically use my electric kettle and set it to ~190F and wait until it’s ready.
Once near boiling I’ll pour it into a separate bowl to measure and then into my dough.
Mix until a shaggy dough starts to form and for all the flour to absorb the water.
I’d strongly suggest mixing with a wooden spoon or a whisk or something similar and not your hands so-as no to scald yourself.
Kneading the Dough Ball
Do not work this for a long time, ~1-2 minutes is sufficient; You just want the dough to be smooth and pliable.
Once smooth, put into your mixing bowl and cover for 30 minutes.
Decide on What You’re Making and Portion the Dough Balls
- For Burritos = ~75g dough balls
- For Street tacos = ~30g dough balls
In terms of yield, this should make ~5 Burritos and ~14 street taco sized tortillas.
Roll the Dough Balls Out with a Rolling Pin
Some folks like to toss these in flour so they’re easier to spread – this is totally optional.
I like to work on a surface where-in I can see a pattern below, this helps to know if the tortillas are thin enough.
I could likely go even thinner than this too but for what these are being used for (doner kebab) this works perfectly fine.
Set a Cast Iron Skill to Medium-Low Heat
I like to get my warm towel ready before I do this – wait till your sink water is warm, soak your towel and then ring it out.
Once the skillet is heated, cook the tortillas on each side until bubbling, then flip and repeat.
Some people like to press down on the bubbles so the other side browns more evenly.
My family likes these slightly charred but if you don’t, just flip more frequently, about every 10 seconds or so. Overall it’s ~30-60 seconds in the pan at most.
Transfer to your warm towel to let these continue cooking and enjoy!
Basic Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 250 g AP flour
- 4 g Diamond crystal kosher salt
- 62.5 g Crisco (or lard, tallow, butter, any fat)
- 137.5 g very hot water (just under boiling, ~190F)
Instructions
- Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Crumble fat into flour until pebbly. If you have a food processor, use it. Run on the dough setting for ~10 seconds.250 g AP flour, 4 g Diamond crystal kosher salt, 62.5 g Crisco
- Pour hot water (190F) into mixture and stir until shaggy dough forms. Use a wooden spoon at first so you don't scald yourself. The water will cool rapidly.137.5 g very hot water
- Knead the dough 1-2 minutes until smooth.
- Then put in a bowl and cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Portion dough: 75g for burritos, 30g for street tacos.
- Roll out dough balls with a rolling pin.If you're struggling to roll them, toss in AP flour and shake off excess.
- Heat cast iron skillet to medium-low.
- Cook tortillas ~30-60 seconds overall, flipping when bubbles form.
- Transfer to warm towel to continue cooking.
