Easy Flour Tortilla Recipe With 3 Flavour Variations - Home Grown Happiness (2024)

FAQs

How to make homemade tortillas taste better? ›

Just like with corn tortillas, the flour version is always better fresh out of a skillet. But here's the real secret to truly great tortillas — lard. Yes, lard. It's not only the most traditional fat to use for tortillas, but is also the most delicious.

Adding too much flour to knead or to roll out the tortillas will also create hard and dry tortillas.

However, the version I tested that had more baking powder resulted in a thicker, doughy tortilla that wasn't as pliable and was harder to roll when making a burrito or wrap. I also found that they got harder when stored compared to this recipe and the version that did not have baking powder at all.

Tortillas have hundreds of uses in Mexican cuisine. They can be fried to make chips, which you can dip into salsa, guacamole or queso. They can be filled with meats, cheese and veggies to make tacos or stuffed with beans and rice to make a burrito.

This can be done two ways, by adding dried herbs and spices or by infusing the tortillas with a flavored liquid. Use them in any recipe for corn tortillas. Dry Ingredients: Cumin Corn Tortillas: Add 1 tablespoon ground dried cumin to 2 cups masa harina and use as directed.

Pro Tip: Resting for at least 15 minutes relaxes the gluten so you can roll them out into smooth discs of deliciousness. Once the dough has rested (don't skip this step!!), you are ready to roll the tortillas out and to cook them.

Some tortilla makers cover their dough and rest it overnight in the fridge, making it even easier to work with. There are a few reasons why this is so critical. It allows the dough to thoroughly and evenly hydrate, creating a consistent mix that cooks the same way every time.

Compression, compression, compression.

You don't want a tortilla that's too thick — the steam won't rise under the weight of too much masa! A very thin tortilla will also be susceptible to tearing, which will sabotage your chance at a puff.

Some flour tortilla recipes call for baking powder. Some don't. It acts as a leavening agent, giving the tortillas a little bit of puffy volume. Sans baking soda, it would be a much flatter tortilla.

Can you over knead flour tortillas? ›

The most important part of making a great tortilla is to not overwork the dough and to make sure it is hydrated enough. If the dough is overworked, then it will be difficult to roll out. If the dough is not hydrated enough, then they will dry out and not be pliable.

Double up your corn tortillas on your tacos.

Mexicans fondly refer to this as 'la copia' (literally: the copy). If you ask around, you'll be given many reasons for this. But a popular explanation is that the second tortilla can be used to make another taco with any fillings that spill out the side.

The flour tortilla is as ubiquitous in Northern Mexican cuisine as sourdough in San Francisco and as bagels in New York. It's a distinctly regional flatbread associated with the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, and Sonora, one that owes its existence to a turn in agricultural history almost 400 years ago.

You could set up a steamer, but much faster is to simply dip the tortilla in water and toss it straight on a hot surface. As the surface moisture evaporates, it steams the tortilla until it's soft all the way through. Meanwhile, the hot contact with the pan gives it some nice toasty browned spots.

Heating up the tortillas before you fill them makes every taco recipe that much more savory and delicious, so don't skip this step! Tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas are too delicious for a cold tortilla.

When you're paring back a recipe for a tortilla to its essence – which is corn, water, and lime – each of those ingredients needs to be spot-on for it to taste good. The second piece to it is going back to the recipe itself, this process of nixtamalization, and stone milling.