Ever make homemade tortillas and thought “I should have just bought some at the store.”? Well, these aren’t those tortillas. My Hispanic step mother has been making these for years. Did she know I’d poach the recipe and plaster it all over the interwebs?
Probably.
Ingredients
- AP flour
- baking soda
- coconut oil (or lard)
- salt
Instructions
Get sifting. Sift your dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Throw in your fat. I’ve used both coconut oil and lard, and I have to tell you, they both work equally as well. You still get foldable, supple tortillas. So, it’s up to you.
Use your fingers to smush the flour and fat together. It’ll form a sort of clumpy flour. Any pieces larger than peas should be re-smushed.
Add your warm water.
Top Tip: Use the inside of your wrist to check the water’s temperature. It’s a much more accurate way than using your fingers.
Start adding the water (a little bit at a time). Don’t get carried away and dump the whole thing all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is able to be handled.
Top Tip: If the dough sticks to your fingers: IT’S TOO WET! Add some more flour. If the dough crumbles in dry clumps: ADD A TEENY BIT MORE WATER. This is a delicate process.
When you can handle your dough. Knead it. Knead. Keep kneading. Knead, until it is springy and smooth. It should take you about five minutes.
Separate out little dough balls [testales] (I typically weigh them so I get some semblance of consistency). 5 oz will get you burrito sized tortillas, and 1 oz will get you street tacos.
Cover the balls with a damp cloth and let them think about life for the next ten minutes.
Roll them out. If they aren’t perfectly round, throw them away. KIDDING! Do your best. It takes practice. Check out the video for some rolling tips. When you think they’re too thin, they’re probably perfect!
Heat up your skillet to medium high. Flop in a perfectly round tortilla. Wait until it bubbles, then flip. It shouldn’t take you more than 60-seconds per tortilla (30-seconds per side) to cook them.
Set them on a kitchen towel and fold the towel over the cooked tortillas. Repeat. Repeat, then eat.
EQUIPMENT
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE TORTILLAS
Can I make this in advance?
Totally. Actually, I prefer the extra spring the tortillas get after the testales have had a night in the fridge to consider their lives. I’ll blame that magic on the gluten.
Will these freeze?
Absolutely. These are great frozen then reheated.
Do the Gluten Free tortillas freeze?
Nope. Sadly they don’t freeze well. They dry out and crumble. I’m still working on a better recipe. Stay tuned for that!
RECIPES TO ENJOY THESE TORTILLAS WITH
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The Best No Lard Tortillas
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Soft, Foldable Tortillas. Every. Single. Time.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (480 ml) AP flour
- 3/4 tsp (4 ml) baking powder
- 3/4 tsp (4 ml) salt
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) warm water
- 2 TBS (30 ml) coconut oil (measured while solid), shortening, or lard
Instructions
- Sift together your flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
- Add your shortening (or whatever oil you are using) and squish the fat between your fingers until you make clumpy flour.
- Slowly add in your warm water.
- Mix with a wooden spoon until you’ve added enough water that you can handle the dough without it sticking to your fingers.
- Remove from bowl, flop on your counter and start kneading. The video will give you some technique help.
- Knead for five minutes, or until the dough feels smooth and elastic.
- Cut into even balls, cover, and let rest for 10-minutes.
- Heat skillet to medium high heat.
- Roll out tortillas into perfectly round specimens (yeah, right). Just do your best. If you think you’ve rolled them too thin, you probably haven’t.
- Heat until bubbling, then flip. You should be completely cooking a tortilla every 60-seconds or so.
- Place finished tortillas on a towel, then fold the towel over them.
- Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy.
EQUIPMENT
Notes
I’ve made these with lard and coconut oil. I really can’t tell the difference besides a FAINT hint of coconut oil. That said, I’m using dunking these in red chile or using them to transfer some butter or honey to my mouth-hole, so it doesn’t really matter.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Basics
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: New Mexican
Keywords: Tortilla Recipe, Easy Homemade Tortillas, Soft Tortilla Recipe, Mexican Tortillas, Tortillas without lard
