These are not only our bread, but also typically our eating utensil for Latinos everywhere! Depending on the location of the country you’re from and how your grandma made them, some people prefer them huge and thin while others prefer them little and plump.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 60 |
| Yield: | 5 dozen |
Ingredients
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening to resemble cornmeal. Add water slowly, mixing with your hands to make a soft dough. You may not need all the water.
- Knead a few minutes on floured surface until smooth and elastic. Lubricate top with oil, put back in bowl and let rest, covered for 10 minutes.
- Divide into small balls the size of golf balls and proceed to roll out into size and thickness you prefer.
- Cook on top of stove over medium heat using a cast iron grill or heavy skillet until top is slightly bubbly then turning on opposite side for a minute or two.
- Keep stacked and warm inside a clean dish towel.
Reviews
I made soft tacos for dinner for my family and they loved them! This recipe is amazing!
I really wished I had read the 1* reviews. The only way this recipe makes 60 servings is if you’re making 3″ tortillas. I assumed the recipe was for 6″ tortillas. I changed serving size from 60 to 18 and made the dough per instructions, kneading until all the little pieces that kept breaking off were incorporated. What I had at that point was a very hard ball of dough. I let it rest for 15 minutes then divided it into 4 smaller balls, since I wanted closer to a 12″ tortilla. As one reviewer stated, rolling out this dough was difficult. I must have worked on the 1st one for around 5 minutes and ended up with a lopsided 10″ tortilla rolled paper thin. After cooking I had a tortilla that was somewhat pliable in the middle but crispy around the edges. In all I got three 10-11 inch tortillas. I had made the Chef John tortillas before and they were soft and stretchy. My mistake for trying a different recipe.
very easy recipe! the thinner the dough is rolled out the better!
Olga’s tip was right. My tortillas were coming out tough and leathery because I was over rolling them. I did the roll, turn, flip rotate to minimize as she recommended with this recipe, which is quite good by the way. When I put them on the fry pan, they really puffed well. I don’t have access to a tortilla press which would probably be good but making tortillas by hand is such a blast.
Came out “crispy”.
I loved this recipe! I used my Kitchen Aid mixer h rolled some super thin & some semi thin. Both turned out fantastic. The recipe made 12 tortillas and my son & I devoured them in 2 days.
Good stuff.
I think they came out fairly well and will get better with practice. I did have some interesting shapes. 🙂
I definitely prefer homemade tortillas. This recipe is simple and easy. I have an 8″ cast iron tortillas press and it’s a lot easier than rolling. When using a tortilla press, place the ball slightly off center toward hinge. Another recipe uses lard and also suggests an occasional bacon fat substitute. Both worked nicely with this simple recipe.
Easy, fast, great tasting! Thanks for sharing!
I have made these 2 times but this time I forgot to add 1 cup flour. I’m actually happy That I made that mistake because I ended up with a dough that is much softer and easier to roll and they come out a little softer and chewier tortilla. The original recipe with 5 cups flour is more time consuming because of the rolling. Ah and also used canola oil. This is my to go recipe
I don’t know how these could’ve turned out with such a high ratio of flour to shortening, perhaps I did something wrong, but didn’t work out-it just seemd like I had way too much flour, and when I added all the water, it still wasn’t coming together. I prefer the recipe on here titled Authentic Mexican Tortillas.
I would add another Tbls. Of shortening so they would not come out crispy!
My family has used this recipe for months and it is great. It tastes great and it’s easy to make. My 10 year old makes them using our tortilla press we bought at a little Mexican grocery. We do sub the shortening with butter or coconut oil though. Love, Love, LOVE!
I tried another recipe for tortillas and it wasn’t as good as this one. I used butter for the shortening and they turned out great – the tortillas were soft and delicious. I followed other reviewers’ suggestions to limit the amount of rolling I did with the rolling pin. I just pushed hard and rolled once, then turned it 180 degrees and did the same.
I make tortillas every day. Some tips would be to not add too much BP, it will make hard tortillas! No more than 1 tsp. for a recipe this size. Also, knead only until well-combined, this is not a bread recipe and over-kneading will also make them tough. I suggest letting dough balls rest, and refrigerating them (just throw ’em in a plastic container) for a few hours before using. You can also keep the dough balls for a week, refrigerated in the same container.
I grew up eating store brought tortillas and this was the first time I made them at home so I’m not really the most knowledgable on authentic tortillas, but these came out really good. I found that I needed more water than called for- over a half of a cup more! The only substitution I made was to use bacon fat instead of the shortening. My tortillas came out soft, pliable, and chewy (in a good way). I put the leftover tortillas and a damp paper towel in a ziploc bag in the fridge in the hopes that they’ll stay soft and chewy when we finish the batch off this weekend. Good recipe that I’ll definitely use again!
Great!
Made this exactly what it called for. Tasteless and after cooked very hard.
I tried this recipe because it had such good reviews and I have been wanting to try to make my own tortillas. I have to admit that I really didn’t think it would turn out. Boy, I was wrong. The recipe was terrific and so easy to make. At first, I was making them too thick but once I got the hang of it, it was smooth sailing! So good. Thank you for posting the recipe.
I tried it and couldn’t wait for it to cool .. Excellent easy recipe that just takes small effort and big effect !!