2000s Recipes + Menus
Homemade Flour Tortillas
December 2005
The surging popularity of sandwich wraps and quick Mexican snacks like quesadillas has turned the flour tortilla, a staple once largely confined to northern Mexico, into something found in supermarkets across the United States. That said, we are big fans of homemade flour tortillas. Fragrant and slightly puffy, they fall squarely into the "staff of life" category.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup lard
- 1 tablespoon vegtable oil
- 1/2 cup warm water
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Special Equipment:
pastry blender, comal (Mexican griddle; optional), six- to ten-inch-long wooden dowel (found in hardware stores)
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Stir together flour with salt in a bowl, then cut in lard with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture resembles meal. Drizzle vegetable oil over and stir in warm water with a fork until a dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes, dusting hands occasionally with flour if dough is sticky.
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Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest 1 hour. Heat a dry well-seasoned cast-iron comal, regular griddle, or skillet over moderately low heat until hot. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces and form into balls.
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When rolling out 1 ball at a time with dowel, use just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking; you don't want excess flour coming off on the comal. Keep remaining dough covered with plastic wrap. Roll out each ball into a 7-inch round, maintaining an even thinness as you roll. Cook 1 tortilla on comal as you roll the next.
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Tortilla will bubble and puff, and bottom will be browned in spots in 45 seconds. Turn it over and cook second side in same way, moving tortilla around to compensate for any hot spots on comal if necessary. Transfer to a kitchen towel. Stack and cover tortillas as cooked. They can be frozen (cool thoroughly first). Rewarm thawed tortillas on comal before using.
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