From scratch · Flatbreads and tortillas

Flour tortillas

Soft flour tortillas from five pantry staples, cooked in a dry skillet.

✋ 35 min hands-on ⏱ 1 hr 5 min start to finish 🍽 Ten 8-inch tortillas or seven 10-inch tortillas.

ContainsWheat.

Ingredients

  • 300 g all-purpose flour
  • 4 g baking powder
  • 4½ g table salt
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil (soybean), or lard or shortening, cut in
  • ¾ cup water, warm

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

StepHands-onWaiting
Mix the dough and let it rest10 min30 min
Roll and cook the tortillas25 min–
In all35 min30 min

How long it keeps

  • Counter: sealed in a bag once cool, about 3 days (NDSU’s figure for bread).
  • Freezer: stack with parchment between them in a freezer bag, up to about 3 months (the University of Missouri’s time for baked bread).

Nutrition

Estimated from the ingredients’ USDA FoodData Central numbers.

Steps

You’ll need: bowl, rolling pin, heavy skillet or griddle (cast iron is best), clean kitchen towel.

  1. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the oil (or rub in the lard or shortening with your fingers), then the warm water, and mix to a soft dough.
  2. Knead 2 minutes until smooth. Divide into 10 balls for 8-inch tortillas or 7 for 10-inch. Cover and rest 30 minutes; rested dough rolls out without shrinking.
  3. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high. Roll one ball on a lightly floured counter into a thin round, turning it as you go.
  4. Cook 30 to 60 seconds, until bubbles puff and the underside has brown spots, then flip and cook 30 seconds more.
  5. Stack the cooked tortillas in a folded towel so they steam and stay soft. Roll the next one while each cooks.
⚖️ ScalingEverything scales by the number of tortillas: each 8-inch tortilla is a tenth of the recipe. Divide the dough by weight for even rounds: about 55 g of dough for 8 inches, 80 g for 10.
🛡 SafetyDon’t taste raw dough or batter, and wash your hands and the counter after handling flour: raw flour can carry germs that only baking kills (FDA).
Good to knowLard gives the flakiest, most traditional tortillas; oil makes them vegan.

Use it in

🌯 Freezer Bean and Cheese Burritos🧀 Chicken Quesadillas🫑 Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas🌯 Freezer Breakfast Burritos🌯 Turkey and Cheese Pinwheel Wraps🥙 Hummus Veggie Wraps

Sources

  1. Food Storage Guide (FN579), NDSU Extension, reviewed January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  2. How to Freeze Home-Prepared Foods (GH1505), University of Missouri Extension. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  3. Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to Know, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 2026-10-25.

In the meal planner, tap Make it next to flour tortillas, 8-inch on the shopping list: the list swaps it for these ingredients, scaled to your meals, and the Prep day tab fits the work into your week. More from-scratch recipes.

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