I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making flour tortillas from scratch. It’s quite surprising how few ingredients there are and how easy they are to make. It’s a little time consuming, but well worth the extra effort. Nice to know you can actually make homemade flour tortillas without having to run off to the store either! Here’s a step by step guide for you.
Tortillas are a flatbread, or unleavened bread, meaning there’s no yeast. So there’s nothing to be afraid of, these are very easy.
I used a combination of wheat and white flour. You can use all white flour if you prefer, just substitute exact amounts. A neighbor of mine ground the wheat flour herself and gave it to me, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to try it out.
There are quite a few recipes out there for flour tortillas. The general consensus is that you will need flour, some water and a fat. Some add salt and either baking soda or powder. I developed mine by looking at probably 15 different recipes and combining all of these ingredients and lowering the fat content considerably. Many recipes include either lard or shortening, but then I read on several that vegetable oil can be substituted without a problem. I also ran across a couple that used considerably less oil and more water. So that’s what I did. Instead of moistening the dough with a lot of fat and some water, I used a lot of water and a small portion of fat.
The results are great, perfect for wrapping around some tuna salad for lunch or warming it to have with tacos. Keep in mind though, lowering the fat also lowers the flavor since fat does add flavor to your final product. my oldest son commented last night when we had tacos “these are good but they have no flavor”. This coming from someone who is used to eating full-white flour store bought tortillas. So if you prefer, you can up the fat a little and lower the water, totally up to you. For us though, these are a great way to enjoy tacos and sandwiches with a lot less fat and a little more grain.
Oh, one last note. When you get to the part where you roll the dough balls in your hand, follow my tip about running one of your hands under the faucet first. Get your hand wet, shake off the excess water, then roll the ball between your two palms. This adds just enough liquid to keep the dough moist which will result in an easy to roll out dough. Be sure to keep the dough covered so that it doesn’t dry out.
Full printable recipe instructions are below.
After forming the dough, divide it into 18 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on cookie sheet, not touching each other, and cover with a towel.
Remove one dough ball from under the towel and place on the floured counter. Press gently with your hand then use floured rolling pin to roll into a circle.
Tortilla will be very thin.
Repeat this process until cookie sheet has a single layer of tortillas (about three), then place another layer of foil on top and continue the process until all 18 tortillas are rolled out.
Cook, one at a time, for about 30 seconds per side.
After the first 15 seconds you will see bubbles begin to form.
Place cooked tortillas on a foiled lined baking sheet in the same fashion as when you rolled them out.
Low Fat Homemade Flour Tortillas
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 – 1 1/4 cups warm water
Before You Begin
Total Fat 1.9 g
Saturated Fat 0.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 235.0 mg
Potassium 15.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 20.5 g
Dietary Fiber 2.0 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 3.2 g
Instructions
- Whisk the two flours, salt and baking powder together in a large shallow bowl. Add canola oil and 1 cup of the water and mix to form a dough. Add enough additional water until the dough comes together. Knead 10-15 times then let the dough rest, covered with a towel for five minutes.
- Divide the dough into 18 equal pieces. Run your hand under a running faucet and shake off the excess water. Wetting your hand will keep the dough moist as you roll. Roll each piece into a ball and place on cookie sheet, not touching each other, and cover with a towel. Allow dough to rest five minutes.
- Line a cookie sheet with foil.
- Keep the dough balls covered with the towel as you work. Sprinkle counter with flour and keep rolling pin floured as well. Remove one dough ball from under the towel and place on the floured counter. Press gently with your hand then use floured rolling pin to roll into a circle.
- Roll dough, flip it, roll it, flip it, and roll again until circle is about 7-8? in diameter. Tortilla will be very thin. Place tortilla on foil lined cookie sheet.
- Repeat this process until cookie sheet has a single layer of tortillas (about three), then place another layer of foil on top and continue the process until all 18 tortillas are rolled out.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place tortilla in preheated pan and cook, one at a time, for about 30 seconds per side.
- After the first 15 seconds you will see bubbles begin to form.
- Place cooked tortillas on a foiled lined baking sheet in the same fashion as when you rolled them out.
- Use tortillas immediately or allow them to cool completely, then store in a plastic zipper storage bag in the refrigerator for up to one week. To reheat, remove from zipper bag and place in a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Heat one side, then flip and heat the other, just enough to heat through.
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Amanda says
I'm sorry I don't have the cal/fat count on these. I hope you try them!
Anonymous says
Does anyone know what the calorie count is and fat count? I mean these beat rice cakes any time. I guess If I made them thin enough. cut the calories!! Has anyone tried Olive Oil that would add flavor Thanks for the recipe!! I wish I had good torts here in Spain!!
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes] says
These look awesome Amanda. But as a few have pointed out, these are what we call chappatis/roti bread in india, the most common bread, naan is actually something we only eat at restaurants. It's this roti that we eat with all Indian preparations!
Megaspice says
Dear Amanda,
I am from India. Your Low Fat Homemade Flour Tortillas are actually the Chapatti/ Roti/Phulka as we call it in India. This what we eat daily with veggies or curry.
Our recipe similar to yours minus the all purpose flour and baking powder. You can also use multi grain flour to make it more nutritious.
The warm water used to knead the flour will make the chapatti's remain softer for longer time.
Cheers,
Megha
donna says
Chapathis are low fat food.Its verry healdhey food to our body.So, thanks for sharing this post.
__________
Donna.
Online Recipes
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Anonymous says
I used to live in India, where they eat chapattis, which are the same. I have been making them for 10 years since I left. My recipe is the same without the baking powder. You have to have a hot pan to keep them from drying out while you cook them. I roll them out as I cook, while one is in the pan, I'm rolling the next one out. To get them to roll out as a circle, I pinch off the dough, shape into a snake then roll the snake into a snail and pinch the end closed. And like a previous write wrote keep them in a towel or paper towels to keep soft. Enjoy, they are worth the effort.
Sue says
OK, I'm ready to try these. They look great and authentic! My Mexican grandma made them often and did use lard. She used lard in her beans too. She also ate butter and drank whole milk, but lived into her 90's:) I hope I have some of those genes.
Leslie says
I have never thought to make my own.They look perfect!
Oh and if you previously subscribed to my blog in a rss reader, my blog feed has changed, you might want to re-subscribe if you have not been getting my feeds
Monica says
I am so excited about this recipe. We eat a lot of flour tortillas. Time to make my own. And a healthy recipe to boot. Thank you!
Katherine says
I love this! I can't wait to try making my own tortillas. Thanks for the clear, step-by-step instructions. I will be trying this soon!
Sharon at Momof6 says
I have never tried making homemade tortillas before- but this recipe is inspiring me to try! I plan to feature a picture and a link to this on my Sunday (6/5) Links to Love post over at http://www.momof6.com.
Warmly,
Sharon
SnoWhite says
We make our own tortillas too — they freeze wonderfully and are perfect for quick dinners! Thanks for sharing your version.
Glenda says
These look great! I wonder if some herbs or seasonings might give the little punch of flavor your son was looking for?
Frieda Loves Bread says
Great post! Love having a low fat version in my files…
Regarding Tiffiny's question ~ I put my hot tortillas warm in a terry kitchen towel. The heat softens them right up. Learned this tip while cooking corn tortillas, which are crisp when cooked, but soften right up in the kitchen towel or tortilla warmer (http://tinyurl.com/442blpb)
Amanda says
Thank you Katrina!
Whitney – thank you for those tips :) :) I usually have butter flavored crisco on hand so I may just try that. I actually like the idea of the bacon grease too, just a little bit ;)
Whitney & McKayla says
I grew up in a Hispanic family and LOVE homemade tortillas. Of course, my grandmother was still making her's the more traditional way by using lard or bacon grease. With some experimenting, I've found that you can lessen the fat, but also, try using a mixture of butter flavored Crisco and some vegetable/canola oil to equal the full amount of the fat. So, using your recipe a Tbsp. of both Crisco and oil. This would help boost the flavor while still cutting out a lot of un-needed fats.
Katrina says
I just "discovered" this post on SU.
Katrina says
Okay, I'm sold, especially with the lower fat and whole wheat flour. They look great!
Amanda says
Tiffiny – I think part of it is that the dough will dry out quickly. You have to keep the dough covered until you are ready to work with them. And yes, I'm guessing that you might have cooked them too long. They only need about 30 seconds per side ove medium high heat. :)
Tiffiny Felix says
Gorgeous! So, several years ago I tried making flour tortillas. They looked good but they were a little crisp (hard?); they weren't soft, like you couldn't have wrapped them around anything. Did you have this issue? Maybe I cooked them to long? I'd love to try again…