Tortilla Taquera! Taco size flour tortillas! Speaking for myself, in my journey preparing flour tortillas from scratch, my goal was always larger and thin! But, on occasion, I love, love, love a smaller thicker flour tortilla to wrap around my favorite fillings!
When you love what you do, you will…
When you love what you do, you may find yourself preparing a recipe over and over! Lol! I have experienced this on many occasions when developing recipes to share with my followers. Yesterday morning I decided to prepare flour tortillas for the thousandth time. Everything went smoothly, but the last two tortillas I decided to roll out smaller and a little thicker. Some may consider these to be gorditas in a way. I do have a great gordita de harina recipe on site. They are smaller and thick and perfect for stuffing!
As I was saying, do the recipe again!
When I showed the two smaller flour tortillas, I had already enjoyed them with the beef dish I had prepared. Oops! Some of my followers begin to message me asking how I prepared them. OOPS! I am a diehard, lol! How could I leave them hanging? Round two, tortilla dough done and that is the video above.
I was perfectly happy with my old flour tortilla recipe, but…
One never stops learning and we should be open to new things and maybe new ways of doing things. For many years, I used the tortilla recipe that was adapted from Mom’s recipe. Several years back, I decided that I wanted to learn to roll a thinner flour tortilla. What I learned was that the water ratio had to be higher, and that the fat ratio should be less. After much testing, this is a better formula to achieve that thinner tortilla. I am also teaching myself the technique of stretching and shaping the tortillas using my hand and arm. I will put that video together soon!
HERE IS THE THINNER FLOUR TORTILLA!
I mix in a little less fat ratio this one. It works great! Even if you wanted a little more fat keep all the other measurements the same. Testing out the recipe is the way to know what will work for you. The measurements on this one are: 3 tbsps fat, 1 tsp salt, 3 c ap flour and 1 c lukewarm water, more or less.
How do you know what size the dough balls(testales)should be?
Rarely do I weigh out the dough balls. I pull off a section of dough and if it fits comfortably in my fist, then that is the size. Of course, everyone’s hands are different sizes, so you may yield a different amount than what I am sharing. I promise that the next time I prepare them, I will weigh the dough and share that information with you all.
Even with years of practice, I still have days that my tortillas look like the shape of the state of Texas!
I honestly believe that recipes are affected by the mood you are in when preparing them! Am I right? It is said that when a salsa comes out extra spicy, that the person who prepared it was very angry! Lol! Not sure how true that it because I prepare spicy salsa all of the time. Ha, ha, ha! As far as the tortillas go, if I am anxious or in a hurry, during the rolling part, I tend to lose track of what I am doing and boom! Texas shaped tortillas!! Relax and have fun!
Homemade flour tortillas are supposed to look rustic, not perfect.
If you are in search for that perfectly white flour tortilla with evenly spaced golden brown spots, this is not the recipe for you, lol! As far back as I remember, mom’s flour tortillas always looked like this. They are as cooked as they should be. Those spots that look like the dough is still raw are normal. The more time they spend on the comal/griddle, the more chance you are going to have a cracker like tortilla in the end. Just read the ingredient label of most store-bought tortillas. It’s mind blowing! These are flour, salt, butter (or lard) and water. That’s it.
let’s Get To The Recipe!!
If you have a chance, head over to my reels on Facebook or Instagram and see how I prepared this dish of Caldillo Estillo Norteño! Perfect with flour tortillas!
My two cookbooks are still available for purchase! Order the beautiful hardback cover or the digital copies today! Mexican Salsa and Love In The Shape of a Tortillas! More than one hundred recipes all together!
Tortillas Taqueras! Taco Size Flour Tortillas!
Equipment
- Comal, griddle
- Rolling Pin
- bowl
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 c ap flour, sifted
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsps butter, shortening, pork lard or avocado oil I prefer Irish butter because it contains no water
- 1 1/2 lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp shortening
Instructions
- In a large bowl sift in 3 1/2 c of all-purpose flour. Add salt and mix with whisk. With a pastry cutter or with your clean hand, cut the soft butter into the flour and salt until it resembles small crumbles.
- Gradually mix in the lukewarm water, 1/3 c at a time, mixing well in between each addition. In my case I used almost the full amount of water, but it may be different every time. I used King Arthur flour but have different results with different brands. The humidity and elevation also play parts in the water amount.
- The dough should feel sticky, but manageable. Transfer to a flat surface and knead aggressively for 5-7 minutes. The dough should become mostly smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
- When ready, roll and form 16, more or less, equal dough balls. Place in a large baking dish or on a sheet pan. Rub the shortening between the palms of your hands and rub a light coat on the tops of dough balls, flattening slightly. Cover once again and let them rest for ten minutes.
- Preheat your comal/griddle on heat right below medium while you wait.
- When ready, one by one, dredge the disc of dough into the flour on both sides. Place on flat surface and begin to roll up, then down. Rotate slightly and repeat. If the tortilla wants to stick, add just a sprinkle more of flour. Continue until you have reached a tortilla that measures about 6 1/2 inches.
- Cook on preheated griddle/comal. You should see bubbles start to form within a few seconds. If the form too fast, the griddle may be too hot. If they take too long to form, the griddle may be too cold yet. Adjust the heat accordingly. Flip and then let the tortilla cook for another 25-30 seconds. Flip again and you should see them inflate. I will use a flat edge wooden spatula and gently press the edges of the tortilla to encourage more inflating. Stack the cooked tortillas in a tortilla warmer lined with a kitchen towel.
- Enjoy the soft, flexible tortillas while they are warm. Lay out leftover tortillas on a kitchen towel to dry out for 10 minutes. Stack once again wrapped in the light kitchen towel and place in a plastic storage bag refrigerated for up to 10 days. Reheat on a preheated griddle. High heat, quick reheat for 25-30 seconds per side. Keep covered to maintain a soft tortilla.
Notes
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Love me some fresh hot flower tortillas with butter.
That’s the best!
Girl!!! Nothing in the world to me,,Is the smell of the tortillas cooking,,then I have my butter ready and maybe add hot sauce sometimes soon as tortilla is cooked ,,a put my butter on them and eat them I like them hot off the griddle,,And I always have me a napkin,cus that butter is running all over my mouth! My grandma Rosas,,I remember,being woke up,with the spell of those fresh tortillas cooking,,she would start making them at 4:00 in the morning and make like five or six dozen tortillas,she would take them up,,as high as she could,,be cause we had to be at our restaurant at 8:00,,to get everything together to cook that day!! Best memories,,I know very well,,how to make good tortillas,,But I don’t cook them much anymore,,,But I’m wanting me some homemade tortillas now,,,
Hi Catherine! I sometimes find myself preparing tortillas just to be filled with those feelings of nostalgia. I never worry about , “who’s going to eat all that food?” Lol! Somehow or another as the days go by, the tortillas become the special attraction at meal time all week long. I don’t prepare a five pound bag of flour like mom used to, but the dozen I prepare is always very well received and appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to write.