There is something about warm, homemade tortillas that takes taco night to a whole new level. I also love how tortilla-making at home is an easy way to lure my kids into the kitchen to hang out with me. There’s lots for little hands to do, from forming pieces of dough into round balls, then rolling them out with a rolling pin into tortillas.
While this recipe makes around 12 8-inch tortillas, you could also make them smaller for street tacos or bigger for fajitas or even burritos. For corn tortillas, I like to pull out my tortilla press, which you could also put to use here. But perhaps because flour tortilla dough is so forgiving, I enjoy rolling them out by hand. In our house, we attempt to roll them into rounds, but the shape doesn’t have to be perfect. I can promise you that anyone sitting at your table, lucky enough to be eating a warm, homemade tortilla, isn’t going to care if it’s a perfect circle.
Whenever I make these at home, I always put out a little bowl of cinnamon and sugar and a crock of butter. Toward the end of the meal, the dessert round naturally begins, usually instigated by one of the kids who spots the bowl of sugar. The crock of butter gets passed around and we take turns spreading it on any leftover tortillas, topping them with cinnamon and sugar. Nights like this end up feeling like a party for the kids, and I’m just thankful for any extra time we have around the table all together.
If making these ahead, let them cool completely before transferring them to an airtight bag or container. To rewarm them, wrap them in foil and place in a 300-degree oven for 15 minutes.
Flour tortillas are an easy, fun way to make taco night special.
Marianne Sundquist/For The New Mexican
Flour Tortillas
Makes: 12 tortillas; total time: 1 hour
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup warm water
Extra flour, for rolling out tortillas
Preparation: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the melted butter and warm water. With a wooden spoon, spatula or your hands, mix the dough until it forms a ball of shaggy dough, then continue kneading with your hands for a couple of minutes until the dough texture is a soft and cohesive ball of dough. If it feels sticky, add a tiny bit of flour at a time. And if it feels too dry, add a splash of warm water until the texture feels good to you. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
To cook the tortillas, place a seasoned cast-iron skillet or other nonstick pan over medium-high heat. On a clean, dry and lightly floured work surface, press the ball of dough into a rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise and cut each half into six even pieces of dough. Roll each of the 12 pieces of dough into a circle, placing them back in the bowl, keeping them covered while you roll out one at a time. Roll out each piece of dough into around an 8-inch circle. Place tortillas on the hot skillet and cook for about a minute on each side, until you see browned spots on each side and they appear cooked around the edges. Transfer the cooked tortillas to a plate or basket, covering them to keep them warm, and repeat until all tortillas are cooked.
Marianne Sundquist is a chef and writer who in 2020 co-founded Stokli, an online general store. Email her at marianne@stokli.com.
