Soft Flour Tortilla Recipe

About This Recipe

• These are the best homemade flour tortillas you will ever make, so soft, tender, and pliable perfect for wrapping or folding.
• You can cook these in advance and store them in the fridge. Then all you need to do is warm the tortillas in the microwave or on the stovetop just before serving.
• These are healthier than store-bought because they are preservative-free.
• These are so easy to make if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook. And if you don’t, the dough can be kneaded by hand.

Ingredient Notes

There are only five ingredients needed to make this soft flour tortilla recipe.

• All-purpose flour (plain flour)
• Salt
• Baking powder
• Butter
• Warm water

If you don’t have baking powder, you can make the recipe without it. But the next time you make the recipe try it with baking powder. The baking powder does help to make the tortillas lighter and fluffier.

Kitchen Utensils Needed

• Stand mixer with a dough hook (optional because the dough can be hand-kneaded)
• Kitchen scales
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Rolling pin
• Cast iron skillet or a Frying pan
• Egg flipper or turner for flipping the tortillas

Step 1 – Place the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2 – Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture. You can use chilled or room temperature butter.

Step 3 – Use your fingertips to work the butter into the flour so that the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.

Step 4 – Add warm water to the flour and butter mixture and mix until combined, do not add all the water at once. Reserve some of the water and add the remaining only if the dough looks dry.

Step 5 – Knead the dough either by hand or machine until the dough comes together a forms a soft and smooth dough.

Step 6 – Divide the dough evenly into 18 pieces and shape it into balls. 

Step 7 – Allow the dough to rest under a damp paper towel or cloth for 20 minutes. 

Allowing the dough to stand for 20 minutes at room temperature will make rolling out easier. And the damp cloths stops the dough from drying out. 

Step 8 – Working on one piece of dough at a time, use your fingertips to press the ball into a flat circle.

Step 9 – Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an 18 – 20 cm circle.

Steps 10 – Dry fry the tortillas in a cast iron pan (or heavy-based fry pan) over medium heat.

As the tortilla cooks, air-pockets will form in the dough and will make it bubble and puff. 

When this happens, check underneath to see if it has turned a patchy light golden brown – if it has turned a patchy golden brown, flip the tortilla over and cook the other side.

After flipping, use the turner to press the dough down as it puffs up. 

Then check underneath to see if it has turned a patchy golden brown and if it has, it is ready. 

The cooking time for each tortilla is quick and will take about 2- 3 minutes each when cooking at the correct temperature.

Transfer to a flat plate lined with a dry clean tea towel and then cover with another tea towel to keep the tortillas soft and warm.

Continue to roll out and cook the remaining dough, transferring each as they are cooked to the plate to keep warm until ready to serve.

Tips For Success

Self-rising flour – can be used instead of plain (all-purpose) flour and baking powder.

Water temperature – When kneading the dough with a stand mixer, I use hot water for this recipe. I find that the hot water makes the tortilla dough nice and soft, and pliable.

If you are kneading the dough by hand, use warm because you can safely knead the dough without burning yourself. 

Weighing the dough – I like to use kitchen scales to weigh the dough for even-sized balls. 

The dough weight for this soft flour tortilla recipe is usually around 1.2kg (2.6 pounds).

• To make tortillas. Divide the dough into eighteen 66 gram (2.3 ounce) pieces, then roll out into circles about 18 – 20 cm (7-8 inches) in diameter.
• To make soft shell tacos. Divide the dough into thirty-two 33 gram (1.1 ounce) pieces, then roll out into circles about 9 – 10 cm (3.5 – 4 inches) in diameter.

Dough a little sticky – After rolling the first piece of dough and you find that it sticks to the bench, you can either roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface or dip the dough balls in flour and shake off the excess before rolling.

Adjust the cooking temperature – Keep an eye on the cooking temperature you want to cook the tortillas in a cast iron or heavy-based skillet over medium heat and adjust the heat as necessary to avoid burning.

If using a skillet with a thin base, cook them on low to medium heat, adjusting the heat when necessary to avoid burning.

Storing Tortillas

These flour tortillas do keep well they can be stored in the fridge for a day or two or freeze for up to three months.

However, they tend to stick to each other when stacked and left to get cold.

Put a piece of baking paper between each layer before storing them in the fridge or freezing for easy separation later.

How To Warm Soft Flour Tortillas

Tortillas can be reheated cold from the fridge but, you should thaw frozen tortillas before reheating. Then use one of the following methods to reheat tortillas.

On the stovetop – Tortillas can be reheated one at a time in a dry frying pan over low to medium heat until they become soft again.

Reheat in the microwave oven – Heat one at a time for a few seconds at a time until warm. 

In the oven – Another way to warm soft tortillas is to wrap them in foil and place them in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 5-10 minutes or until warm.

Ways To Use Soft Flour Tortillas

I’ve used this soft flour tortilla recipe to make soft shell tacos using leftovers of our slow cooker pulled pork with our black bean and corn salad, so delicious!

You can even use these to make hot or cold sandwich wraps.

Make sweet or savory quesadillas with these tortillas. See our blog post Quesadilla Fillings for ideas.

You can even make Burritos like this Healthy Breakfast Burrito and enchiladas.