Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas

The versatility of a well-made flour tortilla astounds me. Additionally, the effort-to-payoff ratio is highly satisfying during the summer months when finding time for cooking can be a challenge. Lately, I have made a habit of whipping up a batch of these tortillas every week for meals-on-the-fly, and I have found that anything you would normally use a bread product for always tastes better in a homemade flour tortilla.

This weekend I went camping on Flagstaff Lake with a group of old friends. Several times a year we make it a priority to shut off our phones and lose ourselves in the woods for a couple of days. Normally, I buy a bag of English muffins (boring) and prepare breakfast sandwiches (alright) to cook over the fire (good) for breakfast. This time I decided I would test my own theory of tortilla-superiority and make a breakfast burrito (yes): eggs, jalapeno, Mexican cheese blend, and grilled potato, zucchini and celery. No surprise, it was incredible. Seriously, pick a platform: steak, veggie burger, fish, chicken, eggs, ground turkey. I have tried them all and they all taste good in a tortilla.

Do note, the tortillas I speak of are not the equivalent of a burrito wrap you buy in the store. This recipe is as solid as they come, and it is seriously worth trying.

And to wrap it all up (no pun intended), a little plug for cast iron: of all the reasons to own a cast iron pan, homemade tortillas probably fall around number 38. Buy one and try them out!

Yield: 8 tortillas, 8”-10” diameter

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

½ tsp. kosher salt

¾ c. water

3 T. olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan

Directions:

  1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Separate dough into 8 balls.
  2. Preheat cast iron pan and a splash of oil over medium heat until hot.
  3. Roll each ball of dough out into a round, 8”-10” discs. You can also roll them out one at a time as they cook; this is the method I prefer.
  4. Place a tortilla into the hot pan and cook for 1 minute per side (realistically, anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes per side is normal). Lift the tortilla up with tongs to make sure you aren’t overcooking them. You will want to flip them when they are golden brown on the bottom, as pictured above. If you over cook them they will be too crisp and will lose pliability. Between each tortilla, add a little more oil to the pan and let it heat up.
  5. Serve, or feel free to store them in the refrigerator wrapped in aluminum foil for later use.
Bethany Mathieu

About Bethany Mathieu

Hey, y'all! I’m coming at you from the highly wooded, very snowy, central Maine town of Benton and I am here to take you on a food journey of epic proportions.