Soft, supple wheat tortillas as they are made in northern Mexico, where the flour tortilla comes from. Traditionally made with lard for the fullest flavour, but just as good with sunflower oil. For burritos you roll them out to 28–30 cm; smaller is of course fine too.
Flour tortillas
Region: Northern Mexico
Flour tortillas
Region: Northern Mexico
Method
01
Make the dough
Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Rub in the lard with your fingertips to a crumbly mixture (or stir in the oil). Add the warm water and knead for 5–8 minutes to a smooth, elastic dough.
02
Rest
Cover and leave the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour, at room temperature. This relaxes the dough; skip it and it keeps springing back when you roll it out.
03
Divide
Divide the dough into 8 balls of approx. 85 g for burrito size, or 12–16 smaller ones for taco size. Cover and leave to rest for another 15 minutes.
04
Roll out
Roll each ball out on a lightly floured work surface paper-thin to a circle of 28–30 cm. Give the dough a quarter turn each time as you roll for a nicely round shape.
05
Cook
Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Cook each tortilla for 30–45 seconds per side: light brown blisters should form, but the tortilla must stay supple. Cooking too long makes it crisp, and then your burrito tears when you roll it.
06
Keep warm
Stack the tortillas straight away under a clean tea towel. The steam keeps them soft and rollable.
Tips & notes
You'll find lard in the baking aisle or otherwise at the butcher, and sunflower oil is a perfectly good substitute. Store fully cooled tortillas airtight for 2 days or freeze them: warm briefly in a dry pan and they are like fresh again.
Variations
- Replace the lard entirely with sunflower oil for a vegetarian version.
- Make smaller tortillas in fajita size instead of large burrito tortillas.
Contains:
Gluten
Serve with
| Calories | 271 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
