How to make Tortillas at home? (Perfect for Tacos and Enchiladas)

• Food: Homemade Tortillas
• Writer: Lizzie Green
• Content-Type: Food Blog

Learn how to make tortillas from scratch! They’re soft, flexible, and tasty thanks to this simple 5-ingredient recipe, and they’re excellent for tacos and enchiladas!

When we lived in Austin, I fell in love with Central Market’s handcrafted tortillas. They were so fresh that the heat from the freshly baked tortillas would fog up the bag when you bought them.

It took everything I had not to open it up and eat one right away! I enjoyed all of the tortillas Central Market has to offer – flour, corn, and even multigrain – but my absolute favorite was their mitad & mitad.

They were the best of all worlds, with all the flexibility of flour tortillas and a delightful corn flavor to boot, because they were made with corn and wheat flour.

We don’t get to eat Central Market’s “half & half” tortillas as often now that we reside in Chicago, so I developed my own corn and flour tortilla recipe.

Jack and I have been making them nonstop for the past couple of months! They’re soft and pliable, with a chewy texture and a strong maize flavor.

This recipe is a must-try if you’ve never made handmade tortillas before. It’s quick and simple to make, and the handmade tortillas are far superior to store-bought tortillas.

Make a batch for Taco Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, or any night of the week for dinner, and elevate your tacos and enchiladas to new heights!

Ingredients for Tortilla Recipe

To produce smooth, tasty handmade tortillas, you only need five ingredients:

• Masa harina – Masa harina is a typical tortilla and tamale ingredient. It has a delightful, distinct corn flavor since it is made from corn that has been specifically treated with lime. This tortilla recipe necessitates the use of masa harina; normal cornmeal or maize flour will not suffice.
• Wheat flour and masa harina are mixed together to create tortillas soft and malleable.
• I use olive oil because it’s what I have on hand, but veggie oil can work as well.
• The dough comes together with the help of very warm water.
• Sea salt brings out the strong flavor of the masa harina!

How to Make Them?

Are you ready to discover how to prepare tortillas? Check out this step-by-step guide first, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page for the full tortilla recipe!

To begin, combine the flour and masa harina in a mixing bowl. Mix in the oil with a spatula until it is thoroughly incorporated.

After that, add the salt water. Put the salt in a cup of boiling water and pour it over the flour mixture. To make a clumpy dough, mix with a fork. After that, add the remaining salt water.

It’s time to start kneading! Knead the dough until it is smooth on a lightly floured work surface. It should have a medium-firm consistency, not a mushy bread dough consistency.

After kneading the dough, divide it and set it aside to rest. Make balls out of the dough by dividing it into 8 or 12 parts. Place them on a tray and cover with plastic wrap to rest for 30 minutes.

Prepare your tortilla press while the dough rests. Place a piece of parchment paper on either side of the dough to prevent the press from sticking. Alternatively, you can roll out the tortillas between two sheets of parchment paper using a rolling pin.

Finally, push the button and cook! To flatten a dough ball, place it on a tortilla press lined with parchment paper and press down firmly. Cook the tortilla for 30 to 45 seconds in a prepared dry cast-iron skillet over medium heat.

Cook for another 30 to 45 seconds on the other side. Remove it from the pan and keep it warm by wrapping it in a kitchen towel while you press and fry the remaining dough. That concludes our discussion.

Recipes for Tortillas

1. Depending on how you intend to utilize them, select the appropriate size. This recipe yields 12 little tortillas, perfect for tacos, or 8 giant tortillas, perfect for enchiladas. Roll the dough into 12 balls before letting it rest if you want to use it for tacos. Roll it into 8 enchiladas if you want to make enchiladas.
2. Increase or decrease the temperature. You’ll want your cast iron skillet to be nice and hot before you start frying the tortillas, but it won’t stay at that temperature once it’s preheated. Instead, as you work, the heat will rise, so reduce the heat and/or cook the tortillas for a shorter amount of time on each side. I usually start on medium heat and drop to low, starting with 45 seconds per side and decreasing to 30 seconds per side.
3. Don’t go overboard. Pliable handmade tortillas can be bent into tacos or rolled up into enchiladas. Cook until brown specks emerge around the edges of the potatoes. They will get crisp if you overcook them.
4. Wrap them up. This is a must-do step for excellent malleable tortillas! Wrap one with a kitchen towel as soon as it comes off the heat. The towel will trap the heat as you add tortillas, allowing them to steam and soften.
   Tortillas prepared from scratch

How to Use Tortillas Made at Home?

Depending on how big we make them, we like to use these handmade tortillas for tacos or enchiladas. In my Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas or the Zucchini Verde Vegan Enchiladas larger handmade tortillas are excellent.

Tacos can be made with smaller handmade tortillas. Use them in any of the following dishes:

• Spicy Mango, Black Beans, and Avocado
• Grilled Corn
• Avocado Sauce for Vegetarians
• Healthy Breakfast

Homemade tortillas are best eaten the same day they’re made, but if you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. They can also be frozen for up to two months.

Tortillas

These handmade tortillas are delicate and tasty. This recipe yields 12 little tortillas, perfect for tacos, or 8 giant tortillas, perfect for enchiladas.

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, more for rolling
• 1 cup masa harina
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons very warm water

Instructions

1. Whisk together the all-purpose flour and masa harina in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the oil with a spatula until it is thoroughly incorporated.
2. Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about a third of a cup over the flour mixture, stirring with a fork. The dough will clump together. Add the remaining water and stir to combine.
3. Knead the dough until it is smooth on a lightly floured work surface. It should have a medium-firm consistency, not a mushy bread dough consistency.
4. Make balls out of the dough by dividing it into 8 or 12 parts. Place them on a tray and cover with plastic wrap for 30 minutes to rest.
5. Preheat a medium-sized cast-iron skillet.
6. Place a dough ball in the center of the bottom circle of a tortilla press and cover with parchment paper on both sides. To flatten the top, close it and press down firmly. You can also roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper using a rolling pin.
7. For 30 to 45 seconds, place the tortilla in a dry, heated skillet. Cook for another 30 to 45 seconds on the other side. Overcooking the tortilla will cause it to become crunchy and less malleable.
8. To keep warm, remove from the oven and wrap in a kitchen towel. Rep with the rest of the dough. As you work, the skillet will heat up, so adjust the heat and timing as needed.