My family loves my easy homemade tortillas that only need 5 ingredients — and that's including water

Steven JohnApr 27, 2024, 01:11 IST

I make tortillas for my family all the time.Steven John

Fresh flour tortillas take less than an hour to make, including the 30-minute resting time
You can form the tortillas into small discs for street-style tacos or larger wraps for burritos

If you're looking for the ultimate crowd-pleasing food — especially if said crowd includes some hungry kids who may or may not be picky eaters — my family has the best homemade tortilla recipe.

The five-ingredient recipe is great for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, wraps, dips, or on its own with butter. Plus, they're comically easy to make.

Since I pretty much always have the simple ingredients on hand in my kitchen, the homemade tortillas have been a great way for my family to save a little money on ever-inflating grocery bills.

Here's our recipe.

The ingredients are as basic as they come.

I rarely have to go out of my way to get tortilla ingredients. Steven John

As I said, I usually already have all the ingredients I need to make tortillas in my kitchen on any given day.

For one batch, you'll need:

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of lukewarm water

As far as equipment goes, you can make these tortillas with just a large mixing bowl, a spoon, a rolling pin, and a frying pan. But I like using a stand mixer and a flat electric griddle to make things easier.

As I said, I usually already have all the ingredients I need to make tortillas in my kitchen on any given day.

For one batch, you'll need:

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of lukewarm water

Start by mixing the dry ingredients.

I put my dry ingredients directly into my stand-mixer bowl. Steven John

Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in the stand-mixer bowl and use a large spoon or the dough hook on low to mix them together.

Run the mixer on low and add the wet ingredients.

The bread-hook attachment makes this step easy.Steven John

Once the dry ingredients are combined, I like to turn the mixer on low and add the olive oil followed by the water.

Run the mixer at its low speed for one to two minutes, stopping as soon as a cohesive ball has formed.

If a lot of powder is still sitting at the bottom after about a minute, you can dribble a bit more water down the sides of the mixing bowl.

Once the dry ingredients are combined, I like to turn the mixer on low and add the olive oil followed by the water.

Run the mixer at its low speed for one to two minutes, stopping as soon as a cohesive ball has formed.

If a lot of powder is still sitting at the bottom after about a minute, you can dribble a bit more water down the sides of the mixing bowl.

Form the dough into balls and let them rest on a floured surface.

You have to leave the dough alone for 30 minutes. Steven John

Once you have a cohesive dough, it's time to make lots of little dough balls.

This recipe makes about 16 small tortillas (great for tacos), eight larger tortillas (for burritos or wraps), or five or six huge burrito wraps.

Either way, form even dough balls and set them out on a lightly floured, nonporous, hard surface. Turn the balls to coat them and gently press them into thick discs.

Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and leave it alone for 30 minutes.

Once you have a cohesive dough, it's time to make lots of little dough balls.

This recipe makes about 16 small tortillas (great for tacos), eight larger tortillas (for burritos or wraps), or five or six huge burrito wraps.

Either way, form even dough balls and set them out on a lightly floured, nonporous, hard surface. Turn the balls to coat them and gently press them into thick discs.

Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and leave it alone for 30 minutes.

Roll out the tortillas to prep them for the pan.

I roll my dough out in all directions to end up with a circle.Steven John

Once the dough balls have had time to rest, uncover them and prepare a new lightly floured surface.

Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a thin, round sheet. To preserve the round shape, it's best to roll in four directions — start by rolling away from yourself, then roll perpendicular and to the left, then roll toward yourself, then roll perpendicular and to the right.

The tortillas should only be about 2 or 3 millimeters thick.

Once the dough balls have had time to rest, uncover them and prepare a new lightly floured surface.

The tortillas should only be about 2 or 3 millimeters thick.

The cooking process goes by really quickly.

It takes less than two minutes for the tortillas to cook. Steven John

I've made this recipe enough that I feel comfortable rolling and cooking simultaneously, saving me some extra time. But it's probably easier to get everything rolled out first if you're a beginner.

Regardless, each raw tortilla goes into the pan or onto the griddle for one minute before getting flipped. Then the other side cooks for less than 30 seconds.

I always aim for some brown spots, but I don't want the exterior to be crisp (unless I'm making chips). Keep a close eye, every batch cooks slightly differently.

I've made this recipe enough that I feel comfortable rolling and cooking simultaneously, saving me some extra time. But it's probably easier to get everything rolled out first if you're a beginner.

Regardless, each raw tortilla goes into the pan or onto the griddle for one minute before getting flipped. Then the other side cooks for less than 30 seconds.

I always aim for some brown spots, but I don't want the exterior to be crisp (unless I'm making chips). Keep a close eye, every batch cooks slightly differently.

Let the tortillas cool and enjoy them while they're fresh.

The tortillas taste best on the day you make them. Steven John

Move the cooked tortillas to a cooling rack, a stack of paper towels, or a plate, and enjoy them as soon as possible.

If you're saving them for later that day, don't stack them in a tortilla warmer — that can make them gummy. Instead, layer them with parchment paper or paper towels and place them on a plate in the fridge.

You can quickly reheat them on the stove or in the microwave, or you can enjoy them cold as a wrap.

These tortillas are best when fresh, but they will keep in the fridge for about five days and can freeze for months. Just make sure to put parchment paper layers between them.

I also like changing things up a bit sometimes by swapping out 1 cup of flour for masa (corn flour). With either recipe, you can also let them cook a little longer and make homemade chips.