How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas without a Press

Sometimes I think I make things harder for myself. I mean, there was leftover chicken that I could’ve just packed up in my daughter’s lunch box, but noooo. I had the idea that I wanted to make her tortilla chicken pizzas. Easy enough right? I go to the pantry and there are no tortillas. What?! I swear I just bought some. I could’ve gone to the store, but I had the ingredients to make some and decided that tonight would be the night to give tortilla making a shot.

So, I went on the hunt to find a tortilla recipe and video. I found the video below that walked me through the process of tortilla making. I know all you experienced tortilla makers are probably laughing at me right now, but I just wasn’t exposed to this stuff growing up in Hawaii. I mean, I’m Japanese so tortilla making is kind of a foreign thing. Ask me how to make rice and I’m good. Anyway, here is the video I used to help me along.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

On with the show! I loved this video and the little family stories/tips weaved into it. You can tell this was a recipe passed down for generations and will be passed down for many years to come.

Here is my attempt to make tortillas. I started with a ball, not a disc like the video. I also dusted the top with a little flour before rolling it out with a regular rolling pin.

Roll out to about 7-inch in diameter. **Try to get it as thin as possible**
I Use a Silpat mat, which allows the tortilla peel right off.

I didn’t have anything special to cook the tortilla and used a non-stick pan. I cooked it until it puffed up and flipped it to finish cooking.

Finished tortillas – soft and light browned.

Homemade Flour Tortillas Recipe (small batch)

Chef John’s Recipe from Food Wishes Blog:

8 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cup), more as needed

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup hot water (about 105 degrees F.)

Mix everything together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add in vegetable shortening with a pastry cutter until large crumbs form. Add in hot water and mix to form a dough. Knead for about 3-5 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Divide dough into 8 parts and roll or press into thin tortillas, dusting dough with a bit of flour so it won’t stick to the rolling pin or tortilla press. Add tortillas to a pan over medium heat and cook until about one minute per side or when dough is cooked through.