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Flour tortilla

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Tortilla
Also known as: Tortilla de harina, Tortilla de trigo

The flour tortilla is a soft flatbread made from wheat flour, fat, salt and water, stretched thin and cooked on a comal. It is the dominant tortilla of northern Mexico and the wrapper for burritos and many northern tacos.

Contents
  1. History
  2. Preparation
  3. Regional variations
  4. Use in tacos
  5. Recipe
  6. Reviews
  7. See also
  8. References

History

Wheat reached New Spain in the sixteenth century; Larousse dates its arrival to 1543 and suggests flour tortillas were probably being made by the end of that century. The dictionary links the bread to the flatbreads that reached Spain from the Arab world. It took hold in the north, outside the old Mesoamerican heartland where maize tortillas ruled.

Preparation

Flour is worked with pork lard or vegetable shortening, salt and water into a smooth dough, rested briefly and divided into balls. Each ball is stretched into a round, allowed to shrink back for a moment, stretched again and cooked on both sides on a comal that is hot but not scorching, since the dough burns easily. Freshly cooked tortillas are aired rather than stacked hot so they do not stick together. Versions made with lard are sometimes called tortillas de manteca and those made with shortening tortillas de agua.

Regional variations

In Baja California, Nayarit, Sinaloa and Sonora shortening has largely displaced lard, and the resulting tortillas are large and sturdy. Sonora is famous for very thin tortillas up to half a meter across, sold folded in quarters; these are the sobaqueras. Chihuahua cooks add baking powder so the tortillas puff. Coahuila's are smaller and thicker. Puerto Nuevo in Baja California makes extremely thin tortillas over 30 cm wide to go with lobster, and Oaxaca has a whole-wheat tortilla de trigo. Factory-made flour tortillas are now sold throughout Mexico.

Use in tacos

Flour tortillas carry carne asada, machaca and many northern fillings, and are the base of gringas and burritos. Larousse notes that they toughen as they cool, so they are best eaten straight from the comal.

Recipe

Makes 12 tortillas of about 20 cm · Time: 1 hour including resting

Ingredients

  • 500 g all-purpose flour
  • 100 g pork lard or vegetable shortening
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder (optional, Chihuahua style)
  • About 1 1/4 cups hot water

Steps

  1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder, then rub in the fat with your fingers until it looks like coarse sand.
  2. Add the hot water gradually and knead about 5 minutes into a smooth, soft dough.
  3. Divide into 12 balls, cover and rest at least 20 minutes.
  4. Roll each ball into a thin round, let it rest a few seconds to shrink back, then roll again.
  5. Cook on a medium-hot comal 30 to 45 seconds per side until speckled with brown spots.
  6. Keep the cooked tortillas wrapped in a towel, but let the first ones air for a moment before stacking.

Too hot a comal scorches the tortilla before it cooks through.

Reviews

Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.

See also

References

  1. "Tortilla de harina". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Categories: Northern Mexican cuisine Tortillas Tortillas and masa Wheat dishes