How to Make Flour Tortillas with a Tortilla Press

Did you know you can make flour tortillas with a tortilla press? Save time & energy by using a tortilla press to make your homemade tortillas. Learn how to make this quick & simple flour tortilla recipe using a tortilla press with video tutorial. Tortilla presses aren’t just for corn tortillas!

That’s right. I said it. Homemade tortillas don’t have to be hand rolled. Although you can find about 3 tortilla recipes here on my site where I hand rolled the tortillas, now I’m showcasing a quick & easy way to get delicious soft warm tortillas right off the tortilla press.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Well ya gotta cook em’ on a hot griddle or comal (which I highly recommend) after they come off the press. I personally prefer my lodge cast iron griddle, (which is also a reversible grill) because I can throw two or three tortillas on at a time and cook them. But any pan will do really, as long as it’s hot enough.

There really is no comparison to a homemade tortilla versus a store-bought tortilla. Be it flour or corn. You must try making them at least once in your life.

I had read before that you shouldn’t make flour tortillas on a tortilla press, so I just always hand rolled them like Abuelita did. Full disclosure:I’m not of Latin or Mexican heritage, and I don’t really have an Abuelita, but it just sounded right!

I had purchased a tortilla press a few years back because I wanted to try my hand at making corn tortillas. Although, I’ve not posted a corn tortilla recipe to date, I really need to do that soon, because they are just as delicious as homemade flour tortillas.

I fell in love with that press and made the mistake of googling if I could make flour tortillas with a tortillas press. The inter webs said No! You shouldn’t make flour tortillas on a tortilla press.

Who made that stupid rule? I wanna know right know. Because it’s totally false.

Anyway, we all know we keep googling something until we get the answer we want! Wait. You mean, you don’t do that?

How to Make Flour Tortillas with a Tortilla Press:

So how do you make a tortilla on a tortilla press anyway? Simple. The same way you make a corn tortilla on a press. I’ve made a corresponding video of the recipe and press demonstration which you can find in the zip recipe card just below.

How to Make Flour Tortillas with a Tortilla Press

May 17, 2020

by Sherri

Cuisine Mexican

Category Breads Mexican

Persons

12

Serving Size

1 Tortilla

Ingredients

• 2 Cups all purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons cold grated salted butter
• 1 Tablespoon rendered strained bacon cold bacon fat
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 to 1 cup warm water

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt and fat. If you don't have rendered strained bacon fat, you can just use 4 tablespoons of butter.
2. Cut all the ingredients together with a fork or pastry cutter until it looks crumbly.
3. Add about half the water and stir together.
4. Keep adding water a little at a time until the flour is hydrated & begins to look shaggy.
5. Begin to knead the dough in the bowl making sure to gather all the bits.
6. Remove the dough and keep kneading until the dough looks smooth and stretchy.
7. It should feel pliable, soft, and easily tear away.
8. Divide the dough (preferably with a digital kitchen scale ) into 40 gram pieces and roll into balls. Or just try to divide the dough as equally as possible into golf ball sized portions
9. Cover and let rest 10 minutes
10. Preheat a well oiled griddle or comal to medium low heat (you want your griddle or pan really hot in order to cook the tortillas) while the dough is resting and you press the tortillas.
11. After the dough has rested take a dough ball and open your tortilla press.
12. Place the dough ball slightly off center between a large cut zipper storage bag. (with the zipper top section cut off and the sides cut so that the bottom is still attached and can be folded over on itself.) You can also use two pieces of regular plastic wrap or parchment paper.
13. Close the press and press the handle down firmly
14. Open the press and peel the tortilla off placing it on a piece of parchment paper.
15. Continue until all the dough is used up.
16. Place a tortilla on the grill by flipping it over with the paper attached and upwards.
17. Press down with a spatula until the dough cooks a little and you're able to carefully peel the parchment paper off
18. Cook about a minute then check the bottom of the tortilla to see if you have those lovely brown marks.
19. The tortilla is usually ready to flip when it puffs up also.
20. Cook about another minute on the other side then transfer to a clean towel or basket tortilla warmer to keep warm.

Tags

Flour Tortillas with a Tortilla Press,

Homemade Flour Tortillas,

How to use a tortilla press,

Tortilla press recipe

© 2024 Copyright The Kitchen Prescription

These flour tortillas go perfectly with my grilled salmon tacos or my sheet pan shrimp fajitas.

Why Make Flour Tortillas with a Tortilla Press?

You haven’t lived until you try making flour tortillas at home and using a tortilla press saves you time and energy in the kitchen. Rolling tortillas is fun and a stress reliever of sorts…at least for me, but sometimes you just want to get dinner on the table. Tortillas presses just aren’t for corn tortillas, despite what someone has tried to tell you.

It absolutely works. Especially when you want a thicker tortilla or street taco to soak up all the juiciness of your proteins and sauces.

What is an Ingredient That Makes Tortillas more Delicious?

I use rendered strained bacon fat in my tortillas. Traditionally, flour tortillas are made with lard, which is essentially rendered pork fat. I would never use that much lard in jar from the store, because I only would use it in flour tortillas. So whenever the mister smokes some bacon he catches all that delicious rendered fat on the tin foil on the smoker.  I strain it into a mason jar and keep it in the fridge. It will keep for about a month in the fridge.

Ultimately, you can use whatever fat of your choice that fits your lifestyle and diet. I typically like to use a mixture of salted butter and rendered bacon fat. I find the combination of the two gives me the tastiest results.

How long will my flour tortillas keep?

You can keep flour tortillas for up a week in a storage bag or container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to a month or two. Just bring them to room temperature from the freezer then warm them in the microwave, gas stove burner (for a char) or in a pan in oven or stove.

Do flour tortillas require yeast or baking powder to make them rise?

No. I don’t use any baking powder in mine at all. My tortillas puff up nicely all on their own right on the griddle as I cook them.

Yeast has never been a traditional ingredient in flour tortillas. Lucky for us, since this whole stay at home order quarantine thingy has caused a shortage of yeast in some areas of the country.

I hope you give homemade tortillas on the tortilla press a try. If you make these tortillas or any of my recipes don’t forget to follow and tag me on Instagram and I’ll share your photo.

As always, thanks for reading and following along. I appreciate you all! Be safe and healthy out there.