PicoBlog

I have never eaten a flour tortilla in Sonora, Mexico, where this style originates. But I recently encountered this soft, thin, and impossibly stretchy marvel in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix is in the Sonoran Desert, the Mexican food there is incredible, and these tortillas are abundant. I am forever changed.

Since then, I’ve been working to get my own recipe straightened out. The ingredients are simple, so the technique matters. I tested different methods of incorporating fat (lard) into the dough, hydration ratios, and water temperature.

I found that crumbling the fat directly into the flour and using very hot water gave me the best result. The fat disperses somewhat irregularly while the hot water pre-gelatinizes starch in the flour (think like a tangzhong for shokupan), forming gluten fast and trapping moisture in the dough. The result is somehow both flaky and extremely sturdy, all while being easier to roll out.

From there, I messed with the water amount until I was happy with the hydration. I had my baker’s percentages:

100% flour

25% lard

55% water

1.5% salt

For the unfamiliar, baker’s percentage is a system of recipe writing in which the ingredients are all written as a percentage of the amount of flour. For instance, in my recipe, I use 500 grams of flour (100%), 125 grams of lard (25%), 275 g of water (55%), and 8 grams of salt (~1.5%). It is just math! You would get a smaller amount of the same dough from 100 g of flour, 25 grams of lard, 55 grams of water, and 1.5 grams of salt.

I almost always use baker’s percentages when I bake bread. It is certainly how all the recipes were written in any bakery or pastry kitchen I’ve worked in, but I think it is useful at home as well. Once you get into the weeds of bread baking, baker’s percentages are far easier to scale, repurpose, or change on the fly.

All this is to say, I love bread! I love making it, and this is how I think about it. Yet, I’m brand new to making tortillas. I’ll put my recipe, complete with instructions, gram amounts, and portioning advice, below. But also, check out some of these other recipes, and let this be the start (or continuation) of your flour tortilla journey.

Cooking with Chef Tuan - Sonoran Flour Tortilla Recipe

Tortillas de Harina (Taqueras y para Burritos) - La Herencia de las Viudas

Tortillas de Harina Estilo Sonora - Riquísimo Cocina Mexicana

How BORDER TOWN TORTILLERIA Makes the Softest HANDMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS in NYC -- food. curated.

Ingredients (sorry, no volume measurements today):

500 grams flour (100%)

8 grams salt (~1.5% salt)

125 grams lard (25%)

275 grams of very hot water (55%)

This makes 12 burrito-sized tortillas (75 grams each) or about 30 taco-sized tortillas (30 grams each). Scale up, or down, and portion as you please!

Start by adding the flour to a mixing bowl, followed by the salt. Mix to incorporate. Add the lard and begin to crumble into the flour, as you would for a pie dough. The mixture should become pebbly. Next, add the very hot water. It should be just under boiling. What I do is pour water straight from the boiling kettle into a separate container to measure it. Then I add it to the dough. Mix with a dough whisk, wooden spoon, or your hands, but it may be wise to let it cool for a minute. Mix until a shaggy dough has formed, and all the flour is absorbed. Turn out onto a work surface.

You do not need to knead this for a long time. The hot water helps form the gluten, and overworking will make this difficult to roll out. Knead on the counter for a minute or two, until the dough is relatively smooth and pliable. Wrap or cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Portion out your dough into 75-gram dough balls for burrito-sized tortillas, and 30-gram dough balls for taco-sized tortillas. Set a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat and begin to roll out the tortillas, one by one. They should be slightly larger than you want the end product and thin enough to see through.

Place onto the dry skillet or griddle to cook. If you want burrito-size tortillas, you will need a griddle or other surface large enough to cook them on. In my case, I have this cast iron griddle and I simply roll the tortillas into long ovals to fit. Whatever the case, cook on one side until bubbling and browned in spots. Flip and cook until brown on the other side. Remove and remember to always keep your stack of fresh tortillas warm in a kitchen towel. Enjoy however you like! I made burritos, you’ll have to tune in next time for a little more info on that.

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