Sonoran-Style Flour Tortillas Recipe (2024)

Mothermade flour tortillas every day. She would use all purpose flour and vegetable shortening. She also used very hot water and did not melt the shortening, but used her hands to work the shortening into the flour. After kneading, she would place a moist towel over the bowl to let it rest, then pinch off balls of dough, let them rest again before rolling them out. She would roll an entire batch of dough and put waxed paper between each tortilla and put them in refrigerator to use when needed.

In googling Sonoran flour, I see that Hayden Mills grows what they are calling Sonoran heritage wheat in Arizona. I wonder whether is would be a good match to Mexican grown wheat? In addiiton, if one wants to go down the flour rabbit hole, Anson Mills created a "Trigo Fuerte Flatbread Flour" which is a combination of Sonora and Red Fife flours which also sounds promising. They include a flour tortilla recipe using this blend. Certainly, these are more expensive options . . .

LIving in Tucson, we enjoy the luxury ofSonoran flour tortillas in delicious abundance. There is one neighborhood, mom and pop tortiarilla/taqueria that makes the best Sonoran tortillas. They add a bit of cottage cheese and the flavor is muy sabroso!Political warning!The idea that Sonoran flour cannot get through our militarized border, but plenty of illicit drugs get through is a story to be investigated.

Though sometimes difficult to find, La Abuela flour tortillas are very, very good "ready to heat" flour tortillas. They are light and puff up nicely on the griddle. The difference between these and all other store-bought tortillas is like the difference between a croissant and a hard dinner roll. Made in Westlaco, Texas. The best prepared tortillas we can find.

As an alternative to wasting all that parchment: my grandmother and aunts make (and made) masa balls and pile them in a bowl, then smoosh them into discs between their hands, then simply hang the pre-rolled masa discs on the side of the bowl (or counter top) before rolling them out and placing on the comal to cook. Flour is your friend here, your prep station should be covered. No need to waste paper. And an alternative to the baggie is a covered bowl with a hand towel. Mexican classic.

If you want to develop more gluten, add liquid first. If, as in case, you want more tenderness, add fat first, to coat flour and prevent long gluten chains from forming. I am no food chemist but Shirley Corriher's book CookWise has improved everything I touch in the kitchen, highly recommended.

My Abuelita had 13 children so practically every time I saw her in the kitchen she was making tortillas for the grandchildren. A pat of butter, stick in your mouth, and you almost saw God! Puffed up? We never waited that long.However, all she ever had on the stove was a small metal container for the leftover bacon grease, and I am convinced that is how she did it. Adding salt to lard or Crisco does not bring the same taste and texture as room temperature partially congealed bacon grease.

My mouth is watering and my eyes are tearing up from this food memory. So many times my mother would butter a tortilla straight from the grill for the child me. I miss them both.

Using a tortilla press to create perfectly round tortillas speeds up that process of rolling them out.

Steve, I have never used plastic or paper, and until a few months ago I had never owned a stand mixer. By hand I knead dough til supple, 4-5 min, then place in bowl covered with kitchen towel for 30 min. Resting allows gluten to relax. I then shape into little balls (testales) and stack them in the bowl or on side of rolling surface. I cover with kitchen towel to keep them from drying out and let them rest again while griddle heats. Then I roll one at a time and cook. This recipe is a bit fussy.

Mom made tortillas a few times a week from childhood on. Nothing matches a childhood growing up to the clip-clop of the rolling pin and the smell of flour toasting on the comal.She used basic AP flour, a sprinkling of salt and baking powder with hot water and melted lard, bacon grease, or shortening. Her preferred flour brand was called La Pin~a. It came in a bag made of fabric with tiny pineapples on it. (She grew up wearing undergarments sewn from the flour sacks.) Resting the dough was key.

Mine turn out exactly the same using 123 method. Much more hot water (scant 1 cup), 2 cups flour and 3 T oil - any kind. Who keeps lard around anyway.

No. As in, not at all. Real lard - not the hydrogenated bricks sold in most supermarkets - is one of the healthiest fats you can eat. But you must use "leaf-lard" - from the pristine white fat around the kidneys. It has NO porky smell or flavor. It's used for (heavenly, flaky) texture. Buy rendered online, or whole from a butcher and render yourself in minutes. If you never had a buttermilk biscuit made with lard and butter, you've never had a biscuit! Ditto pie crust.

My mom found suitable flour for tortilla style bread: rolled, hand flipped & Navajo fry bread. It is called Turkey brand flour from Lehi Roller Mills https://store.lehirollermills.com/flour-wheat/My grandmother swore by Bluebird flour from Cortez, CO http://cortezmilling.comFor soft tortillas, don’t be afraid to add another Tbsp of water if dough is not soft, & let it rest. We would also get Anasazi pinto beans from Dove Creek, CO https://www.anasazibeans.com/shopping/beans.html

I must argue. This recipe is anything but Sonoran style. The whole thing that makes tortillas Sonoran style is the lack of a leavening agent. There are lovely Mexican recipes that use some, but they are not sonoran!

Because we're whole grain freaks I made these using all whole wheat flour, using two level cups instead of heaping cups. And I used olive oil for the fat. Oiled each ball before rolling and was amazed at how well it worked. I was surprised at how thin they need to be made. I scaled mine at 1 1/2 ounces each (43 grams) and rolled them to 6 or 7 inches. The rest times given here might be generous. I allowed about half an hour for the initial rest and then about 20 minutes rest before rolling.

These are so delicious! A life changing recipe for at home cooking. I was already making corn tortillas at home which are fantastic and these give me another fantastic option for fresh homemade tortillas! I refuse to buy store bought after making both from scratch. Superb recipe!

Moved away from Tucson and cannot find good Sonoran style fresh tortillas. So we tried the recipe and they were much better than store bought but not truly Sonoran style. Sonoran style are stretchy - like the interior layers of a good croissant is the best way I can think to describe them. They have no leavening agent at all and are thin as paper. They roll around a burrito beautifully without tearing because they have that stretch. I’m next going to work the recipe without leavening.

Flour 10 oz = 284 gramsWater 502 = 162 grams

I made these tonight following the recipe exactly and they turned out beautiful and delicious. I read the comments and as some suggested instead of lard I added bacon grease and leftover duck fat from the grease jar. I also skipped the plastic and parchment and instead used a linen dish towel. They were super easy to handle, quick to make apart from the initial 2 hr rest during which I made the spanish rice, baked beans, guacamole and peach salsa. Family will never accept store bought again.

Hayden Mills, an Arizona flour company sells Sonoran Wheat. :)https://haydenflourmills.com/collections/white-sonora

285 g flour85 g melted butter

I have no problems eating lard, but I don't tend to have it around the house. I do have coconut oil around the house, and it makes amazing tortillas!

I used coconut oil and worked well. I don’t really think it needs to rest so long- it doesn’t really rise. Also no need for plastic, just let rise covered in the kitchen aid bowl. 2 hours later, separate, cover with a wet towel. Pressed with tortilla press, then finish with a rolling pin.

Sonoran tortillas in Tucson don’t use any leavening agent, so nix the baking powder if your goal is to make those amazing flour tortillas you’d find in South Tucson along 12th Ave.

I've made these several times and just had my most successful batch. I did as another reviewer mentioned and mixed cold lard with flour, salt and BP to try and coat as much flour with the fat. It warms and melts a bit as you do this. Then, mixed with the hot water. I roll them thinner and a 43 gram tortilla is a 6-7" circle. I use real lard from a great local butcher and KA AP flour. Highly recommend!

These were lovely. The dough has a great feel after it rests. These were flaky and delicate, yet held together well. They had a great taste and reheated well. I will be making these often. When reheated and wrapped around a slice of Gouda, it was a nice accompaniment to homemade cream of tomato soup — a bit like a faked grilled cheese.

Really great recipe. Here are a couple of tips that I found helpful:1) Did not have any lard so substituted (1) stick of unsalted butter, elted in the microwave. This worked just fine.2) I didn't have a rolling pin so I used a glass bottle. For step 5, I put the 4" tortilla between two sheets of parchment paper to roll it out as thin as possible. So delicious! We were eating them plain as they came off the burner!

Sonoran tortillas don’t include baking powder.

If you’re going to make these in advance and pick up the next day, roll the tortillas out before refrigerating. It’s much easier to make a round tortilla when the dough isn’t cold. Better a little undercooked than overcooked, and the steaming in a closed container is a must.