blog

be part of the tradition

Make Your Mark on McKinney's Unique Día de los Muertos Festival

Join Our Volunteers

Donate Today

Homemade Flour Tortillas (Tortillas de Harina)

T Millan
Sep 1, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Flour tortillas are a staple across Mexican kitchens, loved for their soft texture and versatility. While corn tortillas often take center stage in Día de los Muertos traditions, tortillas de harina (flour tortillas) carry their own stories—especially in northern Mexico, where they are the daily bread of family meals.

Adding fresh, handmade tortillas to your ofrenda (altar) or family table brings a personal touch to the celebration, honoring loved ones with the same warm flavors they enjoyed in life. Few foods say “hecho a mano” (made by hand) quite like a fresh tortilla puffing on the comal.

Ingredients for Flour Tortillas

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup pork lard (or butter, olive oil, or shortening)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water

Instructions for Flour Tortillas

Place flour, lard, and salt in a stand mixer bowl. Add water and knead at medium speed until a soft and elastic dough forms.
Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
After the resting time, transfer the dough to a floured surface knead it for a minute, then shape it into a ball.
Now, divide the dough into 12 pieces more or less of the same size.
Roll each piece into a ball and cover them with cling film or a kitchen towel. Leave them to rest for 10 minutes.
Preheat a large cast-iron skillet, comal, or griddle over medium heat.
Dust a working surface and place a dough ball. Using your hands flat it a little bit.
Then, with a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a thin, round tortilla. Use your hands to finish the shape of the tortilla.
Place the tortilla on the hot skillet and cook for 20 seconds or until you’ll see some bubbles appear on the top.
Flip the tortilla and continue cooking until it starts to puff nicely and some dark spots appear. Keep cooking flipping it 1-2 more times until the tortilla is cooked on both sides.
Place the cooked flour tortilla between a kitchen towel to keep it warm and soft.
Repeat the steps to make the tortillas until all dough is used.

✨ Tradition Tip: .Fresh tortillas were always gone as soon as they came off the comal — soft, warm, impossible to resist. Many of us remember sneaking that “just one more” and hoping mamá didn’t notice. Serving them for Día de los Muertos isn’t only a tradition, it’s a way of bringing back those playful, everyday memories that made family meals so special.