When people think of Mexican tortillas, they usually imagine corn tortillas. But up north, where I’m from, tortillas de harina, flour tortillas, are just as much part of everyday life.

Wheat arrived in Mexico with the Spanish during the colonial period, and the northern states, with their dry climate and ideal growing conditions, embraced it quickly. Over time, flour tortillas became deeply woven into the food culture of northern Mexico.

Growing up, there were always tortillas de harina in my mum’s fridge.

Every week we cooked a big pot of beans, and one of our most common meals was a fresh tortilla spread with beans straight from the pot, pico de gallo salsa and fresh cheese. Simple food, but honestly one of the best meals of my childhood.

The tortillas were usually made in giant batches, sometimes two kilos at a time, meant to last the whole week. Though somehow they disappeared much faster than planned.

Especially when we pinched them hot off the stove and ate them with butter, cheese or rolled into quick little bean burritos.

There’s truly nothing like a fresh tortilla, whether corn or flour. Soft, warm and pliable, with that unmistakable smell that fills the kitchen while they cook on the comal.

And no, they are not the same thing as supermarket wraps.

Tortillas de harina are incredibly versatile. We use them for quesadillas, sincronizadas (ham and cheese quesadillas), burritos and even little improvised pizzas, I like to call that a pizzadilla. In emergencies, they also become dessert: spread with jam, cream cheese or dulce de leche and rolled up like a crepe.

Back in Mexico, I never learned how to make tortillas because they were everywhere. Fresh tortillas were as normal as bread. You could buy them hot at almost any corner shop or tortillería.

Then I moved to Australia.

Suddenly, the only thing I could find in supermarkets were wraps loaded with preservatives, and while convenient, they just didn’t taste the same.

So I started making my own.

My first attempts were terrible. Some tortillas came out thick, some paper thin, and a few somehow turned into squares, triangles or plain weird shapes. We laughed and ate them anyway, although folding them around anything proved slightly difficult.

But as they say, practice makes perfect.

Eventually, during a random Aldi visit, I found a roti maker and decided to give it a go. After a few more failed attempts, and a YouTube tutorial on how to actually use the thing, I finally got the hang of it. Now I can make tortillas de harina whenever I want. Dangerous for my waistline, but wonderful for my soul.

Even my kids love them. Sometimes they’ll eat them cold straight from the fridge or take them in their lunchboxes, which always reminds me of an old flour commercial from Mexico that joked:
“If they’re made of flour, don’t even bother heating them up.”

Homemade Tortillas de Harina

Ingredients

• 500 g plain flour
• 125 g butter
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 cup hot water

Method

Using a stand mixer

Add the butter, cut into small cubes, followed by the hot water, flour and salt.

Using the dough hook attachment, knead until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Rest of instructions below.

Kneading by hand

In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Slowly add the hot water, kneading as you go, until a soft and non-sticky dough forms.

Divide the dough into balls of roughly 50 g each and let them rest for about 15 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Roll each ball into a thin tortilla using a rolling pin, dusting lightly with flour if needed.

Cook on a hot dry skillet or griddle, flipping every 30 seconds until cooked through and lightly golden in spots. A good tortilla will puff up.

Serve warm with your favourite fillings, or eat one immediately with butter while standing in the kitchen, like we all do.