Name: Homemade Wheat Tortillas
Ingredients: 4 cups (950 ml ) unbleached all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons salt; 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening; 1½ cups (360 ml) warm water, or more if needed; 4 teaspoons baking powder (optional, for thicker and chewier tortillas)

Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Homemade Wheat Tortillas

Timeabout 1 minute per side

Ingredients

4 cups (950 ml ) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening
1½ cups (360 ml) warm water, or more if needed
4 teaspoons baking powder (optional, for thicker and chewier tortillas)

Directions

Prepare the dough

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder.
With a pastry blender, a fork, or your hands, gradually work in the lard or shortening until it is all incorporated.
Add enough warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough.
Turn out onto a lightly‑floured board and knead for 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into ¼ cup (3 oz / 90 g) portions and form them into balls.

Shape and cook

Roll each ball into a flat round about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter and ⅛ inches (0.3 cm) thick. You can use a tortilla press for this.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium‑high heat.
Place the tortillas one at a time into the dry (or very lightly oiled) hot skillet; cook until browned in spots on one side, then turn and brown the other side (about 1 minute per side).
Remove from the skillet and keep warm in a cloth towel.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

932Calories

17 gProtein

43 gFat

119 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour: Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and stretch for rolling.
Lard or vegetable shortening: Coats flour particles to tenderize the dough and add a soft, pliable texture.
Baking powder: Releases gas that lightens the tortillas, making them thicker and chewier as noted in the record.

The step that matters

Adding the water. Water hydrates the flour proteins to form gluten; too little makes the dough crack when rolled, while too much makes it sticky and hard to shape. Add it gradually until the dough is soft but not sticky.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Homemade Wheat Tortillas