Sonoran (Mexican) · from the kitchen

Sonoran Flour Tortillas — Lard & Hot-Griddle Pressed

Large, thin, soft Sonoran flour tortillas made with lard and warm water, rested and hot-griddle pressed until blistered.

Serves

10–12 tortillas

Prep

45 min (includes resting)

Cook

15 min

Sonoran Flour Tortillas — Lard & Hot-Griddle Pressed

The story

A Sonoran flour tortilla is a different creature from anything you buy in a store — big, thin, and soft, with a few charred blisters and a faint taste of lard and wheat. I learned to press them on a cool morning with a wooden tortilla press and a cast-iron griddle already heating. The secret is the warm water and the rest: you let the dough sit so it relaxes, and then you press it thin enough to see your hand through. Eat them hot off the comal with butter and salt, or wrap them around machaca, or tear one into a bowl of albóndigas. There is almost nothing in cooking that is more worth it.

The rest of it

Still on the card

Ingredients

◆3 cups all-purpose flour
◆1 tsp kosher salt
◆1 tsp baking powder
◆1/4 cup lard (or vegetable shortening), at room temperature
◆1 cup warm water (about 110°F), plus more if needed
◆1 tbsp vegetable oil (for oiling the dough ball and your hands)

Method — Step by Step

1Mix the dry: in a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add the lard and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized bits of fat.
2Add the warm water: pour in the warm water and the oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a clean surface.
3Knead and rest: knead the dough 4–5 minutes until smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky — add a dusting of flour only if it clings. Form into a ball, return to the bowl, cover with a warm damp towel, and let rest at least 30 minutes (up to an hour) so the gluten relaxes.

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breadtortillasflour tortillassonoranarizonalardgriddleside

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Thoughts & experiences (2)

Dan W.Sep 1, 2026
First time pressing my own tortillas and the rolling-pin trick was the key. Ate three straight off the comal with butter before dinner even started.
Marisol T.Sep 1, 2026
I grew up in Hermosillo and these are the real thing — thin, blistered, and soft for days. The long rest made all the difference for me. My abuela would approve.