Last night, for the first time, I made homemade tortillas. I’ve always wanted to make them, but never took the time to figure out how to do it. Anyway, I usually bought them when they went on sale at the store and thought I was getting a good deal. Boy was I wrong! At the store I bought tortillas for $0.99 on sale for 10 large tortillas. Normally, they could be $1.50 to $2.00 or more! Well, I did the math for my homemade tortillas and was pleasantly surprised.
I don’t think I’ll ever buy store tortillas ever again. They take time to make, but it is rewarding and they store well.
Ingredients
4 c. Flour
1/8 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 c. Margarine
1 c. lukewarm Water
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
*If you don’t have margarine, vegetable shortening or butter will work. It just changes the price details!
Directions
1. Put flour in a large mixing bowl.
2. Stir in baking powder.
3. Combine margarine with the dry ingredients until it forms a coarse mixture. (I used my hands, but you certainly could use a fork to cut in the margarine)
4. Dissolve salt in lukewarm water.
5. Sprinkle water over dry ingredients, combine completely until mixture sticks together in a ball. *You may need to add a little more water (1/4 c.) if mixture does not stick together in a ball.
6. Roll dough in a ball, put in a bowl, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes.
7. Remove dough from bowl, and divide into 12 even sections.
8. Roll each of the sections into small balls.
9. One by one, roll balls out into flat circles with a rolling pin. Try to get them as thin as possible without ripping.
10. Place flattened dough in a large, hot skillet to cook.
11. Cook on each side until starts to brown. (about 15-20 seconds)
12. Place cooked tortillas in a cloth to keep warm while you cook the rest.
*Recipe yields 12 large tortillas.
Click here for a video on how to make tortillas that I used as a reference.
How Much Did It Cost Us?
Flour – $0.99 for a 5 lb bag
Baking Powder – $1.99 for a 10 oz container
Margarine – $0.49 for a package (4 sticks/2 cups)
Salt – $0.99 for a 24 oz container
Total Cost = $4.46
Cost Details
Flour
Serving per Bag (cups) = 18.25
Cost/Serving = $0.99 / 18.25 = $0.05
Cost for Flour = $0.05 * 4 = $0.22
Baking Powder
Serving per Container (1/8 tsp.) = 472
Cost/Serving = $0.004
Cost for Baking Powder = $0.004 (this is honestly negligible and will not add it in cost)
Margarine
Sticks per Package = 4
Cost/Serving (1/2 c. or 1 stick) = $0.12
Salt
Serving Size = 1 tspn
Serving/Container = 122.75
Cost for Salt = $0.99 / 122.75 = $0.008 + $0.004 (1/2 tsp.) = $0.01
Total for Recipe= $0.35
Cost per Tortilla = $0.35 / 12 = $0.03
So, compared to the tortillas I bought on sale, I saved $0.53. It doesn’t seem like much, but if you were to take away the sale I’d be saving even more. Plus, with my recipe I get two more large tortillas. When you make them, you could even make the tortillas a little smaller and get a larger yield, thus saving yourself more money! I’d also like to add that I did buy my flour on sale, but if you don’t you would still save money compared to store bought tortillas. Enjoy the recipe, there’s a lot more you can make with these tortillas than just a burrito!
**I realized a year later I had my salt calculations wrong, so in reality, this recipe is a penny less than I originally posted it!




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Major profits to any taco store owner who read this.
But even more major props to the creator of this guide. Your thoughts are worth all the pennies in this world!
Those are very kind words nisbahmumtaz, I’m glad you are liking the recipes I have to offer. I hope you continue reading! Share the site with your friends too, they may like these recipes as much as you
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
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