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Simple, delicious, Belizean-style homemade flour tortillas. 

When I was in primary school I would often ride bikes with my best friend into town. Our first stop was always by the old seaside market in Corozal Town, where his mother had a mini-kiosk-diner. She was a very large, Garifuna woman. I can still remember her unorthodox method of making Belizean flour tortillas. Ms. Z would start with a little ball of dough but she would toss the dough high into the air and gradually spin out a perfect circle of dough. Her success rate was 100%.

What sets the Belizean Tortilla apart?

Belizean tortillas, on the whole, are generally thicker and less stretchy than Mexican flour tortillas. They are also slightly more bread-like in texture and therefore well suited to be paired with BBQ chicken or Belizean stewed beans. Traditional Belizean flour tortillas are not well suited for making burritos because they lack the stretch required, however, if more fat (like lard) is added, the tortilla will gain the stretch required.

What follows is a very simple recipe for making Belizean-style flour tortillas.  Leave us a comment and tell let us know how this recipe worked for you!

Ingredient options:

  • For a gluten-free option, use gluten-free flour.
  • For a dairy-free option, use plant-based milk instead of cow’s milk.

Serving suggestions:

  • Serve Belizean Flour Tortillas with stewed beans or other Belizean dishes.
  • Use Belizean Flour Tortillas as a wrap for sandwiches or tacos.
  • My grandma always served fresh tortillas with butter and jam, making small and fat tortillas are perfect for breakfast.

Tips and tricks:

  • When kneading the dough, add more flour if it becomes too sticky.
  • Press the tortillas evenly to ensure they cook evenly.
  • Use a tortilla press or rolling pin on a lightly greased surface to ensure even thickness.

Belizean Flour Tortilla Ingredients:

  • 3 cups white flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter or shortening
  • 1 1/3 cups warm milk, water, or coconut milk

Instructions:

Step 1: Mixing the Dough

  1. Mix the dry ingredients together with the butter until the dough is consistently crumbly.
  2. Slowly add 1 1/3 cups warm milk (warm water or warm coconut milk) while continuing to mix by hand.
  3. The dough consistency should be soft, not sticky, and ready to knead.

Step 2: Kneading and Resting the Dough

  1. Knead the dough for 5 minutes.
  2. Pinch off golf-ball amounts of dough and roll into smooth balls by hand. Allow resting for 15-30 minutes.

Step 3: Forming and Cooking the Tortillas

  1. Heat a comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat.
  2. Press out all your dough balls first before cooking.
  3. This step is the hardest, and there are a few methods: Ms. Z had her style for forming the tortilla dough ball into a flat tortilla, but more commonly in Belize, tortilla makers will press out a perfect circle of dough on a table using nothing but perfectly trained fingertips.
  4. Their fingers tap round and round the dough pushing it out to a circle. It’s harder than it looks to get perfectly round tortillas.
  5. Tortillas cook quickly, so if you are cooking alone, press out all your dough balls first before cooking. Heat the Comal over medium heat. A comal in Belize is either cast iron or these days it’s common to find a 1/4 inch thick slab of aluminum instead. It’s essential that the cooking surface is hot and stays consistently hot. Even heat is ideal. If the cooking surface is smoking it’s too hot. When the raw tortilla hits the surface it should start to cook immediately.
  6. The uncooked side of the tortillas will start to bubble up. After a few bubbles have formed flip it. When both sides have cooked flip it again, then using a paper towel or cloth press down on the tortilla gently and evenly. This should cause the tortillas to bubble more and form a pocket. This pocket is the sign of a great Belizean flour tortilla. It takes some “feel” to get a tortilla just right. Taste a few tortillas until you get one right.
  7. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
Tortilla - "bubbling"
Tortilla “bubbling” on the comal

Notes:

  • This recipe yields approximately 12 tortillas.
  • Tortillas cook quickly, so keep an eye on them while cooking.
  • Practice makes perfect when it comes to forming and cooking tortillas.
  • Share your experience in the comments below and let us know your tips for perfecting Belizean Flour Tortillas!

When I was in the home economics class I bribed a Mayan classmate to make my tortillas. Of course, she had the advantage of waking up every morning and making two dozen flour tortillas for her family. Practice makes perfect! For untrained fingers, we suggest using a tortilla press or a rolling pin on a lightly greased surface. The dough in this recipe is very similar to Johnny Cakes.

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