Ever folded a tortilla and had it crack right down the middle?

The cause is almost always direct dry heat. A tortilla is mostly water, and a hot dry pan pulls that water out fast. Add a little moisture back and the tortilla stays pliable.

The skillet method

1. Set a dry skillet over medium heat. No oil yet.
2. Warm one tortilla for about 20 seconds a side. It should puff slightly and smell toasty.
3. Sprinkle two or three drops of water on the hot pan, not on the tortilla, then lay the next one down. The steam does the work.
4. Stack finished tortillas under a clean towel. The trapped steam keeps them soft while you cook the rest.

That towel step matters more than people expect. A naked stack cools and stiffens in about two minutes.

Microwave, done right

Wet a paper towel, wring it out so it is damp and not dripping, and wrap the stack. Thirty seconds on high for six tortillas. Any longer and the edges turn rubbery.

I ruined a whole pack this way once, twenty seconds turned into two minutes because I walked off to check the beans. You cannot un rubber a tortilla.

Oven method for a crowd

Wrap the stack tightly in foil and put it in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. This is the method I use for taco night when there are eight people and no free burner.

Foil matters. Parchment lets the steam escape and you get the same dry result as the pan.

What to avoid

Do not warm tortillas in a toaster. Do not microwave them unwrapped. Do not stack them hot on a cold plate, which pulls the heat straight out of the bottom one.

A tortilla warmer is nice but a clean dish towel does the same job and hangs on a hook.