Once upon a time, I thought that tortillas could be one of our “compromise” foods. Hubby eats a LOT of them, and I figured they can’t have that many ingredients, so I decided that they could be something that I would purchase, rather than make at home.
Until the fateful day when I merrily pushed my cart up the bread aisle and decided to glance at the ingredient list on the back of the bag before plopping them into my cart.
Boy, was I ever wrong! There is an entire paragraph of ingredients, many of them unrecognizable and hard to pronounce. Not to mention all the hydrogenated oils…
So I set out to make them at home. I found that tortillas made with white flour were fairly easy, but of course, not as nutritious, so I ventured into whole wheat. After lots of tweaking, I’ve settled on a whole wheat tortilla recipe that my family loves!
As an added bonus, these are sourdough, which makes the grains more digestible.
Whole Wheat Sourdough Tortillas
- 2 cups (more or less) whole wheat flour. I prefer hard white or hard red. I’ve tried spelt, but really struggled rolling them out.
- 3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil OR butter OR bacon fat. Heat it just until melted. Don’t allow it to become too hot.
- 1 t. sea salt
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter. (Does not need to be at the peak of it’s activity.)
- 1/2 cup milk or whey (water works too, but milk/whey yields a softer end result)
- Pinch of ginger and citric acid- Optional- (After reading this post at Tammy’s Recipes, I try to always add a few natural dough conditioners to my whole wheat products. It seems to help soften them. However, if you don’t have them, don’t sweat it.)
In a medium bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, milk, salt, ginger, citric acid, and melted oil.
Slowly add the flour. Depending on your flour and the moisture of your sourdough starter, you may need more or less than the two cups. Adding too much flour will result in a dry, crumbly tortilla. Not enough flour with yield a tortilla that is impossible to roll out. Find your happy medium. Use your hands to mix the dough so you can get a feel of where you are at.
Once your dough is slightly sticky, but no longer a wet mess, turn it out on a floured countertop and knead for 2-3 minutes. You don’t need to knead it as long as bread dough, you are just looking to develop enough elasticity to successfully roll it out later.
Allow to sour at room temperature for 8-10 hours or overnight.
Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat. Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces, depending on your size preferences. If the dough is hard to handle at this point, you can either coat your countertop and hands with oil or knead a little unbleached, white flour into the dough.
Roll into a thin circle and carefully transfer to the skillet.
Cook for 15-40 seconds on each side. You’ll know it’s ready to flip when bubbles appear and the edges of the tortillas look “firm”.
Transfer to a plastic bag for storage in the fridge or freezer.
These are best if eaten or frozen within a day or two. If you keep them around much longer than that, they really dry out. To reheat, place them in a warm skillet for 10-20 seconds on each side. Microwaving usually equals a rubbery tortilla, so I steer away from that.
Our favorite way to eat these is in taco or burrito form- complete with grass-fed taco meat, homemade refried beans, sour cream, and lots of shredded cheese!
And sometimes if I’m craving something sweet, I’ll heat one, spread some butter and homemade jam inside and roll it up.
What are your favorite ways to eat tortillas?
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (hard white or hard red)
- 3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil/butter/or bacon fat heated until just melted
- 1 t. sea salt (like this)
- ½ cup sourdough starter
- ½ cup milk or whey (water works too, but milk/whey yields a softer end result)
- Optional: Pinch of ginger and citric acid
- In a medium bowl, mix sourdough starter, milk, salt, ginger, citric acid, and melted oil
- Slowly add flour using hands to mix dough (Adding too much flour results in a dry, crumbly tortilla, while not enough flour makes it difficult to roll out)
- Once dough is slightly sticky, knead 2-3 minutes on a floured countertop to develop elasticity
- Allow to sour at room temperature 8-10 hours or overnight
- Preheat skillet to medium-high heat
- Divide dough into 6-8 pieces
- (If the dough is too hard to handle, coat your countertop and hands with oil or knead a little more flour into the dough)
- Roll into thin circle and carefully transfer to skillet
- Cook 15-40 seconds on each side
- Flip when bubbles appear and the edges look firm
- Transfer to plastic bag, and storage in fridge or freezer
To reheat, place in a warm skillet 10-20 seconds on each side
AWESOME. I am trying to avoid added-yeast breads and stick with sourdough for as much as possible, and I have an awesome fresh WW sourdough started that I’m always looking for new recipes to try with!!
Wonderful- hope you like the recipe!
I’ve tried homemade tortillas before – once – without much luck. We too eat A LOT of them. I’ll have to give your recipe a go. Do you think you can keep the dough in the fridge and just make them when you want them? Though it sounds like you can also freeze them without drying out? Thanks for sharing!
I think that you could probably mix up the dough and let the souring process slowly take place in the fridge. It might give you an extra day or so, however, I think more than that might oversour the dough and cause it not to want to roll out. Also, if you do refrigerate it, I would suggest letting it warm to room temp before attempting to roll it out. Yes, you can definitely freeze them! They might not be *quite* as fluffy and soft upon reheating, but still delish.
Awesome!! We LOVE tortillas here at my house, I can’t wait to try this!
Can I use my homemade kefir in place of the sour dough starter?
Absolutely!
I just made whole wheat tortillas for the first time this past week. We loved them. Now I’ll need to try these. Thanks!!
I can’t wait to try these! I’ve been not using my sourdough starter as much lately…too hot to bake!
One thing I love to make, I guess you’d call them tostadas. I fry the tortillas in butter on both sides then top with beans, taco meat, cheese and pico de gallo. Sour cream would be good too…I just always seem to be out when I make these! They are soooo yummy!
And, when nothing else sounds good or we’re in a hurry, we do quesadillas. I love to mix a bit of hot sauce in the sour cream and put that on top. MMMMM!
My mouth is watering Dawn- some great ideas! Mmmmmm. 🙂
Have you ever made Naan??? We like it better than tortillas, but know the packaged naan is terrible for you.
No, I’ve never tried Naan. Perhaps I should add it to my to-try list!
These look delicious and downright professional!! I am intrigued with the use of the sour dough and look forward to making a batch. I use tortillas mostly for ‘wraps’ (rolled sandwiches) instead of the typical Mexican burrito/tostada uses. I’m wondering if this recipe would make into pita-type flatbreads with a thicker roll out….or possibly a larger (and thinner) ‘lavosh’…..will give it a try and get back to you!
I think this recipe would definitely work for tha- Looking forward to hearing about your results! 🙂
Looks wonderful! We are going to so try these.
One of my superpowers? I could eat Mexican (or anything with a tortilla) every single day. Add fresh guacamole and it is golden. I will have to try these for sure.
Or, more appropriately, ask my wife to make them. She is the expert in the bread department, grinding her own grain and everything.
Making pitas is her new favorite. We love to dip them in hummus or just olive oil and herbs. And they make great mini pizza crusts, too.
I have yet to master the art of pita making. Soon… hopefully soon! 🙂
Great minds think alike! I just did a post on MY whole wheat sourdough tortilla recipe yesterday (http://thecheerfulagrarian.blogspot.com/2011/07/simple-whole-wheat-sourdough-tortillas.html)
I love your idea for rolling one up with butter and jam! We’ll have to try that sometime . . . soon . . . maybe now . . .
😉
Must be the season for tortillas!! 🙂
Jill, is that photo of YOUR tortillas? How come mine never looks as pretty? I need to know your secret. I’m going to try your recipe soon!
Yup, the pic is mine. Some batches are prettier than others! And, I may or may not have put all the round edges together for the photo, hehe. 😉
These sound really yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
~Lynn
Just happened upon your website looking for sourdough recipes. I look forward to trying out your tortilla recipe! I would love to receive the free grain soaking e-book. Thank you!
Do you have a good “recipe” for a sourdough starter and advice for how to keep it going?
Kristen, I hope to have a sourdough tutorial up here someday. But for now, I highly recommend the GNOWFGLINS Sourdough eCourse, (or you can just buy the eBook). I have taken then entire course and it helped me immensely. 🙂
Gosh- i don’t even know how i ended up here, but i think it was a google search for ww sourdough tortillas and your comment that your family loved these caught my eye 🙂
Now i can’t wait to try these! my starter has been in the fridge for a week, so i need to revive it first. thanks for doing all the leg work for me! 🙂 looking forward to searching around your site!!
I made these tonight and they were fabulous! I doubled the recipe using fresh ground soft spring wheat berries and olive oil for the butter, cooking them in a bit of oil too. I stuck them in my tortilla press and they were perfect. We have tried a few others but none hold a candle in texture or taste. I have one book that is the best of my best recipes and these tortillas are in it now! Thanks so much for a new treasured family favorite!
Jennifer- I just LOVE comments like this one! I am so happy that you enjoyed them, and I’m honored to be in your ‘best of the best’ book! 🙂 Blessings.
What if I don’t have a sourdough starter? What would be the best thing to do? Thanks 🙂
Hi Amanda,
I’ve only ever made this particular recipe with a starter, so I can’t quite say how to make it without one. However, I hope to post my regular ol’ tortilla recipe SOON!
Hi, Can I use yoghurt instead of sour dough?
I made this recipe this weekend, and I think they are the BEST chapatis (Indian term for them) I have ever made!! I have always struggled to match those I’ve had in India, where the bread somehow stays soft for hours, but this recipe finally did it for me, and I love the added sourdough flavor (and nutritional benefits). I used white whole wheat flour, and half kefir=half water for the liquid. I whipped up the dough in the morning, and it had actually risen quite nicely by the time I got home. Some I rolled thin for chapati (and they puffed up quite nicely after holding them over the open flame for a minute at the end), and some I made into paratha, which is essentially a thick chapati stuffed with vegetable filling (sauteed cabbage, for mine). Both renditions were stellar. Thank you SO much for this recipe. I’ve got them stored in the freezer for now, but I see myself making another batch soon!
Wahoo Amanda! I love comments like this. 😉 SO happy that it worked for you- your changes sound yummy!
No problem at all 🙂 I actually made the dough again yesterday, mixing (but not really kneading it) before I went to work. When I got home, I kneaded it until the “gluten window” test was achieved (5-7 minutes), then shaped some into rolls, and the rest into pita bread. The rolls I let rise for about 30-45 minutes, then baked at 425 for 15 minutes–they came out perfect! The pita bread I baked at the same temp, directly on my pizza stone, and for the first time ever, they puffed up completely! I was ecstatic 🙂 And the pita bread itself was delicious. Can’t wait to use it with some falafel.
I have a feeling this recipe may also be perfect for pizza dough, though I’ll have to wait until my freezer’s a bit more clear before I try it 🙂 Thanks again.
Oh pita bread… Yum! I’ve never had much success with that- but just might have to try it now!
These are GREAT! Roll one up with butter and honey… decadent : ) Thank you
Oh yum! So happy you are enjoying them– thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! I have been really struggling trying to find the perfect tortilla recipe. This worked fantastic. I did it today and the family was thrilled! You can make burritos out of it without having it all crumble at your touch and it tastes great. I added some caraway seed to my dough and ended up making tortilla chips from the rest of the fresh tortillas. I just cut them with scissors and then baked them on 300 for a few minutes. Way better than corn chips for sure!
Awesome! So happy to hear this– and your chips sound great!
Is the dough sunspots to rise and what do I do If it does
I am so glad to find this recipe. I make my own homemade tortillas which my family love. We are trying to eat less processed foods, so I am just starting to make sourdough for its health benefits. This will be a great recipe to try!
I take my leftover tortillas and heat them in a skillet with melted butter. Then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over them. My kids love them that way.
Just made up a batch using your recipe, but I used some white flour too, probably 40% white/60% hard white whole wheat. I have a recipe that I have used for years. When I actually began using sourdough for all my homemade bread, I decided to throw some starter into my usual tortilla recipe. I let it sit at room temp for up to 12 hours, after that it goes into the fridge. I have used my dough up to two weeks later without any problems. It can turn a bit gray on the outside of the dough, but we don’t mind. They do taste more sour as time passes, which we also do not mind. We only cook up what we use immediately, so I’ll let you know how it goes with your recipe.
Let me know how you like it! We like that sour flavor, too. 🙂
They were great! Cooked some up that night, and just like you say, they stayed soft and pliable. Even the few that went into a bag for leftovers. I put the rest of the dough in the fridge as I usually do. The dough was much harder to roll out after being in the fridge. My usual recipe is easy to work when cold, but NOT this dough. That is the only drawback, it really has to be warmed up first. Again the cooked tortillas stayed perfectly soft. The dough stayed in the fridge for a full 2 weeks before being totally used up. It didn’t go gray, and the family thoroughly enjoyed them all!
This recipe is amazing! It’s easy (which is important for someone totally inept at baking, which I am) and delicious (definitely better than what I’ve been buying at the bakery)! I used grapeseed oil as the fat (I can’t eat coconut oil or lard and don’t like to cook with olive oil), and it still turned out well. It worked for tortillas, rolls and baguettes, and hopefully soon I’m going to try to use it to make bagels as well. THANK YOU so much for this recipe!
Hooray! So glad you loved it, Lisa!
Approx how many tortillas would this make?