Photos and better detailed instructions at the Homemade Tortilla post.
Homemade Tortillas
Adapted from More With Less Cookbook
Mix together:
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
Cut in with pastry blender or two knives:
¼ c. butter (slightly softened)
When it looks like crumbs, add gradually:
½ c. room temperature water
Toss with a fork to make stiff dough. Knead thoroughly until smooth and flecked with air bubbles. (Just a few minutes.) Refrigerate 4-24 hours and allow to come to room temperature before rolling out.
Divide dough into 8-11 balls, depending on how big you want your tortillas. Roll as thin as possible on a lightly floured surface. Heat an ungreased griddle or cast iron pan very hot (400 degrees) and drop tortillas on it. Cook about 20 seconds, until lightly flecked with brown on one side, then flip until brown spots appear on the other side.
Serve immediately or refrigerate (or freeze) in airtight container.
Healthy Upgrade
Homemade w/Whole Grain Tortillas
Mix together:
1 c. white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour or cornmeal
1 t. salt
(good results with 1 c. whole wheat, 1/2 c. cornmeal and 1/2 c. white flour; half whole wheat/half corn is OK but crumbly; do NOT try even 3/4 cornmeal — way too difficult to maneuver, lots of frustration and a late dinner will result!)
Cut in with pastry blender or two knives:
¼ c. coconut oil or butter (slightly softened)
When it looks like crumbs, add gradually:
½ c. room temperature water
Toss with a fork to make stiff dough. Knead thoroughly until smooth and flecked with air bubbles. (Just a few minutes.) Refrigerate 4-24 hours and allow to come to room temperature before rolling out.
Divide dough into 8-11 balls, depending on how big you want your tortillas. Roll as thin as possible on a lightly floured surface (you’ll need more flour for the corn style tortillas). Heat an ungreased griddle or cast iron pan very hot (400 degrees) and drop tortillas on it. Cook about 20 seconds, until lightly flecked with brown on one side, then flip until brown spots appear on the other side.
Serve immediately or refrigerate (or freeze) in airtight container.
HealthiER Upgrade
4/19/2009 100% whole wheat tortilla success!
I tried a new kind of whole wheat flour with GREAT results! I am so excited! There was no screaming or frustration while rolling these babies out! Regular whole wheat is pretty tough to get thin. Try “hard white whole wheat” which is sold in grocery stores under King Arthur’s brand as “white whole wheat flour”. It is unbleached and unbromated.
2 c. hard white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
cut in: 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter
Add 1/2 cup water and knead well.
Follow directions above to finish.
HealthiEST Upgrade
Soak the grains
Include a Tbs. whey or lemon juice or yogurt in the water, mix with flour(s) and leave out at room temperature overnight. UPDATE: You can also use whey entirely in place of the water (you may need up to 1/4 cup extra), if you happen to have too much whey on your hands.
Sprinkle the 1 tsp salt on and knead into dough.
Follow directions above to finish.
See photos and MUCH better directions at my homemade tortillas post.
Has anyone ever made gluten and corn free tortillas? If so what flour do you recommend??
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Katie Reply:
May 14th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I just discovered a good gluten-free resource: http://www.thewholegang.typepad.com/ She has an exhaustive list of other gluten-free websites/blogs in her left sidebar. Good luck!
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Katie,
I just put a mixing bowl full of soaking grains, butter and kefir in the (cold) oven for soaking overnight…I’m hoping to fry tortillas to make some breakfast burritos in the morning. After these soak all night, do I have to put my batter in the fridge for a couple hours or can I just roll them out and fry them up? My husband can put them in the fridge for me when he gets up in the morning if you advise…so if you’re still up maybe I’ll hear from you! Otherwise, I’ll make it up and do it “right” next time!
Thank you! In Christ, Rebecca
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I made a double batch and mixed up the amounts you gave me (I almost always experiment too). I used mostly whole wheat, with about 1 c? or so of cornmeal, and maybe a 1/2 c white. I’ll let you know how it goes!
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I meant to say also it seemed like they held the heat really well to keep my sausage and eggs warm as I was taking a bite while taking care of the kiddos and frying tortillas. That was a nice perk!
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Heidi Reply:
December 13th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
What are you doing washing your own dishes? I understand about the leftover dishes concept with a family of 7, but my kids are the dishwashers, not me!
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Katie Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 1:19 am
Heidi,
Katie
LOL! My oldest is only 5, haven’t quite got him trained yet. The husband does a great job, but he complains a lot, too.
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Hi, what oil did you use to fry in? I used coconut oil & the high heat of the cast iron pan made it smoke up my whole house (and give me a headache of course). :p I did the batch in my Kitchenaid using all King Arthur white wheat. It rested in the fridge for 48 hours. Dough was still very soft & pliable & rolled out well. Cooked fine, stayed soft. The flavor was a little different- not like what I’m used to with tortillas, more like the flat bread we had in Africa. Maybe my pan was too hot & I need to cook more thoroughly? They were able to cook for about 30+ seconds per side w/o burning. I was surprised how easy this was though!
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Katie Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Lisa,
Katie
What a mixed experience! I love that they were easier than you thought. I don’t actually use any oil to fry, so that ought to clear up the problem (and your air) right away! I find that c. oil smells awful when it smokes, too, even though it’s supposed to have a high smoke point. ?? I hope that helps!
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My husband was helping me with the tortillas tonight. He did the frying while I did the rolling. It was nice to have an assembly line working, but most of them turned out a bit harder than last time and cracked when I tried to roll them. My husband turned down the heat on the griddle after the first few because they were getting brown too quickly for his liking (he was trying to multi-task). The lower temperature did help with them not getting dark, but I’m thinking the longer fry time needed because the temp was lower is what might have caused the hardness. Has anyone else experienced this, or might there be some other reason they weren’t as soft? I also wondered if I might have rolled them too thin.
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Katie Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Angie,
I found that they are fluffiest at 400 degrees, pretty hot! I bet the longer cook time was the issue. I don’t know that you can get them too thin though.
Katie
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Karla Reply:
November 7th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Mine were also pretty hard after cooling for a couple of minutes. This made it challenging trying to roll them up for the pan of enchiladas I was making. I too would love any tips for making them ‘fluffy’ rather than crunchy
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Katie Reply:
November 7th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
Karla,
Katie
I’m guessing just cook them for less time. Until JUST browned. Mine always stay very pliable throughout the whole meal and only get stiffer when they’re in the fridge. Check this post for more detailed instructions: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/10/21/recipe-connection-100-whole-grain-homemade-tortillas/
Once they’re cooked, store them on top of each other, in a bowl with a lid on to keep the steam in if you really want to ensure softness.
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Have you ever made these with lard? If so, how does that taste? I have some sprouted spelt in the dehydrator now and this is on my list of things to make this week. Quesadillas and breakfast burritos!
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Katie Reply:
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:49 am
Kate,
Yes! The type of fat hardly changes the flavor at all. Lard works great, and so does palm shortening. Enjoy!
Katie
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Does anyone know of a good way to store the tortillas, other than a plastic storage bag? We are trying to discontinue use of plastic storage, but we are struggling to find a non-plastic container in which the tortillas will fit.
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When you soak the grains, do you add the butter or lard to soak or after?
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Katie Reply:
July 10th, 2010 at 8:53 am
Colleen,
Katie
You have the cut the fat in before adding the liquid, so it’s definitely in there during the soaking. The “soak” is really the dough entirely, minus the salt.
Enjoy!
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I know I am very late to this discussion….BUT…..
I have no problem making tortillas, I can get great, soaked healthy whole wheat tortillas. My problem is getting them rolled out to cook them. It seems to take me forever and I find I avoid making tortillas because of this. Any advice/directions for rolling out the tortillas? I have problems getting them to even resemble a circle and getting them thin enough and then getting them up off the counter without adding a terrific amount of flour (which is not sprouted and so conteracts my attempt to make them healther by soaking). Do tortilla presses work well? Does anyone use one? Do they work for flour tortillas or just corn?
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Katie Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Becki,
I’ve had lots of people tell me a tortillas press is WELL worth it, and I’m seriously considering the Christmas list for one. I’ve found that the combo of white whole wheat and coconut oil is THE BEST for easy rolling. Traditional whole wheat is terrible, and even palm shortening or lard makes them tougher to roll. As far as circles go…I just make them ugly but tasty! I hope that helps – thanks!:) Katie
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Sprouted Flour Tortillas « LifeInk Foodie // Mar 8, 2011 at 3:26 pm
[...] called for sprouted flour, but I didn’t have enough unbleached white flour. So I went with this tortilla recipe from Kitchen Stewardship. I love having so many resources in the real food community, I can’t imagine having to [...]
Renee,
I haven’t had the need, but you should definitely check in with Kimi at The Nourishing Gourmet (see side bar for link). She is gluten-free and has a ton of amazing recipes. I’m sure if there’s not one at her site, she’ll have an idea for you!
Good luck! Katie
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I just left them at room temp and it worked out great. What a good idea to put the bowl in the oven! I’m constantly finding my soaked stuff “in the way” as I move through the day. Funny — I just made some tortillas as well to soak overnight for fajitas! I’m experimenting (again–poor husband!). One batch is 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 cornmeal, the other is 3/4 cornmeal and just 1/4 white flour. I was afraid it would be too sticky with 100% cornmeal, so I’m working up to it. I’ll edit the recipe when I find out what is a success and what is a flop!
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Rebecca,
I’m on the edge of my seat wondering how it went for you! My 3/4 corn tortillas were almost impossible to work with and didn’t fold well at all. The 1/2 corn 1/2 whole wheat were ok, but I was getting busy multitasking and burnt some of them! I wish they’d roll up better. I might try that recipe again. I can’t imagine having the wherewithal to manage making these in the morning though! I hope you survived!
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That is good news! I think it’s the cornmeal that makes them fall apart. I found that to roll them after cooling, you can just reheat them a little in the toaster oven — wrapped in foil if you’re afraid you’ll let them actually *toast*, or a quick stint at a low temp without foil. Microwave probably does wonders with them too, but as you’ll find out in May…we try not to use that anymore. So glad you experimented with the recipe!
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