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This is one of the most versatile breads I make with sourdough; I use these whole wheat sourdough tortillas for thin-crust pizzas, sandwich wraps, quesadillas, soft tacos, enchiladas…the list could go on. This recipe is adapted from GNOWFGLINS’ sourdough tortillas recipe which requires “hard” whole wheat flour.
These tortillas are slightly bitter on their own; that sourdough note quickly blends into the background of whatever serving option you choose, providing a richer, bolder, overall flavor. Did I mention that they are also incredibly easy to make? If the instructions below look long, it is only to give you “just in case” options. Most of the time, making tortillas will be problem-free. You may even want to make them instead of sandwich bread…
Overview
Combine ingredients. Let the dough rest for 6-12 hours. Divide the dough into 16 pieces; roll each piece to a tortilla shape and dry-fry in a hot pan. (See? Easy!)
Ingredients
- 4 cups (600g) Organic Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 cup (245g) Sourdough Starter
- 1 cup (220 g) filtered water (no chlorine DBPs or fluoride)
- 1 tsp Real Salt
- 5 TBSP (50g) Refined coconut oil or Ghee
Tools
- Large glass bowl
- Mixing spoon or stand mixer with dough hooks
- Dinner spoon to scoop flour into measuring cup
- Measures: 1 cup, 1 TBSP, 1 tsp
- Rolling pin (I use a large sprouting jar)
- Large frying pan (stainless steel or cast iron preferably; avoid non-stick)
- Frying Spatula (not plastic)
- Plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel
- Plastic freezer bag
Method
- Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Remember to measure flour by pouring it into the measuring cup with a dinner spoon and scraping off the excess over the flour bag/container.
- If you are using your hands, knead dough in the bowl for a few minutes until it is homogeneous.
- If you are using a stand mixer, knead with the dough hooks for a couple minutes.
- Cover the glass bowl with the plastic wrap or kitchen towel and set aside for 6-12 hours. If you don’t have time to cook them straight away, place the dough in the ‘fridge. It will keep (refrigerated) for up to a week. Make sure to let refrigerated dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before moving on to the next step.
- It is best to start with a shorter time (6 hours) first; the dough will be stiffer, but this means you can roll it more thinly to get those traditional tortilla “bubbles” on the surface
- Ideally, you want the dough to rest longer (up to 12 hours) so it will be more nutritious. The next time you make tortillas, try letting them rest an hour or two longer.
- If the dough rests too long, it will become too mushy to roll to the correct thickness. You will have to fry thicker tortillas. If the dough cannot be rolled at all (it falls apart when you try to pick it up) you have three options:
- Refrigerate the dough for a couple hours or overnight: this thickens the dough so it is more workable. Don’t worry about letting it come to room temperature; try to roll it as soon as possible.
- Amend the dough with some extra flour until it resembles the consistency of the tortilla dough you last used successfully; you can even rest it a little bit to get some sourdough action (but not enough to make it mushy again)
- Make a wet batter; you can do it with your hands or a blender. Break the dough into little pieces, add a cup of filtered water at a time and blend/mush away until thoroughly combined into a pourable pancake-style batter. A thin batter will make a dry sort of tortilla-crepe (feel free to mix in two free-range eggs for a better texture); a thick batter will make a pancake-like tortilla. Making a wet batter is a compromise option, but better than throwing your dough away. Compromise or not, I still think the tortilla-crepes I made tasted delicious :-). They just didn’t work well for making enchiladas…
- Preheat a dry pan on medium heat (“4” on a 10-scale high output burner); don’t be tempted to add butter or oil, even on stainless steel.
- Divide the dough into 16 “equal” parts and roll them into little balls. Using a rolling pin, flatten the balls to approximately 8″-10″ diameter circles, depending on the stiffness of the dough. You may use flour or oil to help you roll the tortillas flat if you need to: I prefer not to use either. Ideally, you will roll a tortilla flat while another tortilla is cooking. This saves overall time and prepping space. Don’t do this if your pan is too hot, or you won’t have time to do anything between “flips”!
- Cook the tortilla about 10 – 2o seconds on each side. It is better to under-cook the tortillas for flexibility’s sake than overcook them and make them stiff. As long as you can flip the tortilla without it breaking, it has cooked long enough. I allow for some browning with mostly light, “just-cooked” coloring and some undercooked, darker spots. If that made no sense, see the picture below:
- Allow the tortillas to cool before putting them in a plastic freezer bag. It is better to store them in a freezer than the ‘fridge. As long as the tortillas are room temperature (i.e. they can’t cause condensation), they can be stored in a plastic bag at room temperature for 2-3 days. Enjoy them weekly with legumes (Zesty Refried Beans) and dairy (home-shredded block cheese) to complete the proteins in the grains, or every day for sandwich wraps.
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