Sourdough Tortillas

Flexible, and chewy these sourdough tortillas are made with flour and a few other simple ingredients. They can be made with sourdough discard or active sourdough starter, they’re not fussy. You can have them the same day or cook them up the next day for a long-fermented option. They are pan-fried in a cast iron skillet for optimal flavor.

Below is the printable recipe card. If you keep scrolling down you will find a long-form version of the recipe. Along with frequently asked questions. Enjoy!

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Equipment you may need:

• Large mixing bowl
• Sheet pan, or baking pan
• Kitchen Scale
• Rubber spatula
• Bench scraper
• Rolling Pin
• Tortilla Press
• Parchment Paper
• Cast-Iron Skillet- the larger the skillet you use, the more tortillas you can cook at a time.

Ingredients you will need:

• 2 Cups All-purpose Flour- preferably organic and unbleached
• 1/4 Cup Soft Butter- Grass Fed or Cultured
• 2 tsp. Sea Salt- Either Himalayan or French Grey
• 100 grams Sourdough Starter
• 1/2 Cup/125 grams Full Fat Yogurt- Grass Fed
• Olive Oil, Coconut oil, lard, tallow, or avocado oil- for coating your cast-iron skillet

How to make Sourdough Discard Tortillas:

Step One: Mix Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, add all the tortilla ingredients. Mix with a rubber spatula or by hand until a shaggy ball forms in the bowl.

Step Two: Knead

Turn the shaggy ball onto the counter and knead by hand for five minutes. Get your hands wet with water if the dough feels too dry. After five minutes the ball should be smooth.

Step Three: Divide dough and roll into balls

Divide the dough evenly using a bench scraper. For street taco-sized tortillas, you will want to divide the dough into golf ball-size balls, about 35 grams each, yielding about 17 tortillas. If you want burrito-sized tortillas, you must adjust the size and get fewer ones. When you are finished dividing the dough, roll each section into a tight ball and place it on a sheet pan, baking tray, or on the counter and cover. Let the balls rest for 15 minutes and up to 24 hours for a long-fermented version of this recipe. You can even cover them and put them in the fridge for a cold ferment, for up to four days. Remove them from the refrigerator to warm up for 30 minutes before rolling them out.

Step Four: Roll out tortillas

When you are ready to cook up your tortillas, preheat the cast-iron skillet(s) on low to medium-low on your stovetop. Take one ball at a time and roll it out as thin as you can get it, into a circle shape. Optionally you can press in a tortilla press. I prefer to roll my ball out with a rolling pin and then finish, but pressing in a tortilla press to ensure the dough is of even thickness.

Step Five: Pan-fry tortillas

Season the preheated cast iron with your oil of choice.

Throw the tortilla onto the hot cast iron.

Cooking for 60 seconds on each side.

Adjust the temperature of your cast iron as needed. While the tortilla is cooking, begin rolling out the next tortilla. Keep this rhythm until all the tortillas are cooked up! After I take each tortilla off the cast iron, I find it helpful to keep them wrapped in a cloth inside a bowl, or a tortilla warmer. This keeps them warm, and soft.

Bon Appétite!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Are handmade tortillas better than store-bought?

Yes! For two reasons:

1. Fresh off the pan, homemade tortillas will surpass the flavor of any tortilla that has been sitting on a grocery store shelf, hands down.
2. Store-bought tortillas have especially unpleasant additives and preservatives like L-cysteine derived from hair harvested in Chinese barbershops. Need I say more?

Why do my homemade tortillas come out hard?

There are a few reasons why homemade tortillas come out hard:

1. Your pan is not hot enough, you want them to cook quickly on both sides, about 60 seconds per side, with nice golden brown marks. If it’s taking longer than 60 seconds, your pan is not hot enough and the tortilla is cooking too slowly and will come out hard. A sign that your pan is hot enough, is when the tortilla bubbles up and rises upon touching the pan.
2. When they are done cooking, sandwich the tortillas between two kitchen towels making sure they are fully covered. Another option is to use a tortilla warmer.
3. Pile the tortillas up! The heat from the piled tortillas will create a steaming effect that keeps them nice and soft!

More Farmhouse Favorite Sourdough Discard Recipes:

• Sourdough Pancakes
• Easy Sourdough Crackers
• Chewy Sourdough Granola Bars
• Cast Iron Sourdough Cornbread
• Sourdough Pie Crust
• No Knead Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Old-Fashioned Sourdough Apple Cake

Thanks for visiting, I hope you liked this recipe as much as I do, let me know in the comments below. I find this recipe equal parts fun, nourishing, and delicious. If you have comments or questions I will always answer.

ALL THE LOVE!

Chelsea Rose ♥ ♥ ♥