Fresh Flour Tortillas
You can serve these homemade tortillas in so many ways: tacos, burritos, quesadillas, taquitos, enchiladas, fresh tortilla chips, cinnamon sugar, or plain. I don't think I've made a batch yet where the kids or I haven't eaten at least one hot off the press. They are just so tender and warm and delicious! Trust us, I don't think you will view tortillas the same after you see what fresh flour has to offer. I love that I no longer feel guilty about eating the tortilla either. This is the ultimate recipe for Cinco de Mayo...or any occasion!
I initially started making these with a rolling pin and frying pan. You can do this too, in fact I'd recommend starting here. Then, if you make them often enough you may choose to invest in a manual tortilla press or electric press. I'll be honest, if you're looking to get a press, I personally would just skip straight to this specific electric press, because it cooks them so evenly and easily. The good news is they turn out delicious no matter the method though. So in summary, there isn't a wrong answer here...except not making them of course!
Happy Unsifted Baking!
- Keira
Unsifted's Tortillas
PREP: 20 minutes
COOK: 15 minutes
YIELD: 12 medium tortillas
Ingredients:
2 cups |
Basic Blend (approx. 3 cups unsifted flour) |
1 tsp | course sea salt |
1 tsp | baking powder |
1 tbsp | sunflower lecithin |
1/2 cup | olive oil (sub: lard, bacon grease, or Crisco) |
1 cup | hot water |
Instructions:
- Mill 2 cups Basic Berry Blend on "pastry" setting. Set 1/8 cup aside for kneading.
- In a medium bowl, mix the remaining flour, sea salt, baking powder, and sunflower lecithin.
Pro-Tip: Sunflower lecithin makes the tortillas so soft and flexible. It is an optional ingredient, but I do think it makes a noticeable difference in malleability and also adds more of the liver-healthy choline nutrient. - Add the olive oil and work into flour using a Danish dough hook, fork, or pastry cutter. Mash together until crumbs are pea-size (like mashing pie-crust).
- Add hot water (from tap is fine) and stir together until ball forms. This dough will seem wetter than typical dough. Do not worry. If it's wetter than you'd prefer to knead simply let it set for 3-5 minutes and come back to it.
- Pour mixture out onto lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 4 minutes to form a smooth dough. Set a timer, kneading this dough is important. As noted above, this dough will feel oily, but that is normal.
- Place dough back in bowl and cover, with clean dishtowel or plastic wrap, to let rest for 15 minutes.
- Divide dough into 12 even balls - First divide big dough ball into two even smaller balls, then cut each into six pie pieces using a dough scraper or knife. Form each piece into a ball and is as smooth as possible.
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Flatten each ball into thin circles (see below)
*For rolling pin: Place ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper or two Ziploc bags and use a rolling pin to flatten into thin circle by rolling from center outward in all directions.
*For tortilla press: Place ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper and press down in press to flatten.
*For electric press: Keep as dough and will press in electric press. - Preheat frying pan over medium high heat or heat electric press to approximately 350 degrees F.
- Place tortilla in hot pan and cook on first side until small bubbles start to form. Upon small bubbles (look closely), flip over and cook second side until browned.
Pro-tip: Cooking time depends on frying pan/electric press and temperature. For me, on higher-medium heat using my electric press, I set a timer on my phone and typically after 30 seconds I flip to the second side, then I let it cook until roughly 1 min 20 seconds. Once flipped, tortilla will usually puff up and have small browned spots appear on the surface. Delicious! -
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Do you have a favorite type of tortilla? Here are a couple finishing tips that alter their effect slightly....
*For flexible, moist, almost glossy tortillas (think similar to Costco's whole wheat tortilla), place the cooked tortilla directly in a standard tortilla holder or place a paper towel in the bottom of a casserole dish with a lid. The condensation that forms from the warm tortillas when the lid is on creates a smoother surface on the tortilla and keeps them very moist.
*For a floured texture (think more Chuey's style), simple cook the tortilla and then place it on a plate to cool. - Enjoy!
Pro-tips:
- When cooking it will be tempting to over cook them. I added some tips above, but when I first started I was nervous by the "wettish" look so I way overcooked them and then they were very brittle and broke upon folding. My oldest son still reminds me that he "doesn't like them to break, so please don't make them like that". I learned my lesson and can't live it down a year later. If you make these and they are too brittle try cooking them for less time.
- Please don't skip the resting step - If you don't let it rest your dough will not be as strong and will tear more easily. Also be aware that letting it rest significantly longer can dry out the dough. Both make it harder to work with. Tortillas are not like bread dough, I recommend just setting a timer to complete the 15 minutes rest and making the tortillas directly after. Then, the cooked tortillas can be saved and warmed up at a later time if that is needed for dinner timing.
- I love to make a full recipe and save the extras for leftovers or fresh flour quesadillas later in the week. These save amazingly and make for convenient lunches!
- Storage: Once fully cooled, I prefer to store at room temperature in a sealed bag because I like the texture like this. However, you may also keep them in the fridge to stay fresh a few days longer, or you can separate each with parchment paper and freeze for future use.
- For a sweet treat, you won't be disappointed to try this tortilla with drizzled honey, cinnamon, and sugar all over one side. Then simply roll it up and enjoy!
Keywords: Whole Grain tortillas, High fiber tortillas, Whole wheat tortillas, homemade tortillas, fresh flour tortillas, flexible homemade tortillas
