Homemade Tortillas {White & Whole Wheat Versions!}
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) unbleached all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoons shortening or coconut oil (see note)
- ¾ - 1 cup warm water, about 110 degrees
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder. Toss in the shortening or coconut oil and use a pastry blender or your fingers (two forks or two butter knives works well, too) to blend the shortening into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse meal - sandy with some larger pieces in there.
- Stir in the water until combined. For whole wheat tortillas, you'll need to add upwards of 1 cup of water to achieve a dough that is soft and smooth (similar to the consistency of playdough). White flour tortillas will need less water. A lot depends on the humidity, elevation, etc - but right around 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water is perfect in my kitchen for the white tortillas. Basically, keep an eye on the dough, drizzling in a teaspoon of water at a time if the dough is too dry/cracking.
- While combining the water with the flour, you'll eventually need to abandon the spoon/utensil and get in there with your hands to lightly knead the dough. Once a smooth ball is formed, portion the dough into 12 balls (about 1.75 - 2 ounces each). Cover the dough balls and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for a couple of days.
- To cook the tortillas, heat a nonstick griddle or skillet (a cast iron pan works great, too) to medium-high. The trick is to get the griddle/skillet hot enough to cook the tortillas through in two minutes (one minute per side).
- Roll each ball to an 8-inch circle on a lightly floured counter or on a pastry cloth. If the dough is springing back while rolling (or while cooking), let the tortillas rest for a few more minutes at room temperature.
- Cook each tortilla for one minute on the first side until the uncooked side begins to bubble a bit. Flip and cook for another minute - the tortilla should puff lightly. Take care not to overcook or they will be dry and will crack (the whole wheat tortillas are especially prone to this).
- Stack the warm tortillas on top of each other on a towel and cover while cooking the remaining tortillas.
- The cooked and cooled tortillas can be refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for a month or so.
Notes
Size: if you want larger tortillas, simply split the dough into larger portions. This batch makes 12 8-inch tortillas.
Mixing the Dough: I've shown the step-by-step by hand since not everyone has the same equipment in their kitchen, but I've also made these with the food processor and it works great, so if you have one, and don't mind cleaning the beast, you might try that option for mixing the dough.
Oil: also, if using coconut oil, you can use either extra-virgin or refined. I can taste the slight hint of sweet coconut when using extra-virgin which isn't bothersome, but if you don't want the taste, use refined coconut oil (or shortening).
Flour: finally, I've given instructions for white and whole wheat tortillas (they don't differ much except for the amount of water). 100% whole wheat tortillas, while most nutritious, will never be as light and fluffy as their white counterparts. My favorite version is half white flour, half whole wheat flour (add the water gradually until a soft, smooth dough is formed).