Handmade Tortillas That Are Warm, Flaky and Really Really Good
Who doesn’t love tacos? Once you make them with real tortillas, you will discover how much more you can love tacos.
It was way too long since I ate a fresh, handmade flour tortilla from our favorite Mexican restaurant in San Diego, Old Town Mexican Cafe. There’s nothing like eating a handmade flour tortilla fresh off the comal. These ladies would throw it down at the front of the restaurant so everybody can smell the goodness and watch the magic happen while they wait for their table.
Since moving our family from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest, we have really missed authentic Mexican food. So, it has made me seriously step my game up at home. This includes trying my hand at making tortillas.
We eat so many tortillas in this household. Our kids will eat any meat as long as it’s wrapped in some kind of tortilla. Whether it’s fried corn tortillas or warm and buttered flour tortillas, it is a staple around here. So after we got into the sourdough game, it feels good to know we are feeding our family tortillas that are made by hand without all the bullshit additives.
The flour you use will make a huge difference. If you can, go with Sonora wheat, which is a low-protein, soft white wheat. We often use pastry flour which will give you a similar soft and tender tortilla. If you can’t use either Sonora wheat or pastry flour, you can use all-purpose flour, but the tortillas won’t be quite as tender and soft (but still delicious).
When you make flour tortillas with sourdough starter, they come out extra flaky and springy with a delightful tangy finish. You also get the added health benefits from the wild yeast and beneficial lactic acid bacteria that are in the sourdough starter.
Need a starter? Buy your own dehydrated organic “Fiona” sourdough starter here. It comes with easy instructions and will last a lifetime of baking!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- 1/4 cup sourdough discard
- 350 g pastry flour, other soft white wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
- ½ cup cold lard or coconut oil
- 175 g (3/4) cup ice-cold water
- 9 g (1 1/2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Put the flour into a medium bowl. Add the lard and, using your fingers, blend the lard into the flour until the mixture is crumbly and the pieces of lard are pea-sized.
In a small bowl, combine the water and salt, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Stir in the starter. Pour the water mixture into the flour mixture. Using a spoon or your hand, stir until well combined. Knead the dough by hand a few times, just until the dough holds together and forms a cohesive ball.
Wrap the dough in a clean kitchen towel or beeswax paper, or put it in a sealable container. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap it. Divide the dough into 18 equal pieces, each about the size of a small apricot. Roll the pieces between your palms or against the table until they are evenly round.
On a very lightly floured work surface, use your hands to flatten each ball into a disc. Then, using a rolling pin, roll each disc until it is about 6 inches in diameter. (If you have a tortilla press, you can use it to flatten the balls, but you’ll probably want to finish them with a rolling pin anyway—these are best when they are pretty thin.)
Transfer each tortilla to a sheet of parchment or waxed paper, stacking the tortillas between sheets of paper so that they are flat and not touching. Freeze the tortillas for about 1 hour.
Preheat a cast-iron skillet, griddle, or comal over medium-high heat (if you’re using a cast-iron skillet, you may want to smear a little vegetable oil very lightly on it before preheating). The baking surface needs to be plenty hot, so give it a few minutes to preheat.
Griddle the tortillas one at a time until both sides have golden-brown blisters, about 60 seconds per side. The tortillas may puff up a little as they cook, but they will flatten as they cool. Keep the finished tortillas in a covered dish or wrap them in a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm while you work.
The tortillas are best served right away. If you have some left over, you can store them in an airtight container for a few days and quickly reheat them in a hot skillet before serving, or freeze for up to 1 month.
