Sourdough Flour Tortillas

This week was Cinco De Mayo! And…a ridiculous amount of people were unsafely distanced outside of the Mexican restaurants in my neighborhood waiting to pickup orders for dinner. Packed onto the sidewalk like sardines in the name of tasty tacos and margaritas. Come on, people. I am all for supporting local businesses (especially during these times), but leave a little space, huh? If you, like me, want to skip the crowds, indulge your Cinco de Mayo cravings, and make use of your newfound sourdough starter all at the same them, then boy oh boy have I got the answer for you. Sourdough Flour Tortillas!

I found myself with quite a lot of sourdough starter discard this week, and my husband started sniffing around the kitchen and asking for tacos. More than once he hinted at a “quick trip” to the grocery store to get tortillas and I indignantly insisted I would make them myself. With sourdough starter. Mostly to prove that I could. Turns out, the leftover starter adds the perfect amount of tang that complements any taco topping.

Curious about ‘sourdough discard’ and how to make your own starter? Check out my post on how to create and maintain your very own sourdough starter!

I have to thank The Cafe Sucre Farine for the inspiration behind this recipe. They have an absolutely lovely flour tortilla recipe that I used as my jumping off point when developing this sourdough flour tortilla variety!

Tortillas are one of those things that do not last very long in my house. Not only are they something that we use for tacos and other Mexican favorites, but they also become chips when microwaved, mini pizzas when topped and baked, and…dog treats.

Yes, I know. Our dog is weird. While he loves regular treats, he would rip off your hand in the name of a warm tortilla the way a wolf would go after its prey. Or a more normal dog would go after a steak. We have absolutely no idea why. Point being, even the fuzziest among us love a good tortilla (seriously, can someone please tell me why my dog is this strange? Dog Whisperers of the Internet, I’m looking at you.)

You won’t want to share these sourdough flour tortillas with your dog. These…these you will definitely want to keep for yourself. Use them as the base of tacos, enchiladas, mini personal pizzas. Put them in the freezer (in a zip top bag with parchment in between each one) and save them for later. You will never want to purchase the store-bought variety again.

(Note: I will absolutely still share these with my dog. But only because I recognize that I live in my dog’s house and not the other way around.)

What You Need To Make Sourdough Flour Tortillas

Really, not much at all! I mix my tortillas in my Kitchen Aid mixer, but that really is not necessary. All you need is:

• a large mixing bowl
• a large wooden spoon/spatula (silicone also works well!)
• a heavy rolling pin

Print Recipe

Sourdough Discard Flour Tortillas

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time16 minutes mins

Total Time41 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 16 small (6″) tortillas

Equipment

• large mixing bowl
• wooden spoon/spatula
• Rolling pin
• Stand mixer with dough hook attachment (optional)
• large frying pan

Ingredients

• 355 grams all-purpose flour (~a scant 3 cups)
• 85 grams water (3/8 cup) room temperature
• 120 grams sourdough starter unfed, or discard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 104 grams canola oil (½ cup)

Instructions

• Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Add the canola oil, sourdough starter, and water and thoroughly mix. To full incorporate the wet and dry ingredients, you might need to use your hands. Using your hands, knead and fold the dough until all the ingredients are fully incorporated and the dough is smooth. If using a stand mixer, mix the ingredients on medium speed with the dough hook attachment until fully combined. Once the dough starts to wrap around the dough hook, turn the speed down to low and continue to mix until the dough becomes smooth.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 16 equal pieces. If you want larger tortillas, you can divide into 8 larger, equal pieces.
• Roll each piece of dough into a ball and let rest, covered in a damp towel, for at least fifteen minutes.
• Once the dough has rested, warm a large frying pan on medium heat. Do NOT add any oil or grease to the pan.
• Flatten each dough ball with a heavy rolling pin. Flatten and stretch each dough until they are circles approximately 6" in diameter. Do not worry about making them perfectly round!
• Once the frying pan is hot, place one (or two, if your pan has room) tortilla into the pan and cook for 45 seconds or until the first side has become lightly browned. You will notice some bubbling, but if any of the bubbles become too large, you can prick them with a fork before you flip over the tortillas.
• After ~45 seconds, flip the tortillas over and cook for 15-20 seconds on the reverse side, until brown spots form on the surface of the tortilla.
• Once cooked, transfer the warm tortillas to a plate to cool.
• Repeat with the 15 remaining tortillas.
• Tortillas can be served immediately, while still warm, or transferred to an airtight container for several days. To reheat tortillas, place uncovered in the microwave alongside a small glass of water. Microwave for 20-30 seconds. The water will keep the tortillas from drying out while reheating.
• To freeze tortillas for later use, place in a zip top bag with a sheet of parchment paper in between each tortilla. Tortillas will keep in the freezer up to two months.

Have any plans for your upcoming Taco Tuesday? Give these tortillas a try and tag me on social media @kettleandkale.

Looking for another way to use up some of your sourdough discard? Try this pizza dough recipe!