Flour Tortillas - Traditional and "Sourdough"

Tortillas had been on my bucket list for some time and in trying to find a recipe for Indian Naan bread, I stumbled on tortillas! I could not believe how easy and quick these were, literally an hour start to finish. Having tortillas on hand can be a quick dinner of quesadillas, tacos, or a sweet treat warmed with butter and cinnamon and rolled up! So without delay, tortillas; traditional and using sourdough starter/discard. Be patient, it takes a some time to perfect dough consistency/moisture content and cooking method (griddle heat, bubble inducing spatula strokes etc.)

Side note, I also found a great recipe for Naan bread and will share that too.

This recipe is based off one by Ester Seha via Janie's Mill (https://www.janiesmill.com/blogs/recipes/infinitely-adaptable-flatbreads)

Ingredients

• 2 cups (260g) bread flour; hard white, hard red, Kamut - take your pick
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup (160ml) warm water - using our Yecora Rojo I found it was extra thirsty and required about 1/4 cup more water. It is about texture and consistency of the dough not a recipe.
• 1 to 1-1/2Tbs olive oil/softened butter (this helps tortillas keep longer)

Equipment

• skillet or griddle 

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Add the warm water and oil and mix the dough with a spatula or spoon until the ingredients come together to form a sticky dough.
2. Using your hands, knead dough until it is soft and smooth, about 2 minutes.
3. Place the dough in the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes - 2 hours.
4. Heat skillet or griddle to medium-high heat.
5. Divide dough into 8 pieces burrito, 12 pieces taco/fajita, and roll out each piece to a circle, about 1/8” thick or thinner.  Do not use flour to roll out your dough as it will make the tortillas dry. If needed, lightly oil your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. *The thinner the better for lots of bubbled brown spots!
6. Once rolled out, drape individually onto hot pan. Cook 30-60 second till tortilla releases on its own and golden brown dots start to form on the bottom, flip and cook 30-60 seconds - this step is just to basically sear each side. Then flip back to the first side and drag spatula across to encourage puff (these become the brown spots), flip and repeat.

Wrap tortillas in towel. Store 3-5 days at room temp in air-tight package, 3 months in the freezer. The tortillas reheat well in the oven or toaster wrapped in foil or can be transformed into crackers by baking in a 325ºF oven till crisp.

“Sourdough” Tortillas

There is no fermentation in tortillas so they do not hold the same properties as sourdough bread, nor do they have a true sourdough flavor.

 Ingredients

• 210 g (1.5 heaping cups) bread flour; hard white, hard red, Kamut...
• 7 g (1 1/4 teaspoons) salt
•  1-1/2 T olive oil or softened butter (this helps tortillas keep longer)
• 125 ml (4 oz) warm water +   
• 100g (1/2 cup) sourdough starter (lively active, less than lively, discard – any will be fine)

1. In mixing bowl combine flour and salt. Add the warm water and oil and mix with spoon or by hand till ingredients come together. Add additional warm water till a sticky dough is achieved and all flour has been picked up. *It is about texture and consistency of the dough not a recipe.
2.  On unfloured silicone mat, knead dough till it is soft and smooth, about 2 minutes.
3.  Place dough in bowl, cover with towel and let rest for 30 mins to 2 hours.
4. Heat skillet or griddle to medium-high heat
5. Divide dough into 8 pieces for about a ~7" tortilla, 12 pieces for ~5-6"  and shape into balls
6. Lightly oil mat if needed and roll out with rolling pin till almost see-through, keeping other dough balls covered. The thinner they are rolled out the more bubbles will form.
7. Once rolled out, drape onto hot pan. Cook 30-60 second till tortilla releases on its own and golden brown dots start to form on the bottom, flip and cook 30-60 seconds. - this step is just to basically sear each side. Then flip back to the first side and drag spatula across to encourage puff (these become the brown spots), flip and repeat.

Wrap tortillas in towel. Store 3-5 days at room temp in air-tight package, 3 months in the freezer. The tortillas reheat well in the oven or toaster wrapped in foil or can be transformed into crackers by baking in a 325ºF oven till crisp.

TROUBLESHOOTING UPDATE - If your griddle is not hot enough, tortillas will take too long to cook and will basically dehydrate and be better crisps than soft flexible tortillas.