Monday, May 28, 2012

Homemade Tortillas


      Homemade tortillas are very cost-effective, healthy and simple to make. Tortillas are great for meals like enchiladas, fajitas, and tacos. They also make a good snack with some peanut butter or hummus. It's a pretty blank base and so the possibilities for use are numerous. 
     
     For a comparison:

     Recipe:
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water
1/4 c. + 1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. baking powder

1. Combine flours, salt, and baking powder in mixer. Add oil and water gradually and mix until smooth. Dough should be soft and no longer sticky. 
2. Form into a single ball and allow to rest for up to an hour. 
3. Divide into 16 golf ball size portions. (If you wish to store some in the freezer then do so at this point. See additional notes below for thawing and cooking instructions).
4. Allow each dough ball to rest for an additional 20-30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat griddle or pan. Cook for a few seconds on each side until lightly browned. (More tips below). 
6. Cover to keep warm before serving. 

    If your tortillas form large bubbles or are darkening significantly in some spots more than others, then adjust your heat. I cook mine in a cast iron pan which maintains heat well. I start it off on medium and then turn the heat down to med-low. The pan retains the temperature without continuously having the higher level heat added. On the contrary, if it's taking a minute or two to take on some color then your heat is too low. The tortilla will soak up the oil in your pan and the outer surface will cook and crisp before the tortilla is actually finished. Both cases will cause the tortillas to be difficult to roll or fragile. 

    I like to keep tortilla dough balls in the freezer as part of my regular stock. I've never had much luck retaining pliability when freezing and thawing a finished tortilla. The dough balls however freeze well and allow you to only cook what's needed at the time. After the first rest and last shaping, lay each dough ball onto a baking pan. Place in freezer until completely frozen. Then, store all in a labeled bag in the freezer. When you're ready to cook them, then simply remove the desired amount from the freezer and set out to thaw. This time doubles at the final 20-30 minute resting period. To finish just roll out (may require a bit more flour on the mat) and cook like normal. 

Finished product: tortillas for today's meal and many more for future meals. 

Linked up at: An Original Belle, A Mama's Story, What Joy Is Mine, Growing Home, Time-Warp Wife, Thankful Homemaker, Women Living Well, Young Living Oil Lady, Raising Homemakers, A Mama's Story, An Original Belle, The Alabaster Jar, Homestead Revival, The Better Mom, What Joy Is Mine, I'm an Organization Junkie, Covered in Grace, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Time-Warp Wife, Growing Home, Far Above Rubies, Women Living Well

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28 comments:

  1. I love both fresh flour and corn tortillas however I struggle immensely with rolling them out! I can never get a good round one, and they are always too thick. I hope to get a tortilla press in the future to help with that though! I've never made tortillas using whole wheat so I'll have to give this recipe a try!

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    1. Mine don't always come out perfectly round either. I just aim for a shape sufficient to hold fillings and then consider the asymmetry part of the charm of homemade. In regard to thickness, I roll mine out as thin as possible. I mean, I can see a bit of the red shading of my mat through them. A tortilla press would be nice though! :)

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    2. would it be easier to get a more perfect shape by first pressing the entire ball shape with a flat bottom of a heavy pan then rolling out?

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    3. Hmm.. I haven't tried that technique, Pam. Next time we have tortillas (end of this week) I'll try it and let you know. The best way that I know how at this point is to treat it like rolling out pie dough. Roll it in one direction, lift and slide the dough 1/4 turn clockwise, and then repeat. If all else fails, then perhaps go to a tortilla press. :)

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  2. Several years ago I bought a tortilla press so I could make my own tortillas! We love making food from scratch-that way we are in control of what we put in our bodies! I would love for you to come and share this with us at Kids in the Kitchen: http://younglivingoillady.com/home/kids-in-the-kitchen-link-up-week-16/
    Hope to see you there! Blessings in abundance :)

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  3. Freezing tortilla balls - GENIUS!!! I used to make my own tortillas - I'd do about 30 at a time and freeze them so I always had some in the freezer...but since having my baby I just haven't had the energy to do them. But, if I had half the work done and only needed to roll out what we needed for a meal, I'd do them. I am so going to do this today!! Thank you for the great idea! Popping over from WLW blog hop. - A Little R & R http://jukiczr.blogspot.com

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    1. Great! I quickly grew tired of rolling out all the tortillas at one time. It was just too time consuming and then I had a bunch leftover. Thanks for visiting! :)

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  4. On my to do list. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. I'll be trying these. Thank you!

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  6. thank you so much for linking with Kids in the Kitchen

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  7. Whitney...tortillas are always in our fridge! Where we live they are eaten daily. I never thought to use coconut oil though. Will have to try that. Thank you for the recipe and for sharing at WJIM.

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    1. We eat them weekly and love the versatility. I initially started out with shortening, but then recognizing the superior benefits of coconut oil made the switch. There isn't much adjustment beyond accounting for the liquid/solid state. Glad to have had the opportunity to share on your site! :)

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    2. Sounds good. Got some in my pantry so will give it a try. Have blessed weekend.

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  8. I've wanted to try this, but haven't yet!! Great idea.

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    1. Thanks, Betsy! Hope you do get to try it soon. Once you make them you won't be returning for the store for them again. haha. :)

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  9. This looks awesome!! I've never tried it before...but I might be brave and do it now!

    Thanks for linking up!

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    1. I hope you can try it! I always find homemade so much more fun. Glad to link up at your site! :)

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  10. so if i wanted to use shortening would i just use the same amount and melt that as well?

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    1. I suppose you could melt it. I've only used it in it's solid form when I did a test run. I cut it in with the Kitchenaid on high with the paddle attachment (or use a pastry blender/cutter). I think the coconut oil is recommended in liquid form because the solid form is rather firm and can be a challenge to work with. Hope that helps! :)

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    2. yeps that helps, thanks...looking forward to trying this recipe. i have a different recipe i use but always looking for others. thanks again!

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  11. I would love to make this for my family!!! My son has a food allergy to whole wheat. Perhaps coconut or spelt flour would work?!? Any suggestions? Also, can you provide details of how you would cook them- stainless steel pan okay {I don't use non-stick}? Thanks so much!

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    1. I haven't worked with anything but all-purpose or whole wheat in my cooking just yet, so I can't make any recommendations. Sorry! If you do happen to try it with something else, then please share as I'm always interested to know how different ingredients combine and the results produced. As far as the pan, I use a cast iron skillet. I've found that it does the best job at maintaining the proper temperature level. I can't see any reason why a stainless steel pan wouldn't word as well though. Hope that helps! :)

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  12. Excellent post! And I just wanted to let you know that I featured it in this week's "Weekend Pics" (rebeccashearthandhome-proverbs31heart.blogspot.com/2012/06/weekend-picks-6812.html) Thanks for sharing!

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  13. I need to try these, Whitney. The image caught my eye when I was ready about your yummy granola...got sidetracked : )

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  14. Would you be able to make these 100% whole wheat?

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    1. The consistency of the dough changes depending on the type and amount of flours used. Whole wheat absorbs moisture and stretches differently than all purpose. I've never had much luck making 100% whole wheat foods. Instead, I try to make a recipe 1/2 whole wheat & 1/2 all purpose or 3/4 whole wheat and 1/4 all purpose. Hope that helps! :)

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