Sourdough Tortillas
Homemade sourdough tortillas are soft, chewy, and easy to make with your sourdough discard. Taco night will never be the same once you've tried homemade tortillas!
We love sharing easy, basic recipes that you can make with your sourdough discard. Everyday recipes like sourdough pasta, sourdough pancakes, sourdough crackers, and sourdough pizza crust are just a few that have become reader favorites.
These amazing tortillas are quick and easy to put together and can be cooked right away or fermented in the fridge for up to 2 days.
They are soft, and chewy and can be used to make tacos, gyros, or sandwich wraps.
What you'll need
- all-purpose flour
- sourdough starter discard
- salt/baking powder
- coconut oil or olive oil
Step-by-step instructions
This is by far one of the easiest sourdough tortillas recipes to make, so, let's dive straight into the details!
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and use your hands to incorporate the coconut oil into the flour until it has a fine, sandy texture. Add the water and sourdough discard and mix with your hands until there are no dry bits in the bowl left. The dough will be stiff.
Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Cut the dough into 16 pieces. (Each piece should weigh about 44g.) Pinch the dough together, turn it over, and gently shape it into a smooth ball. Place the dough balls on a baking sheet, cover them, and let them rest for 30 minutes.
Alternatively, you can let the dough ferment in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days before cooking.
Step 3: Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Brush with oil if the skillet is not well seasoned. Working with one dough ball at a time, use a rolling pin to roll it into a 6" circle. (Keep the other dough covered until ready to roll out.)
Step 4: Cook the tortilla on the first side until it starts to bubble and turn golden brown. Flip it over and cook until golden brown. Stack the cooked tortillas covered in a kitchen towel to stay warm while you cook the remaining tortillas.
How to store
- To store: Store the cooked tortillas at room temperature, wrapped in a towel, bread bowl liner, or bread bag for up to 2 days.
- To freeze: Allow the tortillas to cool completely. Stack the tortillas with a layer of wax paper between each one and place the stack into a freezer-safe container. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.
- To reheat: Allow the tortillas to thaw and reheat in a skillet on the stovetop.
Simple sourdough discard recipes
There are so many amazing recipes you can make with your sourdough discard. Check out one of these tried and true recipes for your family!
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Sourdough Tortilla Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cup (180 g) water
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoons (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons (7 g) fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) coconut oil (or olive oil)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix the water and sourdough starter discard together in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the coconut oil and use your hands to work it into the flour mixture. (It will have a fine, sandy consistency.)
- Pour the water/sourdough starter mixture into the dry ingredients and combine with your hands until there are no dry bits left in the bowl. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes on the counter. (The dough will be stiff.)
- Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll each one into a ball. Place the dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with a towel, and allow the dough to relax for 30 minutes. (Alternately, you can place the dough in the fridge, covered, to ferment until you are ready to cook them.)
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over a medium-low heat until it is very hot. Working with one dough ball at a time, use a rolling pin to roll it into a thin round, about 6" in diameter. Use flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Carefully lay the dough on the hot skillet and allow it to cook until bubbles start to form on top and the bottom is slightly charred. Flip it over and continue cooking on the other side until cooked through.
- Repeat with the remaining dough balls, keeping cooked tortillas wrapped in a kitchen towel to stay warm until ready to serve.
NOTES
- This recipe makes 16 taco-sized tortillas or 8 burrito-sized tortillas.
- To store: Store the cooked tortillas at room temperature, wrapped in a towel, bread bowl liner or bread bag for up to 2 days.
- To freeze: Allow the tortillas to cool completely. Stack the tortillas with a layer of wax paper between each one and place the stack into a freezer-safe container. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.
- To reheat: Allow the tortillas to thaw and reheat in a skillet on the stovetop.
- The original recipe used vegetable shortening and has been changed to coconut oil.
Soooooo good! Simple recipe that yields high impact results!
Sooooooooo good! Simple recipe with high impact!
Can this be made with whole wheat flour
Yes, you can. However, the dough will require more hydration and will be more dense/tough.
I've used quite a few of your recipes, I love them. I should comment on more.
It's been 13 months now since I've been baking everything from scratch. Except tortillas... Kinda my guilty pleasure for bread, although I'm getting fairly decent at sourdough.
I hadn't found a standard tortilla recipe I liked. So I figured I'd give discard a shot. Of course, your site comes up. (positive, not a gripe!).
Gave it a shot last night, ate 2, put the rest in the fridge. Had another this morning... Epic! They're totally epic.
I often use my baking steel spanning 2 elements for stuff like this. Works great. I also tried my 6" cast iron tiny skillet. Both worked great.
This one is 'it', no doubt. The tortilla recipe to replace my last store bought bread product!
I've learned a lot from your content, thanks a bunch.
(I normally do recipes verbatim the first time, but I didn't have coconut oil, I used peanut oil. I'll totally play with the ratios... Cause you know how baking works! Lol. But I love this recipe, it doesn't need modification; only to play, cause why not...?!)
Substituted snow cap lard for the coconut oil (partly to honor my grandmother's baking style, but also because I love what it does for baked goods). The results were excellent.... softer more malleable tortilla with a slightly chewier mouth feel. The sourdough base can't be beat, love this recipe!!!!
Wonderful results! Thank you 🙂
Making GF/Paleo tortillas used to be a fun family activity in days gone bye. We've graduated to sourdough over the years and this was our first attempt at tortillas. The dough was a joy to work with and the tortillas were delicious!
These make the best grilled flatbread pizzas!
They turned out fine, easy to make, no problems with that. My question is: Why does the recipe say to use coconut oil or olive oil but the video says shortening?
Thank You!
Hi Lynn, thank you! You can use olive oil, coconut oil, or shortening.
The best tortillas! I make these all the time. if I wanted to make whole wheat tortillas how would I do that?
Does the starter need to be discard —or can it be active?