{Yummy} Recipe: Homemade Flour Tortillas (White or Wheat with Soaking Option)

CAUTION:  This recipe could cause marital strife.

The natural progression of a real food journey dictates that sooner or later you’ll be making food that you would ordinarily buy, from scratch.  Maybe it’s instant hot cocoa.  Maybe it’s yogurt.

If it ends up being tortillas, you have my utmost, sincere sympathies.

There’s somewhat of a running joke in our family.  My husband used to be the pickiest eater I knew.  In fact, it would be easier to list what he would eat (his mom’s fried chicken, steak and authentic East coast pizza being his three main food groups) than what he wouldn’t.

His eating habits are now COMPLETELY different.  The man who didn’t like fish now requests homemade Caesar dressing for family dinners (and yes, he knows it contains anchovies).

The man who once nearly lost his dinner when he realized his favorite risotto (which he had already eaten a second helping of) contained mushrooms now asks me to sauté some to put on top our pies on pizza night.

The man who used to despise tomatoes not only requests tomato basil soup almost every soup night, but also puts a thick slice of tomato on his grilled vegetable sandwiches.  In fact, the last time I made couscous, he asked me to make them bigger and add more!

This are big steps people.  HUGE!  Worthy of righting down on the calendar and celebrating!

It’s no wonder that the family looks to him for approval of new dishes and kitchen experiments.  If it passes his taste test, you know it’s a winner.

Tortillas are one of those foods that require a bit of effort to make, but is worth making every time because of the lack of good, store-bought options.  Most flour tortillas contain some type of trans fat.  It may say zero in the little nutritional box, but more times than not the term “hydrogenated” is listed in the ingredients.  Since “hydrogenated” is just a fancy way for the food industry to hide “trans fat,” we know that those tortillas are not good for our bodies.

We can try going the whole wheat tortilla route, but then we have to be concerned about high fructose corn syrup.  Food manufacturers add this artificial sweetener to make things taste better.  Unfortunately, HFCS can do a real nasty number to our bodies well.  It’s best to stay far away from that stuff.

Store-bought tortillas without hydrogenated oils or HFCS do exist, but they’re not always easy to find.  Costco carries a refrigerated variety, but items at Costco vary by location and season (my local Costco didn’t even have these tortillas until a few months ago).  Smaller known tortilla companies are even harder to recommend because their customers are usually limited to a few local stores or people who specifically know about the company.

We’re left with two choices:  eat trans fat and/or HFCS, or make them ourselves.

Whenever possible, we choose to make them ourselves.  And this is where the marital strife could occur.

Remember how my husband is usually the one who decides if a recipe is a go or no-go?  Homemade tortillas are by far, without a doubt, a go.

So much a “go” that when I made these for him he said to me, and I quote:

“Please don’t ever buy tortillas again.”

If I didn’t love him so much, I would have decked him.  Did he not know how much work went into making those darn things?  Doesn’t he see my apron and every kitchen towel covered in flour?  And he wanted me to do it again?!

Oh yes, tortillas can certainly cause problems in a marriage. But then again, the age-old argument of who takes out the trash and who does the dishes can cause problems too.

The work that these tortillas require is absolutely worth the effort.  And it’s not that they’re even THAT time consuming or laborious to make.  They just take longer than the three seconds it takes to open a package of store-bought tortillas.

Aren’t we spoiled?

When you ready to make your own tortillas, make a double batch.  Plan several meals requiring tortillas in your meal plan and change up the flavors so you don’t tire of Mexican in one week:  Greek quesadillas, Asian tacos, breakfast burritos, salsa verde chicken enchiladas, tortilla pizzas… a little like this week’s two-week real food meal plan.

If by chance you still have some left after everyone has eaten dinner (and walked away from the table with one smeared with butter to go), spread them with your favorite nut butter and wrap it around a banana for a fun (and very portable) lunch.

** NOTE:  This recipe provides the ability to use white flour, wheat flour, soaked or unsoaked grains.  Read the entire recipe through before making to ensure sufficient soaking and resting time.

Homemade Flour Tortillas (with Soaked Option)

3 cups flour (choose unbleached bread flour or white wheat, or any combination of the two)
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp soaking medium (apple cider vinegar whey, or lemon juice would work well)
1 cup slightly warm filtered water (minus 3 Tbsp if using soaking method)
5 tablespoons of lard or coconut oil (learn how to make your own lard)

SOAKED METHOD:  Mix the flour and salt together well in a large bowl.  Add the soaking medium and water and combine well.  Let the flour sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours (overnight at a minimum is best).  Add the fat in small pieces and work to incorporate it well within the dough.  Knead the dough against the sides of the bowl a few times until it is smooth.  Continue with the remaining directions  below.

CONVENTIONAL METHOD:  Mix the flour, salt and fat together well in a large bowl.  Once all the fat is thoroughly combined with the flour and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, knead the dough against the sides of the bowl a few times until it is smooth.

CONTINUATION FOR BOTH METHODS:  Divide the dough into 14 equal pieces, rolling each into a ball.  Allow the dough to rest for at least 10 minutes, or up to 2 hours.

Working with one ball at a time, dust your working surface, the ball and your rolling pin (I used a glass jar) with flour.  Roll the ball into either a 6″ circle, a shape that is about 1/8″ thick, or any combination of the two (I’m notorious for triangle shaped dough!).  Rotate and flip the dough as necessary to prevent sticking.  You may also use a tortilla press if you have one.

Pre-heat your cooking method:

• Non-stick griddle to 350 degrees
• Heavy-bottomed pan oiled with lard or coconut to medium-high
• Baking or pizza stone to 500 degrees

When your oven/stove/griddle is ready, lay a tortilla across and cook for 30 seconds.  Flip the tortilla over and cook for another 15 to 30 seconds.  Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.  Stack the cooked tortillas and wrap in a clean kitchen towel.  Serve warm.

What’s the most “difficult” thing you make that is completely worth the effort?