Finally! A Great Batch of Whole Wheat Tortillas!
I’ve made several (or more) attempts at making whole wheat tortillas from scratch and none of them have really turned out well. They either get too crispy, too doughy or just didn’t taste right. I don’t give up easily though, so I continued to make them, adjusting various details each time. I got the formula right because this time they turned out AMAZING!
Well, it’s still a whole wheat tortilla, so maybe “amazing” is a bit of an overstatement. They are an acquired taste if you’re used to white flour products. The point is, they are fully cooked, still soft a day later and taste pretty much the way they are intended to taste. That’s success in my book.
I don’t remember with certainty where I got my original recipe. I’m pretty sure I modified a basic white flour tortilla recipe and incorporated some ideas I found others using. For example, instead of traditional lard or shortening, I use olive oil. I’m taking all this time making my own tortillas so they are healthier and olive oil fits that bill best.
There really isn’t much to the recipe…
3 cups whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 2 Tb olive oil, 1 cup warm water
Mix the dry ingredients together, add the olive oil, then mix in the water slowly. I use my stand mixer, first with the paddle beater to mix everything. Then I switched to the dough hook to knead.
A couple of things I did differently this time… Because I’m using whole wheat flour & that takes longer to absorb the moisture, I allowed the dough to sit for a few minutes after mixing. Then, I added more water gradually, as I kneaded in the mixer, to make sure the dough was nice and soft. I probably added about another 1/3 cup of water in all. I did that in stages, kneading quite a bit after each addition to make sure the dough didn’t get too wet. That’s the other thing that was different… I kneaded with the mixer much more than I have before. I let it go until the dough formed a nice, soft ball. I did let it sit in between some water additions also. I can do other things while the mixer is kneading, so even though it took a bit of time, I wasn’t standing there watching it all along.
Next, I divided the dough into balls, each weighing about 2.2 oz… a total of 12. I put them back into the bowl & covered it so the dough could rest about 20 minutes. Then I heated my griddle. I use cast iron on the stove. I let it get hotter than I usually do… medium high; this time I let it start out more on the high side. While it was heating, I started rolling out the tortillas… Roll each one out once, let them rest, then roll out again. As I was doing the second roll out, I also started cooking the tortillas, about 30 seconds per side. I think it was key to have the griddle nice and hot. It seems counter intuitive, however it seemed to allow them to cook all the way without getting too crispy.
After I cooked each one, I put them in a large freezer bag in a towel. The moisture created by putting them into the bag seems to help keep them soft. I’ve done that before to save a batch that was too crispy. I’m not sure how it would have worked if I had just put them directly in the towel.
It might seem like a lot of work, although I’m sure if I do it regularly, it will be much easier. It’s worth it to me to know exactly what’s in my food & now that I have it down, these seem a lot tastier than the ones I can buy at the store.
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