Many years ago, when I first started making my own sourdough, I decided that I must put some sourdough starter in ALL the things. This was a good thing because sourdough only makes things better! When I first made the leap to make sourdough tortillas, my mind was blown!
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Sourdough Discard Recipe
I had been making flour tortillas from scratch for a while and one day I decided to add a bit of sourdough starter and wow, what a difference it made. If you’re on the search for sourdough discard recipes, these sourdough tortillas are perfect!
Ingredients
All-purpose flour: I use organic for this recipe, and another option is to swap out one half cup of all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour if you like that texture.
Butter or ghee: Using saturated fat for this recipe makes the tortillas more tender, I get great results with ghee and butter. Feel free to substitute with coconut oil or a high-quality source of lard if you have access to it.
Sourdough starter: This is the star of the show! It’s ok to use discard, too. If you’re wondering the best way to make homemade tortillas taste better, it’s sourdough!
How to Make Sourdough Tortillas
Now I will show you how to make these super easy and wonderfully tasty sourdough tortillas! Keep in mind that you’ll want to start this recipe at least 4 hours ahead of time and up to a full day ahead of time.
First pulse the flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor, then add the butter or ghee.
Pulse in the fat. Of course, you do not need a food processor to do this, it will just take a bit more elbow grease to do it by hand with a fork.
Next, add the sourdough starter and pulse that in.
Then turn the food processor on and slowly drizzle in the warm water just until a dough ball forms. NOTE: You might not need to use the entire half cup of water.
Then turn the dough out onto a floured board and give it a few kneads until it is soft.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap (or better yet, homemade beeswax wraps) and let it rest for at least 4 hours to 24 hours.
The dough can rest for even longer, up to several days. Keep it in the fridge and take it out for a few hours to let it come up to room temperature before you roll the sourdough tortillas out.
When it’s tortilla making time, divide the dough into 6 roughly equal size pieces (or 12 if you’ve doubled the recipe).
Flatten each of these into small round discs.
Stack the dough discs except for one on the side of your board, then roll the one out very thin. Make sure to keep flour at hand as you will need it to keep the tortillas from sticking to the board.
If you have a tortilla press you can use it instead of a rolling pin, but it is not necessary.
Heat a large cast iron skillet, or another heavy-bottomed pan, on medium heat. The pan should be dry, with no oil at all.
Once your skillet is hot, put the rolled-out tortilla in it. It should start to bubble rather quickly.
In the meantime, start rolling out your next tortilla.
After a minute or two, flip the tortilla in the pan.
You should see a few nice little brown spots and it will probably bubble a bit on the second side as well. This side takes less time, maybe a minute, but no more.
Take it out of the pan and put your next rolled-out tortilla in. Repeat this until you’ve cooked all of your tortillas. You are probably covered in flour by now! This, my friends, is a good thing.
Stack up your cooked tortillas on a plate or board. Revel in the awesomeness that you just created.
You just made tortillas! So easy, with just a bit of forethought, yet without all of the preservatives and hydrogenated oils that most regular store-bought tortillas contain. Plus, sourdough!
The perfect vessel for your next taco of choice, just add some shredded pork shoulder or slow-cooker shredded chicken and the rest of the fixings you like.
Eat and Store Sourdough Tortillas
I’m always surprised by how easy making things from scratch really is. At first, it may seem daunting, but once you actually do it you realize that it’s not only quite simple but much tastier too!
The most important step in all of this is planning. If you know that you’re going to make tacos for dinner, then you can plan to make these sourdough tortillas. Making your own tortillas is totally worth the few extra minutes it takes.
This recipe is great to make a double or even triple batch! If you’re making them, you might as well make enough for a crowd. Then you’ll always be well prepared for taco night!
Store sourdough tortillas in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days, or up to a week in the refrigerator. If you make a large batch, they freeze well too. Just thaw them out and warm them before eating to prevent cracking. Enjoy!
Here are a few of my other favorite, delicious sourdough recipes:
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Rye Bread
- Sourdough Pizza
- Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes
- Sourdough Naan Bread
- Mini Sourdough Appetizer Pizzas
- Sourdough Flatbread
- Sourdough Discard Bagels
Sourdough Tortillas
Equipment
- Plastic Wrap (or reusable beeswax wrap)
Ingredients
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp butter or ghee
- ¼ cup sourdough starter
- ½ cup warm water
Instructions
- Place the flour, salt, and baking powder into a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add the butter (or ghee) and pulse until coarse crumbs form.
- Add the sourdough starter, and pulse until combined.
- Turn on the food processor and slowly drizzle in the warm water just until a dough ball forms. You may not need to use the entire half cup of water.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead a few times until it's soft.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap (or beeswax wrap) and set aside to rest at room temperature for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
- When you're ready to make the tortillas, remove the dough from the plastic wrap and divide into 6 roughly equal sized pieces.
- Flatten each dough piece into a disc, then roll the disc into a thin tortilla, using a sprinkle of flour to prevent sticking if necessary.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Allow it to get very hot. Then, place a tortilla into the dry skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles start to form. Flip and cook on the other side for an additional minute.
- Remove the tortilla from the skillet and repeat the rolling and cooking with the remaining discs.
Notes
- You’ll want to start this recipe at least 4 hours ahead and up to a full day ahead of time to allow time for the dough to rest.
- This recipe can easily be doubled if you need more tortillas.
- 1/2 cup of the flour could be whole wheat
Delicious
Excellent recipe, but the metric measurements do not match the cups/spoons measurements. This results in a very wet dough if using the metric recipe. I hate using cups and spoons, but this recipe is consistently great using those measurements. I really need to stop by using the metric conversion because it really doesn’t work in this case.
Agree. Made these the first time using metric and it was a complete mess. Shame.
Have made these twice; both times successful and delicously perfect using my discard. Couldn’t imagine eating a store-bought ever again. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome. Enjoy, Jacquelyn!
omg Colleen ….sorry, I forgot to add 5 stars in my previous comment.
OMGosh.
Hello Colleen, your recipe is perfect. We doubled it and made 12 medium size tortillas. We used AP Flour cause I absolutely hate whole wheat :-). My sourdough is made with rye flour. I was tired last night when the dough was ready so I tossed it a plastic dish and then in a plastic bag, and left it on my counter. It was puffy and beautiful this morning. The dough is so easy to work with. The sourdough flavour was very apparent. We made breakfast burritos. The tortillas are absolutely delicious!
Colleen thank you for sharing your recipe. It is the one I will always use.
I’m so glad you liked this recipe, Darlene.
I am not allowed to have store bought tortillas due to the fat content on my dietary restrictions. I am however allowed sourdough and MCT oil so I had to try this recipe. I didn’t have whole wheat flour so I just used All purpose flour. I did use more starter as some suggested and it worked perfectly. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
You are so welcome, Anastasia.
This is my go-to recipe when I want tortillas. I can’t bring myself to buy store bought anymore! I double the recipe now, even though there are only 2 of us, as I make extras to freeze. Thank you!
I’m so glad you’ve replaced store-bought tortillas with these!
Awesome recipe! Thanks! The texture and taste was amazing! Will stick to this recipe now! Can you please advice how to store them properly? And what are the ways to reheat them?
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Zane! I like to keep them in a paper bag or wrapped in a cloth to retain their moisture. To reheat, I add them individually to a hot cast-iron skillet for a few seconds per side.
Could you use starter discard for this recipe!
Yes, that should still work!
Did your Dec 20th update change this recipe? I made it several times in the past successfully, but this time, it feels completely different. The total quantity seems to be smaller.
Hi Heather, no the recipe has always been the same! Not sure what the issue is, sorry!
Amazing tortillas. They have a wonderful flavor and are tender and flakey. Plus the dough is fabulous, not sticky, instead it was velvety smooth. Thank you for the recipe. These tortillas will be made many times.
I’m so happy you love the tortillas, Lynn!
What program do you use to write your recipes for your blog? I love this soughdough tortilla recipe and would like to be able to write up my own recipes in such a clear and shareable way as you. Thanks!
Hi Lynn, I use the WP Recipe Maker plugin and definitely recommend it!
does the sourdough starter need to fully active, or if it’s been dormant in the fridge for a week will work just fine?
I’ve never tried it with dormant sourdough starter, but it’s worth a shot!
I’ve made it several times with the starter straight from the fridge after a week and had no issues, still wonderful every time.
I’m so glad you liked it, Steve! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was able to use sifted Einkorn flour with it as well as olive oil. I ended up using a little more than 1/4 cup water. I’ve tried other sourdough tortillas, other non sourdough tortillas…this time I kept all my hair and there was no frustration at all! Well, except getting them flat in the pan, lol, probably user error…
I’m so glad you liked it (and kept your hair!)!
Wow! Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m used to making traditional flour tortillas with baking powder, but for health reasons I now only consume wheat flour if it’s been sourdough fermented. I am truly shocked how well these turned out, the dough was *by far* the most workable I’ve ever experienced, even more so than the traditional Mexican recipe with baking powder that I always used. I was able to roll the dough extremely thin on a *non-floured* tile countertop (since I don’t like adding raw flour), and absolutely zero problems with sticking, and then with my hands it felt like I could almost infinitely stretch it without it tearing. Truly impressive! I used lard, no baking powder, all white flour, and let the dough ferment on the counter for about 8 hours. And a question: What do you think about the health properties of these compared to quick-rise baking powder tortillas? Is 8 – 12 hours enough for the starter to properly do its magic on the flour and make it more digestible and get rid of the phytic acid and all that? Thanks again!
Hi, Sam. I’m so glad you liked the sourdough tortillas. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer to your questions though.
From what I have tried to find, 4 hrs is the least amount of time for phytic acid to start to break down. Aim more towards 8hrs for it to be eliminated. Best of health, Alyssa
Thank you!
Can i sub olive oil in for the fat?
Yes, that should still work!
Okay I’ve made these 3 times now and I’m never using a different recipe! I have always had trouble with tortillas falling apart but these are perfect!!! I did use all WW flour and they work just as well. Thank you so much!!
Awesome, Greer! I’m so glad you love them as much as I do!
YUMMY! I am thrilled to finally have a good use for my leftover starter!!
I used 1/3 cup of starter + roughly 1/4 cup of water. The dough was fairly stiff and easy to work with when I tucked it in for the night in beeswax wrap. It expanded a bit overnight and had stuck to the wrap (should I have floured it first?).
Once I was able to scrape all the dough off the wrap, rolling/cooking was a breeze! I had one for breakfast with a bit of homemade hummus.
Yummy! I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
I’m gonna leave the dough overnight in beeswax and … does it expand at all? … just in case I’ve but the wrapped dough in a large baggie! Fingers crossed.
I’ve just found sourdough baking and I was so pleased to find your recipe! It worked a treat. Will definitely make these again.
Thank you!
Super easy to make and delicious! I used all purpose flour because I don’t have whole wheat flour. Followed the other reviewer, and used 1/2 c starter. So far, I’ve only used 1/4 c water. It was a hit with my family! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Awesome, Kimmy! I’m so glad you liked it!