Whole Wheat Tortillas
Erica Lea on Oct 28th 2008
These are the tortillas that changed Dad’s mind about soft-shell tortillas. They are way tastier than store-bought, especially when eaten fresh from the skillet.
: : Whole Wheat Tortillas : :
Adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients:
- 5 cups (25 oz.) hard red or white wheat flour + extra for rolling
- 1/2 cup palm oil shortening or coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
Directions:
1) For mixing by hand: In a large, heat-proof bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour and salt. Rub in the palm or coconut oil by hand until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal.
For mixing by machine: Put whole wheat flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add palm or coconut oil and pulse until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal. Pour into a large, heat-proof bowl.
2) Make a well in the center, and pour in the boiling water. Mix with a fork until all of the water is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth.
3) Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces each. Cover with a damp cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
4) Heat a large, cast-iron skillet over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Do not overcook or your tortillas will be brittle. Place finished tortillas in a kitchen towel to soften. Roll out the next tortilla while the other is cooking. Repeat until all of the balls have been cooked. Tortillas can be refrigerated or frozen.
Makes about 18 tortillas
Filed in Crackers & Flatbreads
Wow, homemade tortillas. Again, wow. And I love the fact that they’re whole wheat.
We used the recipe from Homesick Texan and found that the addition of milk to the recipe made the tortillas much softer in texture.
Annie: Adding milk sounds good - I’ll have to give it a try.
This is great! I definitely think we should all >make the switch to whole wheat
yum! those look and sound great!
Those look great! I just made tortillas today. I had some chicken fat but not enough and I had to use vegetable shortening. I assume palm oil shortening would also be hydrogenated, but its good to see I can use coconut oil. I bet that would be delicious!
Chefsquire: Actually, the shortening I linked to is not hydrogenated - palm oil is naturally solid at room temperature!
This looks great. Does the whole wheat ruin the texture at all? I’d be interested in trying this some time.
::smacks forehead:: If I had clicked that link I would have noticed. Thank you! I will have to check for something like that at whole foods, and if I can’t find it maybe order it. I have several recipes I refuse to make anymore because they are laden with shortening.
Gaga: The whole wheat does make these tortillas a bit crumbly, especially when they are cold or over cooked. The original recipe includes one cup of all-purpose flour, which most likely helps the texture (when does all-purpose flour not help the texture?).
Do you think that the oil could be changed to olive or canola oil and not change the recipe too much?
Carole: I have not personally tried this, but it might work. The shortening/coconut oil is melted anyway when the boiling water is added.
Just make sure to get the amount of water right - you want a dough that isn’t crumbly, but not sticky either. You may want to start with less water and add more as needed.
Hope this helps!