Living in Nicaragua, we eat a lot of tortillas. So much, I got fed up with the store bought ones; the ingredient list just goes on and on. Lots of unnecessary stuff. I always thought it would be pretty easy to make homemade whole wheat tortillas myself. Not sure why I didn’t dive into this until now?
This is so easy. Ok, you need a bit of rolling pin skills, but try this recipe a few times and you will get the hang of it. Let’s make some whole wheat tortillas from scratch!
These hearty homemade flour tortillas are made with just 4 ingredients. Can you believe it? They have a bit more of a bite while still being flexible, perfect for filling (your burrito) to the max. The whole wheat flour actually adds fiber and flavor, making these a heartier option. They are so easy to make and taste way better than store-bought.
How I make whole wheat tortillas?
I start by mixing together flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a bowl. I add olive oil (or softened butter) and combine it with a wooden spatula. Slowly I add warm water while stirring until a rough dough comes together.
After that I just turn the dough onto the countertop (dusted with flour so the dough doesn’t stick to it), and knead for a couple of minutes. This will make the dough softer and stretchier.
I would suggest not to add too much extra flour; I found this dough doesn’t stick too much to my countertop, so no need to sprinkle it with flour. Excessive use of flour (on the countertop) will make the tortillas dry.
I let the dough rest for 15 minutes, until I continue rolling out the tortillas.
I divide the dough in 8-12 balls. Then, using a rolling pin, I roll them out into 8-inch circles (more or less; you can make smaller or larger tortillas as well). I make sure I roll them out thin (this is key!).
Now all there is left is to heat up a pan over medium high heat and grease it lightly. I slide a tortilla into the skillet and let it cook until bubbles form, about 30-60 seconds. Then I flip it over and cook it for another 30 seconds. Not too long, I want them to stay soft and flexible! Voilà, a whole wheat tortilla from scratch!
What’s the best way to warm a tortilla?
Nothing beats a warm and fresh tortillas, but you can perfectly store and reheat homemade tortillas. Here is what I do: to warm up already prepared tortillas, I heat them in a pan over low heat for a couple of minutes. But you can also throw them in the microwave. Easy, peasy!
Another benefit of the whole wheat is that these hold up super well, so I love to make a big batch. I usually have some in a resealable bag in the fridge and/or a stack in the freezer. When I reheat them, they are just as tasty as when made fresh!
I really hope you and your family enjoy these homemade flour tortillas as much as we do. They are:
flavorful – healthy – easy and quick to make – kids’ approved – so delicious
These whole wheat tortillas go with so many things. Here in this household we use them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Have you tried our family favorite Taco Tuesday already? Or cut them up in quarters, bake them and you have tortilla chips! And what about our cauliflower tinga tacos or these grilled mahi mahi and pineapple tacos!? So tasty!
Homemade whole wheat tortillas
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups whole wheat flour (I like to use white whole wheat flour, but if not available you can just use regular whole wheat flour. For a 'softer' texture you can use 1½ cup of ww flour and 1½ cup of regular all purpose flour)
- ¾ cup all purpose flour (or bread flour)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp salt
- 5 tbsp olive oil (plus extra to lightly grease the skillet)(or sub oil for butter)
- 1 cup hot water
Instructions
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Then add the olive oil.
- Now slowly add warm water while stirring with a (wooden) spatula, until a rough dough comes together.
- Turn the dough onto the countertop and knead for a couple of minutes until the dough becomes more flexible and stretchy. I would suggest not to add too much flour; I found this dough doesn't stick too much to my countertop. Excessive use of flour (on the countertop) will make the tortillas dry.Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 8-12 balls (depending on how large you want your tortillas to be. Use a rolling pin to roll them out. You want them to be very thin!
- Now heat up a (cast iron) skillet over medium high heat and grease it lightly with a bit of olive oil.
- Slide a tortilla into the skillet and let it cook until bubbles form, for about 1 minute. Flip over and cook another minute.
- Transfer to a plate. Eat straight away or let them cool of and either store them in a resealable bag in the refrigerator or freeze them.
- To warm them up again, either heat them in a pan over low heat or for just a minute or use the microwave (360W/ ½ minute).
Notes
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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I am giving this three stars as I just attempted to make it for the first time. What I don’t know is how do I know it is kneaded enough and also when you say let it rest you don’t say for how long. I wanted to make some to have for breakfast with eggs but it didn’t say how long to let it rest so I don’t know when to start making it before I can prepare it. that being said, I love where this is headed and how easy and short the list of ingredients is. I can see this being a winner with a little more clarify. Love to hear back from you on this as I am trying to eat in a much healthier way as the Dr told me I need to watch what I eat due to health issues.
Hi Rachael, thanks for your message! I am so sorry I didn’t explain that well enough. I checked the recipe and added more/better instruction where needed. I also added a paragraph on how to store them, because honestly, I usually make a big batch and keep half in the freezer and/or the fridge. They are really easy to reheat. But fresh is always the best of course. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions and/or how they turned out. Can’t wait to hear about it.