User login

Home

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

Mon, 2011-02-21 15:27 by Tammy   Tags:
Recipe Name: 
Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
Picture: 
Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
Description: 

Soft and delicious homemade whole wheat flour tortillas, perfect for fajitas or soft tacos!

Yield: 

about 1 dozen (8-inch) tortillas

Ingredients: 

3 cups whole wheat flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening**
1+ cup hot water (enough to make a workable dough, as hot as you can stand to touch)

Instructions: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the shortening and mix with a fork or pastry blender until incorporated into small crumbs.

2. Add hot water, stirring to make a thick dough. Knead with hands until a smooth, not-too-sticky dough forms.

3. Separate dough into balls about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Allow balls of dough to rest on the counter, covered with a clean towel, for a few minutes.

4. Using heavy skillets (like cast iron) or a griddle, have two burners heating -- one at a medium-low temperature and one at a medium-high temperature. Roll each ball into an 8-inch circle. (Use a little flour during rolling if necessary.)

5. To cook tortillas, first use the lower temperature burner to heat the tortilla on both sides, until tortilla is cooked but not browned. Then, move the tortilla to the hotter burner and cook for a couple more minutes, until both sides are browned and tortilla is hot.***

6. Stack tortillas under clean towels to keep them warm as you finish cooking the rest of the tortillas.

Tortillas will be somewhat thick, and great for fajitas, soft tacos, or served for breakfast filled with eggs and toppings (cilantro, jalapenos, tomatoes, green onions, leftover fajita meat, etc.).

Leftover tortillas should be stored in an air-tight bag or container, and can be re-warmed in the microwave or oven (wrapped in foil).

Whole wheat tortilla dough

Whole wheat tortilla dough

Whole wheat tortilla dough

Whole wheat flour tortillas

Whole wheat flour tortillas

Whole wheat flour tortillas

Additional Notes: 

*You can use half all-purpose flour for a lighter tortilla. I like to use whole wheat flour made from white wheat, which makes a lighter tortilla. For beef fillings, I do enjoy the flavor of regular whole wheat flour (hard red wheat). :)

**You can use vegetable oil, vegetable shortening or coconut oil. If using coconut oil, use a refined coconut oil (such as the LouAna brand) that doesn't have a strong scent. Unrefined coconut oil has a lovely smell and flavor, but will lend a coconut flavor to baked goods.

***We've found it works well to stack two tortillas together on the hotter burner, as it helps hold the heat in as the bottom gets browned (just rotate until all sides of all tortillas are browned).

Whole wheat flour tortillas

Whole wheat flour tortillas

Whole wheat flour tortillas
Whole wheat flour tortillas served for breakfast filled with eggs and toppings

Preparation Time: 

30 minutes

Cooking Time: 

3-4 minutes (~30 minutes total)

Tammy's Review: 

This recipe was given to me from my sister-in-law, Candy. Candy makes these flour tortillas often, and they are so delicious!

I don't get to make tortillas as often as I'd like, just because it does take more time to make them and we eat a lot of bean and rice burritos. However, when we have company for dinner I love to make homemade tortillas since they turn an average meal (like tacos) into a delicious dinner!

They are a little thicker than store-bought flour tortillas, and perfect for soft tacos or fajitas. You can roll them thinner if you wish; just play with the cooking time and temperatures on your burners until they come out right.

Every stove (and pan) is different, so for the first few you will need to watch closely and see if the tortilla is cooking too quickly, etc. :) Soon you will know just how your stove does with tortillas and cooking them will be a breeze! :)

Read more about this recipe for whole wheat flour tortillas

Whole wheat flour tortillas
Beef Fajitas in homemade whole wheat flour tortillas

Whole wheat flour tortillas

Average vote based on 3 reviews.
10
out of 10
User Reviews
10
out of 10
WOW! Fabulous!

I made these shells for the third time last night and they turned out so much better then I expected! I premixed the dry ingredients in my 14 cup cuisinart food processor(discontinued model) on the dough setting. I added the 2 tbsp coconut oil and pulsed until thoroughly. Then I heated my water to near boiling and added a small amount at a time while using the pulsing feature. I added just under 1.5 cups of hot water. I use King Arthur whole wheat white flour for the tortilla flour. I dumped my dough into a large plastic bowl dusted with unbleached flour and slightly kneaded. Then I made my balls of dough and covered with a paper towel to rest.

Once rested, I proceeded to roll the best I could to make the shells onto my King Arthur silicone mat. I love my shells thin and I rolled into 8inch shells. After each shell was rolled, I covered with a paper towel and let sit a few minutes after all were finished.

These shells turned out fantastic, like nothing I've ever had before. They were better tasting then the shells straight out of Mexico. Plus the whole wheat white flour makes these shells a bit healthier to eat.

I will try using olive oil next time, but the coconut oil is out of this world fabulous.

Thank you for this recipe!

Update---

I make these shells weekly in my food processor! I will use hot water just at the boiling point when mixing all together. They are the best shells that we've ever eaten. I now roll my shells on the underside of a large dinner plate to get them round looking. I try using the least amount of white unbleached flour possible for rolling and I still roll them
very thin, just make sure to lift carefully to prevent ripping. I still use King Arthur whole wheat flour for the mix. Using olive oil or coconut oil does not have a taste difference, so olive oil is what I mainly use since its healthier.

Please thank your sister for sharing this recipe. There is nothing better then foods cooked from scratch.


by Nicole01 on Tue, 2013-04-23 05:19
10
out of 10
Replacing shortening

I just came upon these and plan to make them as I only have whole wheat flour left but I make white flour tortillas and I use bacon grease :) Just thought I would put that out there as another option when subbing for shortening!


by soljeanric on Tue, 2013-01-08 00:58
10
out of 10
This is FABULOUS!

Thank you so much for detailed directions so I could learn how this is done. I do use virgin coconut oil in all my cooking and it did not leave a coconut flavor. I have also experimented with various combinations of flour. This is divine! I greatly appreciate the wonderful directions and photos that shows how it is done.


by zilverb on Thu, 2011-06-30 17:24