Sourdough Tortillas Recipe + VIDEO

These sourdough tortillas are very simple to make and the perfect way to use your sourdough starter or discard. They are super soft, puffy, and delicious.

this recipe

Why You Should Make This Recipe

Making Mexican tortillas from scratch is really simple and fun! All you need is some all-purpose flour, lard (or vegetable oil), water, salt, and sourdough starter which make these delicious tortillas jump to the next level.

Using sourdough starter or discard adds a very nice and rich flavor to these tortillas. You don’t want to miss this if you have it at home. This recipe is a keeper and the best addition to your favorite sourdough discard recipes.

Besides, Mexican flour tortillas are also easier to make because you don’t need any fancy or specific tools like a press or tortillas machine.

Last, these tortillas are REALLY SOFT and perfect to roll up so you can make your favorite burrito recipe, mine is this al pastor burrito.

The Ingredients

Sourdough. Yes, this is the star of the recipe and you can use either the discard or starter of this amazing preparation. No, there are no substitutes if you want to achieve that wonderful flavor.

Flour. Use all-purpose flour, or, if you want to give it a try with other types of flour you might need to adjust the quantity of water. Bread or pizza flour are both good substitutions.

Lard. In many parts of Mexico, shortening is used but I don’t like the flavor and I rarely use it. You can replace lard with your favorite vegetable oil, or butter, or even bacon fat for more flavor.

Salt. A pinch of salt for tasty tortillas.

Water. Hot water helps the lard to combine better with flour and it makes the dough softer. The recommended temperature will be something about 96-105°F/36-40°C.

How To Make Mexican Sourdough Tortillas

Place flour, salt, sourdough, and lard in a medium bowl. Make sure lard is soft so it will be easier to combine with the other ingredients.

Add half of the water and start mixing with your hands. Then add more water while mixing until all ingredients are combined into a slightly sticky dough.

Transfer the dough to a working surface and knead until you’ll have an elastic, non-sticky, and soft dough (about 5 minutes).

Place dough into a bowl, cover with cling film, and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

This will allow the gluten to develop and make the dough softer and easier to work with.

After resting, divide the dough into 12 equal portions (about 2,5 oz/ 70g each). Roll each piece into a ball.

Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 20 min.

Heat a large skillet pan or comal over medium-high heat. Using a well-floured rolling pin, roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla.

Use your fingers to adjust the tortilla on the borders and achieve a well-round shape (watch the video below).

Place the tortilla on the hot skillet and cook until bubbly and golden (around 30s); flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side (around 40s).

You’ll notice the tortilla is cooked when you’ll see some dark spots on it.

Place the cooked sourdough tortillas between a napkin cloth to keep it warm. Repeat the steps until all dough is used.

Useful Notes And Tips

• The sourdough in this recipe is used mainly for flavor, so those tortillas are a wonderful idea to use your discard.
• If it’s your first time making sourdough tortillas, I recommend making them smaller than suggested, so it will be easy for you to manage the dough.
• Allowing the dough to rest is a very important step, don’t skip it. You’ll notice the dough is a lot more manageable after resting.
• Depending on your location (altitude and humidity level) and what kind of flour you are using, you might need to adjust the recipe a little bit. Adding more flour or water is fine, as far as is just a little.
• Make sure the pan where you will cook the tortillas is nicely heated up before placing the tortilla on it.
• You might need to “sacrifice” a few tortillas at the start to get the right temperature in your pan.

Troubleshooting

• Dough too sticky: Give the flour another 15 minutes to rest and allow the flour to absorb the water. If that doesn’t work, add a little more flour, one tablespoon at a time, knead, rest 10 minutes, and proceed.
• Tortillas too dry: Adjust the skillet temperature, it shouldn’t be too high that burns the tortilla in 3 seconds, but neither too cool that you need more than 1 .5 minutes to cook.
• Tortillas hardened after cooked: Make sure you stack them between a kitchen towel and then inside a plastic bag. This last step will help to create a warm and steamy environment that will help the tortillas to soften even more after they are cooked.

How To Use

In Mexico, flour tortillas are used mostly like any regular bread, to pair with main dishes such as beef chile rojo or rajas con crema. But here are other few recipes that are perfect to use your tortillas:

• Burritos. Replace any store-bought flour tortillas to make burritos, like these chicken and rice burritos.
• Fajitas. Craving some fajita tacos? make my fajitas de res or this super easy chicken fajita casserole.
• Tacos. Swap corn tortillas to make these cheesy shrimp tacos, or make your favorite taco recipe and use those sourdough taco shells.
• Quesadillas. Try our amazing steak quesadilla recipe.

How To Store And Reheat

• Room temperature: Sourdough tortillas can be left at room temperature for up to 2 days nicely wrapped in a kitchen towel and placed in an airtight container.
• In the fridge: Allow the tortillas to cool down completely, stack them, and wrap them with cling film, then store for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
• To freeze: Stack the tortillas and tightly wrap them with cling film, place them inside a zip bag, and pop them in the freezer. They will last for up to 3 months.
• To reheat: If frozen, thaw tortillas first, then reheat in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop.

Watch How To Make It

Similar Recipes

• Gluten-Free Corn Tortillas.
• Blue Corn Mexican Tortillas.
• Vegan Tortillas.

FAQ

DID YOU LIKE THIS SOURDOUGH TORTILLAS RECIPE? Please, don’t forget to rate it and leave us a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!