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Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas - So Ridiculously Easy

February 10, 2011   41 Comments

Back in November, I wrote a post about healthy tortillas (A Healthy Tortilla). A reader who commented on that post changed my world.

Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas

Cristina commented:

I used to buy these tortillas, because of all the packaged tortillas they were the "best" I could find. They did taste pretty good. The closer I looked, the less I liked about them. They have some questionable ingredients in them.

I found a wonderful recipe and I now make my own tortillas. It is time consuming, but I just make several batches at once and freeze them.

They are the BEST tortillas ever! Once you try homemade, you will never go back! I can't stop eating them. :)

Really? And then, she was kind enough to come back and share the link to her recipe: Mexican Whole Wheat Tortillas.

The truth is that I don't really like packaged tortillas. They taste a bit like the plastic bag that they come in (sad).

Also, there are a bunch of dough stabilizers and preservatives in them which I would like to avoid. The list of ingredients on some of these packaged tortillas is extremely long.

Well, Cristina, you inspired me to get off my butt and make some tortillas. Because I am lazy, I decided to change the recipe to fit my lifestyle needs.

This website should be called Lazy Snack Girl (but, then, who would read it?).

What I did differently from the original recipe was to use the food processor method of dough making to the tortilla recipe. It worked!

Julia Child used a food processor to crank out amazing pie dough. Mark Bittman uses a food processor to make bread dough, and now Snack Girl will make tortilla dough with her food processor.

The entire tortilla dough making process was under 5 minutes. Sadly, you must wait an hour for the dough to rest to allow the flour to soak up the ingredients before you cook them.

One hour later, you can start heating your pan and cooking your tortillas - which is the best part! There was something so fun and satisfying about making tortillas.

After you roll out your dough to your desired thickness, you toss it in a pan and wait for a bubble to form. Then, you flip it and cook a little more. Finally, you have this absolutely divine product to consume.

My kids went absolutely nuts over these tortillas. They were a real treat!

You can make a whole bunch and then freeze them for later consumption. I promise - these are worth the effort.

(If you don't have a food processor, just mix the dough until smooth with your hands.)

diytortillab

Whole Wheat Flour Tortilla Recipe

1.6 from 24 reviews

(makes 10 tortillas)

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Ingredients

1/2 cup white bread flour or all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups boiling water

Instructions

In a food processor pulse both flours and salt. Add shortening and pulse until blended. Slowly add boiling water though tube until a wet dough forms. The tortilla dough should be just a little bit sticky. Form 10 balls of dough and rest on cookie sheet under slightly damp towel or plastic wrap for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

To cook tortillas, heat large frying pan on high heat. Roll out tortilla on floured surface until you reach your desired thickness. Place tortilla on griddle and cook until you see a bubble form. Flip tortilla and cook for about 30 seconds more. Roll out the next tortilla while the first one is cooking. Eat immediately, refrigerate, or freeze your tortillas.

Nutrition Facts

For one tortilla: 159 calories, 5.4 g fat, 23.8 g carbohydrates, 3.2 g protein, 0.9 g fiber, 234 mg sodium, 4 Points+

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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41 Comments:

You really ARE my hero!

We have a meal that uses tortillas a couple times a month at our house. My daughter will just eat tortillas plain, if she gets the opportunity. I have to admit it makes me cringe every time I see her do this.

I've tried the whole wheat varieties, but I'm the only one who will choke them down, because, let's face it, they just don't taste as good as the all-white flour kind. Lately, I've just been throwing up my hands and serving fewer dishes that involve tortillas. So, this will be a welcome addition to our repertoire!

By the way, I have a wonderful Black Bean Burrito recipe, if you'd like to share it with your readers! The leftovers make a wonderful after-school snack ... just ask my son!

@Julie - please post the Black Bean Burrito recipe - I am sure we will love it!

I'm dating a Mexican and they use lard in their homemade tortillas. Which is better for you, lard or shortening? Is there any way possible to make tortillas without either of these uh...less than healthy ingredients?

@Melissa - ack, I knew I was going to get the "dating Mexican" lard or shortening question! And, I had to go look it up. The difference is that shortening is made from vegetable oils and lard is made from animal fat. There is more over all fat content in lard vs. shortening and a great chart here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard

To get a healthier fat, you could try olive oil. I heard that worked - but I didn't try it.

I had the same question about the lard vs shortening vs some other fat. The issue w/ shortening is the transfats; the issue w/ lard is saturated fat. I think I'll give the olive oil a try!! ;-)

Here is the Black Bean Burrito recipe -- I left out toppings in this recipe. We generally top with salsa, shredded cheese, sour cream (I usually use plain Greek-style yogurt), etc. Also, I estimated the number of servings. This makes plenty for three of us (my silly daughter won't eat beans) with an abundance left over ...

Black Bean Burritos (no toppings)

-------------------------------------------

Recipe originally from Better Homes and Gardens with tweaks by me

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients:

30 ounces black beans, canned, rinsed and drained

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
16 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes, canned
1 slice lemon, 1/4" thick
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 dash hot pepper sauce (optional)
6 6" flour tortillas
Directions:

Heat oil over med-high heat in a 4-1/2 quart Dutch oven. When oil is hot, cook onion, garlic, peppers, chili powder and cumin till onions & garlic are tender, stirring frequently.

Stir in drained beans, undrained tomatoes, lemon, oregano, and pepper sauce, if desired. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or till thickened.

While mixture is simmering, warm tortillas in microwave or oven.

Fill each tortilla with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of filling.

NOTE: Most of the time I leave out the jalapeno & stir in a can of diced green chilies.

Lisa, I'm so glad that you tried these! They are good, aren't they? Last time I made them I quadrupled the recipe so they would last me a while. :)

I hope to get a food processor someday, and then I'll use it to make the tortillas too! That was a good idea you had.

@ Melissa - I use organic shortening, which was actually a decent price at my natural foods store. It has no hydrogenated anything. I know others who have used extra virgin olive oil in the tortilla recipe successfully, although I have not tried it myself.

Is it possible to make the dough in a bread machine? I have a ridiculously small food processor (ridiculous for the size of our family, but I've had it a long time). Would love to try this! We've made pita from scratch with moderate success so I'm always up for a new challenge!

@Gail - this would totally work in a bread machine. I had one of those bad boys for a while and they make great dough.

I would TOTALLY still read your blog if it were called Lazy Snack Girl, because I am also that girl.

Slack (snack?) on, sister!

Do you need to put any type of oil in the pan to cook the tortillas in?

Try Palm Shortening, you can buy it at most healthfood stores and it is a much healthier oil than lard or shortening... non animal for vegetarians, also there is coconut oil. Unrefined or processed of course.

How ironic! I just used the rest of my whole wheat tortillas last night and gandered at the ingredients. I audibly sighed because I knew that healthier tortillas were gonna be expensive. I will be making these over the weekend! :)

Also, for those concerned with the trans fats in shortening, Earth Balance makes a vegan shortening without trans fats. Spectrum Organics also makes organic shortening in all-vegetable or butter flavor.

@ Sue - I used a cast iron skillet (that works best) and didn't use any oil. I don't have any problems with sticking.

I've made the whole wheat tortillas from this website...she uses vegetable oil instead of shortning and they are AWESOME!

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

I'm totally going to try this... I don't have a food processor:-( I'm totally asking for that for my birthday this year (it's in July). Until then I'll have to try to make it by hand I guess?? I just bought 4 packs of regular flour tortillas because, well I paid .29 each for them and DH generally eats a lot of them. We have been eating pretty healthy since DH turned 30 last month though;-) Maybe I ought to just donate the unopened tortillas...

@Andrea -- I love that 100 Days of Real food site! Lots of great ideas. It's pretty inspiring! Thanks for sharing it.

I'd like to issue a challenge:

A pita bread made of chia flour!

I use this recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Wheat-Wraps/Detail.aspx

Follow ACHOCOCAT's recommendations and they'll turn out really well.

Sorry--I meant to say: There's no fat at all in that recipe. :)

This is a great idea. I love the Ezekiel tortillas and also corn tortillas, I am thinking you could adapt this recipe. And I agree with a comment above, coconut oil/coconut butter could work well. Any snack girl granola recipes thoughts/ Market Melissa posted ab granola today.

I made these today with butter instead of shortening. I know we're just trading one fat for another, but butter seems more natural to me since I could make it at home if I wanted to. Also, I don't have a food processor so I cut the butter in before adding the water. It worked out great!

A tip that sometimes helps: put a plate inside a large ziploc, place a paper towel on the plate. As the tortillas come off the griddle, put them in the bag and then seal the bag each time you put a new one in it. This steams the tortillas and they're yummy!

Has anyone tried maying tortillas without shortening? I would like to avoid trans fats but wonder if it effects the texture?

@Dalai Lina ... I just made some the other night w/ olive oil instead of shortening. The texture was exactly what I would have expected; they may have even been a little softer.

Unfortunately, my family isn't big on whole wheat tortillas. So, I think next time I try this, I'm going to swap out 1/2 the whole wheat flour for something else. I have some "whole grain white flour," and I will try that or perhaps some spelt.

I, on the other hand, thought these were delicious!

I found a way to make it even easier... a tortilla press! I bought one this weekend and it made tortilla making soo much better!!!

has anyone tried coconut oil? thought it could be a good alternative to lard/shortening.

@nikki Yes, I did and it works great! I am going to update the post. Thanks for your question! Lisa

How big in diameter would you say (or think) one tortilla is? And I don't have any shortening, or lard (but if I did, I wouldn't even think of using lard), or coconut oil so can I use butter instead?

@Kathy ... I made them using olive oil, and they turned out just fine, but I would think butter would work, too.

@Julie Thanks!

I've made a decision that every time someone tells me that something has "changed their life" I am going to give it a try! Can't wait to make my own Whole Wheat Tortillas this weekend! Thanks for adding this little bit of excitment to my day!

I know I'm a little late, but I'm finally going to make these. Do I use the dough blade on the food processor?

How much coconut oil should I use in lieu of shortening?

@Sallyjrw - use the regular "chop" blade

@tamara - use 1/4 cup coconut oil (the same amount)

Thanks for the questions!

I made these over the summer and they are SO easy! All you need is some time to let the dough sit but even my kids could help me with these. I just bought a tortilla press to help us make them a little more uniform (I am weird that way :-)) I am craving some more so need to make up a whole batch to have in the freezer. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

These were good. I made them without a food processor and varied the recipe with olive oil and though they were very good. I also experimented with pressed garlic and various herbs to bring out a little more interest in the tortilla for our burritos-really amazing. I had extra ones and baked them into chips, goes great with many dips. Thanks!

I linked to your recipe on my blog: http://caitlinwilhelm.blogspot.com/2012/02/homemade-whole-w…

Has anyone tried coconut oil?

Can I make this in my Vitamix? (wet blades)

You absolutely don't need any shortening. But of course things with fat taste better. Add a few tsp of olive oil instead of shortening or a healthy coconut oil. I do it without any at oil at all.

These are delicious made with 1/4 cup canola oil instead of the shortening. Thank you for a great recipe!

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