TORTILLAS

Original Recipe: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/05/26/recipe-whole-wheat-tortillas/

I use these tortillas for a lot of different meals.  I like using these better than store bought tortillas or bread as I know exactly what is in them, and there isn't a bunch of extra preservatives and other ingredients we don't need.

• Breakfast burritos
• Sandwiches - a good alternative to regular bread.
• Soft taco shells

This is basically the 100 days of real food recipe, but I took some suggestions from a comment on her blog and found that they were helpful in getting better results.  I have summarized them here...

TIPS

(1) Use a little less oil and a little more water than what the recipe calls for.
(2) I have used both whole wheat and white whole wheat flour.  Both work, the white wheat are just a little lighter in texture.
(3) It is very important to let the dough sit for 15 minutes before rolling it out.  It is much less sticky and easier to work with.
(4) In the recipe, she cautions about using too much flour, but as the comment stated - you need to use enough, or it's just too sticky, so. . . use enough flour when rolling them out.
(5)  Don't roll them all out and stack them on a plate before cooking them.  I made this mistake last time and they stuck together and I had to re-roll half of them out.
(6) The recipe calls for medium high heat.  I found this to be too hot for my non-stick pan, as well as my cast iron skillet.  Medium heat works just fine. 
(7) I like the results with the cast iron skillet much better than my non-stick pan.
(8) The comment suggested the following technique/process works out well.  Put in pan for only 10 seconds, than turn over and cook the second side for the full 30 seconds.  Then turn and finish cooking the first side for 20 seconds.  She cautions about turning too much, or the tortillas will become stiff.
(9) I let the tortillas mostly cool and place them in Ziploc bags with wax paper in between.  I place half of them in the fridge to use soon and the other half in the freezer.
(10) Don't let them sit out too long or they will become stiff.

Serves: 12 Tortillas

 

Ingredients

• 2½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• ½ cup oil (I used olive oil) (I use a little less than what is called for here based on tip from comment section)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min) (I use a little more than what is called for here based on tip from comment section).

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the dough hook until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. I found I need to scrape the sides down multiple times if using a dough hook.  It doesn't seem to mix well until you add the water in the next step.
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. Do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then cut it in the middle. Then cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet (I think this works best), griddle or 12-inch skillet over medium heat.   I found that medium-high is just too hot.  The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper).  They should be fairly thin.  Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan, but use enough flour or they will be too sticky.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of olive oil and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook for 10 seconds on the first side, then 30 seconds on the second side, then back to the first side for 20 seconds.  As the tip in the comment section said - too much turning will make them tough.
8. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.  I refrigerate half of them to eat soon, and freeze the other half to eat later.

 

You can find other recipes on my Real Food Page.