Sourdough Discard Tortillas

Thin, chewy, salty, a little sour. These sourdough tortillas are so so good. They are made free of seed oils and all oils, actually. And we add in a little sourdough discard and fermentation to make them beneficial for you to consume! Give them a try!

A stack of thin, chewy, and lightly toasted sourdough tortillas on a wooden cutting board, accompanied by a wooden spoon and a white cloth.

I know it wasn't all that long ago that I shared a traditional flour tortilla recipe with you. I really do love that recipe, see it here. But I have been working on a sourdough tortilla and today was the day that I finally got it perfect, so I wanted to share immediately! It really is too good not to!

As you may have already read, I haven't bought bread from the store in years. I make it all homemade. A few years ago, I started making sourdough, along with the rest of the world, and I did fall in love with it. I haven't done a ton of extra recipes with it besides my tried and true Sourdough Sandwich Bread. But recently, I have been trying out some discard recipes and tortillas was at the top of my list.

Just like bread, tortillas bought from the store are typically full of fillers, preservatives, and sprayed with chemical to keep them shelf-stable. But sometimes, the store bought tortillas just work a little better because they are so thin. I struggle to get the homemade tortillas super thin and they are can be time consuming. But if I plan ahead and meal prep a little, they really are so worth it. They taste a lot better, and they are made of only 5 ingredients.

If you feel intimidated by the process or don't really want to tackle it, just do it on a Saturday or Sunday that is a little slower and you will enjoy the process. I have found with these longer recipes, they almost become therapeutic to make. It is just a way to slow down and enjoy the process of making something truly nourishing for my family, and I love that!

A stack of freshly made sourdough tortillas, lightly browned, placed on a round white plate.

Details and Tips!

This recipe requires a stand mixer or some serious arm strength. All you need to do is throw the sourdough discard, water, flour, and salt in the mixer. As it starts to come together, slowly add in 8 tablespoons, or one stick of butter at room temperature, gradually. I do one tablespoon at a time. The dough will seem a little tough but let it knead in the stand mixer for a few minutes and it will slowly come together. It will still feel tough and heavy which is normal.

Once it comes together, throw in a glass bowl with a wet dish towel on top. Let it sit in the fridge for 12 hours or so to ferment. It will not grow in size so a small bowl is fine here, you just want to make sure it is glass. Once you are ready to make the tortillas, pull it out of the fridge and let it sit out until it is about room temperature. It will be much easier to work with.

I divide the dough into 16 pieces for a decent sized tortilla. Making 16 will not give you a huge tortilla but they will be big enough for a good sized taco. I don't weigh them, you definitely can. But I just eyeball it. Gently pull the sides under to form a ball and slightly push it down to form a little disc.

I like to use a tortilla press for my traditional flour tortillas. But for this recipe, I have found that using a rolling pin works a lot better. For some reason, this dough sticks to the parchment a little bit. It also doesn't get them quite as thin as I like. You could certainly try the tortilla press, but I just find that rolling them out works better. And honestly, it really doesn't take that much time. The dough is nice and tender, allowing it to roll out really easily without fighting back.

Once you have a tortilla rolled out, put it on a hot skillet, dry and cook for 1 minute or so on each side! You will get the bubbles that form and they will get golden spots all over, just like a store bought tortilla!

What you need!

  • sourdough discard
  • all purpose flour
  • salt - I like sea salt here
  • filtered water
  • unsalted butter - room temperature

Customize!

If you do not want to use sourdough discard, you could definitely leave it out. You would just want to alter the butter to 3 tablespoons. You won't get quite as many tortillas either. Or, just refer back to my other tortilla recipe that does not use sourdough discard.

We love to fill our tortillas with all sorts of different things. The girls' favorite is the classic peanut butter and jelly roll up. But you could also make these into wraps with some lunch meat and cheese. You could do chicken wraps, tacos, or whatever you want! Have fun with the fillings!

Explore more!

I hope you enjoy this tortilla recipe as much as we do. It truly is a staple in our house. Let us know what you think in the comments or share your creations with us on social media!

Sourdough Discard Tortillas

Soft, chewy, a little crispy, these tortillas are so good! They are a staple in our house for good reason. They are versatile for many different meals and so great to have on hand.

  • 1 cup sourdough discard
  • 2/3 cup filtered water (room temperature)
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the sourdough discard and water. Give it a quick mix using the dough hook attachment until milky.

  2. Add in the flour and salt and mix on low. As the flour begins to incorporate, add in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Allow the first tablespoon to be fairly incorporated before adding the next.

  3. Knead the dough on a medium speed for 3 minutes or so, or until the dough has formed a ball and is smooth.

  4. Place the dough in a glass bowl and top it with a wet dish towel. Place it in the fridge to rest and ferment for 12 hours or more. Check on it every so often to make sure the towel has not dried out.

  5. When you're ready to make the tortillas, divide the tortillas to 16 equal pieces. Pull the edges of each piece down until you have formed a ball. Place it on the counter and give it a gentle press down, creating a disc shape. Repeat with the remaining pieces.

  6. Heat a skillet to high heat.

  7. Working with one disc at a time, roll out into a circle shape on a lightly floured surface. They should be quite thin, almost to where you can see through them. Once it is rolled out to the desired thickness, immediately place it in the hot skillet. Cook for 1 minute on both sides or until there are golden spots all over.

  8. Store the tortillas in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Main Course, Snack
American

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