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Sourdough Tortillas

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Sourdough tortillas are an easy and fun sourdough discard recipe that is soft, flavorful, and delicious. This 5 ingredient recipe is ready in under an hour – a perfect quick sourdough recipe!

Sourdough tortillas are an easy and fun sourdough discard recipe that is soft, flavorful, and delicious. This 5 ingredient recipe is ready in under an hour - a perfect quick sourdough recipe!
hand showing softness of tortilla
sourdough tortillas stacked on plate

You might think homemade tortillas are too complicated and time consuming to make, but in truth they are pretty and easy! This dough only takes 5 minutes to mix, needs a 30 minute rest period, and then you can get to rolling! 
The fresh from the skillet flavor is totally worth the time, trust me! You won’t ever want to buy the flavorless and hard to roll store bought tortillas again!


Using sourdough means these tortillas have an ever so slight sourdough tang that just deepens the flavor and makes them delicious! The sourdough also helps the tortillas stay nice and soft!

hand showing softness of tortilla

What do I need to make these?

The best thing about this recipe is it uses regular pantry ingredients and common kitchen tools, so you are likely to have everything you need already.

Ingredients needed:

You only need 5 simple ingredients to make these from scratch tortillas:

  • All purpose flour – You could use a half whole wheat as well, but know the more whole wheat you use, you will have to add extra water to compensate for the different water absorption.
  • Water – room temperature or slightly warm water is best, whatever you use to feed your starter will work!
  • Sourdough starter – You will need a 100% hydration starter for this recipe. Don’t have one? Learn how to make a sourdough starter the easy way.
  • Butter – unsalted butter works here, make sure it is soft and room temperature so you can easily mix it in.
  • Salt – I like using sea salt (affiliate link) here as it gives the best pure flavor.

Equipment needed:

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Wooden spoon
  • Plastic wrap
  • Rolling pin
  • Cast iron skillet
sourdough tortillas stacked on plate

How to make these homemade tortillas

These homemade tortillas are an easy recipe to make with your sourdough discard. For the full set of directions, make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below.


Mix the dough

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
  2. Add in the sourdough starter, water and melted butter.
  3. Mix until a soft, shaggy dough forms.
  4. Knead for 1-2 minutes until you can get a ball of dough that is smooth and soft, but not overly sticky.
  5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tight fitting lid and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. You can also rest it in the fridge overnight for up to 24 hours to develop even more sourdough flavor.
mixing tortilla dough with sourdough discard

Divide the dough

  1. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Cook the tortillas

  1. Heat a 10 or 12” cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. If you have more than one, or a griddle, then heat it all up so you can cook more than one at a time. You want to make sure the cooking surface is nice and hot before you begin.
  2. Flour a work surface and a rolling pin.
  3. Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 6-8” circle. Try to get as close to a circle as you can, but don’t worry about it being perfect, its fine for these to be freeform and rustic, too.
  4. Place the tortilla on the heated skillet and cook until it begins to puff, about 30 seconds. You want there to be some dark spots on each side without being completely burnt.
  5. Turn the tortilla over and cook for 30 seconds on the other side. Do NOT overcook these or they will be hard!
  6. Stack the cooked tortillas on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm.
  7. Repeat with remaining balls of dough, adjusting the temperature of the skillet as you go to maintain the right heat level. 
cooking homemade tortillas on cast iron skillet

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of sourdough starter do I need for this recipe?

This recipe uses a 100% hydration sourdough starter – meaning one that has been fed equal amounts of flour and water. For more reading on what that means, check out Feeding your sourdough starter. It doesn’t matter if you use discard or active starter, both work equally well in this recipe.

New to sourdough? Read my Ultimate Guide to Sourdough for Beginnersto answer all the questions you have!

Can I make different sized tortillas with this recipe?

Yes, you can easily adjust the size of your tortillas!

  •  If you want more street taco size tortillas, then divide the dough into 16 balls.
  • If you want larger burrito sized tortillas, divide the dough into 8 balls.

How to serve this to your family

What can you use sourdough tortillas for? Anything! Use these tortillas for any Tex-Mex or Latin American inspired meal you want – including quesadillas, flank steak tacos, or carnitas.

How to store sourdough tortillas

  • To store: Store these tortillas in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days.
  • To freeze: These tortillas also freeze well. Stack them with pieces of parchment paper between each tortilla, and place in a freezer safe container. They will keep for 3 months.
  • To reheat: Allow tortillas to thaw if frozen. You can reheat on a skillet or in the microwave for a few seconds.
stacked tortillas on white plate

Other sourdough recipes to try:

homemade tortillas curled on white plate

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hand showing softness of tortilla

Sourdough Tortillas Recipe

Sourdough tortillas are an easy and fun sourdough discard recipe that is soft, flavorful, and delicious. This 5 ingredient recipe is ready in under an hour – a perfect quick sourdough recipe!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Latin American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 109kcal
Author: Jenni – The Gingered Whisk

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup room temperature water
  • ½ cup sourdough starter 100% hydration
  • ¼ cup butter melted
  • ¾ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Mix the dough

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
  • Add in the water, sourdough starter and melted butter.
  • Mix until a soft, shaggy dough forms.
  • Knead for 1-2 minutes until you can get a ball of dough that is smooth and soft, but not overly sticky.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tight fitting lid and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. You can also rest it in the fridge overnight for up to 24 hours to develop even more sourdough flavor.

Divide the dough

  • Divide the dough into 12 equal balls.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Cook the tortillas

  • Heat a 10 or 12” cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. If you have more than one, or a griddle, then heat it all up so you can cook more than one at a time. You want to make sure the cooking surface is nice and hot before you begin.
  • Flour a work surface and a rolling pin.
  • Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 6-8” circle. Try to get as close to a circle as you can, but don’t worry about it being perfect, its fine for these to be freeform and rustic, too.
  • Place the tortilla on the heated skillet and cook until it begins to puff, about 30 seconds. You want there to be some dark spots on each side without being completely burnt.
  • Turn the tortilla over and cook for 30 seconds on the other side. Do NOT overcook these or they will be hard!
  • Stack the cooked tortillas on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm.
  • Repeat with remaining balls of dough, adjusting the temperature of the skillet as you go to maintain the right heat level.

Notes

These can be stored in an air tight container on the counter for 3-4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 164mg | Fiber: 1g

Check out the sourdough tortillas recipe story.

4 Comments

  1. Ashley Hyer says:

    This was a fantastic idea for sourdough discard! They were tasty, but I have to say the liquid to flour ratio seemed Way off. I mixed as directed but the dough was super gooey, basically the consistency of starter. Which I could not “kneed” it was a sticky mess! But I added flour a TBS at a time tile I could work with it. (It was still slightly stickey and smooth) I ended up adding almost a whole cup of flour. So I’m not sure if there is a typo? Of if I’m just incredibly dull somehow. They turned out great, soft and delicious with a slight tang. I will definitely be making them again!

  2. I’ve looked over the recipe 3 times and can’t figure out what you did with the water in the ingredients list.
    I doubt it was for you to drink while you were cooking. I would prefer wine for that.

  3. I’m making mexican dinner tonight. I’m going to make these tortillas too. Absolutely can’t wait to give them a try.

  4. This is a really great use for my discard I hadn’t thought of!

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