Real Tortillas

Fresh sourdough buttermilk tortillas

I love a wonderful tortilla. Nothing like a great flour tortilla, baked on a cast iron griddle, served warm. I have made many tortillas and consumed my fair share. Moving to Utah has been difficult in the fast that good tortillas are hard to find and to be truthful most tortillas are filled with chemicals. I know because I always have a reaction when I eat them. I thought it was just the flour at first but I realized that when I ate a tortilla at home I never had a reaction, but every time Io eat a tortilla outside of my home I have some sort of reaction.

Arizona has amazing tortillas, but they are also filled with chemicals. Let’s fast the facts, when you can have them for weeks in the refrigerator and they don’t go bad, something is up. But back to the point, nothing like a great tortilla.

I have made great ones over the years, using different grains and oils and have loved them. But I am always moving forward trying to do better and always trying out new things in the kitchen. My last tortillas were a buttermilk olive oil tortilla made with spelt grain. I loved them so much. But still I felt they were not perfect. They were lacking in something.

Recently I was in the mood to create and decided to try something new in my tortilla cooking. I added my 90 year old sourdough starter to the recipe. Wow it was amazing. The best tortillas so far that I have made. Tender, flavorful, easy to roll out, and easy to bake on the cast iron griddle. The sourdough starter was the key. It really made the dough amazing. The best part about the sourdough starter is that it keeps the dough alive for a long time. I made the dough and formed the balls and placed it in the refrigerator for 5 days and they were amazing.

I do own a tortilla press and enjoy doing tortillas on that. When I have a large group and am doing interactive dinners I will bring that out, but in truth nothing can compare to fresh rolled out baked on a cast iron pan tortillas. One of my favorite tools in my kitchen is the Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan. It is 14 inches and makes the best tortilla griddle ever. I actually use it for many things. From tortillas to pancakes, it is amazing and it’s on sale now on Amazon.

Having the right equipment is so important. I mix my dough in my WonderMix and roll it into balls and let them rest for a least one hour, but a day makes them even better.

I have experimented with different grains over the years. I do not like whole wheat tortillas. They tend to be dryer. The best is a clean white flour, but where is the nutrition. The flour that I have found to be the best is Spelt. It makes great tortillas. I do add white flour and spelt. That way I get the perfect texture and some much needed fiber and I love the nutty flavor that spelt adds to the tortilla. I grind mine fresh in my WonderMill, but you can find spelt flour at the market.

Here is my newest recipe for tortillas. Let me know how you like them. I am so happy with the results.

Enjoy, Chef Brad

Buttermilk Sourdough Tortillas

5 cups flour  ( 2 cups fresh ground spelt and 3 cups clean white flour)  

½ cup naturally refined coconut oil or lard

1 tablespoon  Rumfords baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup sourdough starter

2 cups buttermilk

In WonderMix place flour, sour dough starter, coconut oil, baking powder, and salt.  Turn on and drizzle buttermilk.  Dough should form.   Knead for 2 minutes making sure all is well blended.  You may need to add more flour.  Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. 

Remove and divide into 16 equal golf ball size discs.   Let set for at least 20 minutes or up to a week in your refrigerator.   Bring to room temperature  and Roll out or use tortilla press to flatten and cook on your cast iron pan.