I asked you guys on Facebook yesterday for any tips or tricks that you had for homemade tortillas. I didn’t want to make them with shortening, but I’ve heard that that is the only way to get them to turn out right.
You guys had lots of great suggestions and so I tried my luck at making homemade tortillas today.
My husband’s response? “I think these are the best tortillas I’ve ever had!” Seriously??? Wow, what a compliment!! I think they are pretty up there for me as well, and I’m kind of picky with tortillas.
So what made the difference? Well, I think the biggest change was that I used coconut oil instead of olive oil. The second thing I did differently was to let them sit covered for at least an hour after I made them into balls.
Print
Homemade Flour Tortillas with Coconut Oil!
Ingredients
4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of white flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup of coconut oil
1 3/4 cup BOILING water
Extra flour to help with rolling them out
Instructions
(I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and dough hook, but you can do this by hand as well)
1. Mix all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder). Then add the coconut oil and mix thoroughly. I had to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl several times to keep the flour/oil mixture from coming out.
2. Once everything is mixed, slowly pour in the boiling water and mix the dough up until it’s no longer sticky. I mixed it around 5 minutes or so.
3. Form the dough into balls and put them on a cookie sheet. I was able to make 35 balls with the dough I had and the tortillas turned out the perfect size for us. Cover the cookie sheet with a kitchen towel and let sit for AT LEAST an hour.
4. Heat up your griddle to HIGH heat (I would’ve tried a skillet on the stove, but that didn’t work so well the last time I did tortillas, so I tried the electric non-stick griddle instead).
5. Spread some flour out on a flat surface (I used a large cutting board for easy clean up) and place a dough ball in the middle of the flour. Sprinkle more flour on top of the ball and press down on the ball HARD with a pie plate to flatten it out in a circle. Peel the dough circle off the bottom of the pie plate and re-flour the top and bottom. Roll out with a rolling pin to the desired thickness.
6. Make sure that the griddle is fully heated, then place the tortillas on the griddle. Let it cook around 30 seconds, then flip it and let it cook on the other side for 30 seconds. Take it off the griddle and start on the next one. My 7 year old and I had a good little routine going…. she would cook the tortillas and I would flour and roll it out. They both took right around 30 seconds.
7. Enjoy!! I served the tortillas with homemade hummus and veggies!
Hummus… I have a recipe sitting right here that I pulled from this month’s Real Simple magazine… been wanting to try it…
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
In a food processor, puree the chickpeas and garlic with the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini (if using), cumin, and 3/4 teaspoon salt until smooth and creamy. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
Transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the paprika before serving.
Thanks for the tortilla recipe! I have been making my own for months now, but have been wanting to get away from the shortening…so thanks for the coconut oil idea! I’m actually looking to purchase a tortilla press so I don’t have to roll them out anymore. Isn’t it wonderful feeding our families foods that we have made instead of from a package or a can?
FYI the tortilla press if for corn tortillas. It does not work well on flour tortillas. You have to roll them. It is best to make the dough let it rest for 15 minutes them divide the dough into pieces kneading each piece with your hands then allow them to rest another 15 minutes. They will be much easier to roll.
Thanks so much for the tip! Yeah, they keep sticking to my rolling pin and it still works, I would just like something that makes them a little faster than I’m able to do by hand.
Thanks for hosting the swap. I am submitting Eggplant Parmesan Casserole – my new spin on an old favorite.
Have you ever tried this with alternate flours? Like spelt maybe?
We have about 300 pounds of wheatberries in our garage so… no. 🙂 But I would think that it would work the same? Maybe? LOL, let us know how it goes!
I am trying this with spelt right now. I still used the 1 c white flour. It’s a VERY soft dough but I am hoping it will still work out as my tortilla press (electric) needs a wet dough. I will let you know! Thanks for posting the recipe!
~Janna
These were so good! I used 4 cups of spelt and 1 c of white flour. My Villaware Tortilla Press liked them very much, but in hindsight, I’d probably reduce the coconut oil a smidge. Great recipe! It made 35 for me.
~Janna
What is the benefit of using coconut oil? I’ve heard coconut oil is not absorbed by the body if you use it as a moisturizer so does that mean it is also not absorbed by your intestines if used in food?
thanks-
Great recipe, we use coconut oil all the time and it is so good for you! Can u freeze these?
What is the best way to store these? Especially if I wanted to freeze some?
Here’s a yummy Falafel recipe that my family loved!! Even my picky 5 year old ate this like it was going out of style. I served the falafel in pita I purchased from the market. But next time I’m going to make your homemade tortilla recipe with the falafel! It’s the same ingredients as hummus, but it’s fried. I used cococnut oil instead of olive oil.
Falafel & Cucumber Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 60 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup dried chickpeas or 16 oz. can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons flour
Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying
Preparation:
Place dried chickpeas in a bowl, covering with cold water. Allow to soak overnight. Omit this step if using canned beans.
Drain chickpeas, and place in pan with fresh water, and bring to a boil.
Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then let simmer on low for about an hour.
Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.
Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together. You can also combine ingredients in a food processor. You want the result to be a thick paste.
Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball. Slightly flatten.
Fry in 2 inches of oil at 350 degrees until golden brown (5-7 minutes).
Serve hot.
Cucumber Sauce
1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber – peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mayonnaise