Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Nutty, slightly sweet, and so much more flavorful than the white, store-bought kind.
Texture: Slightly thicker than the store-bought kind, chewy, soft.
Ease: This recipe is a bit more hands-on but none of the steps are difficult. It would be a fun recipe to make with children.
Appearance: Rustically beautiful.
Pros: Healthy, tastier than store-bought, can be refrigerated or frozen.
Cons: You really have to keep an eye on the tortilla as it baked and monitor the temperature if you have a finicky cooktop.
Would I make this again? Yes. I’ve got a batch in the freezer!
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A Homemade Kitchen series includes recipes that feature homemade versions of your favorite store-bought meals, snacks, treats, condiments and more. Homemade is better for your budget, body, and taste buds.
Store-bought, packaged tortillas are a sad fare. They’re flavorless, practically textureless, and often times don’t add anything to the dish unless they’re fried. Once you’ve had homemade tortillas, it’s hard to go back to the bland store-bought variety. Homemade tortillas actually taste like something on your tongue. They have a remarkable texture which makes you want to get down on your knees and thank our ancestors who first invented flatbreads.
You might also want to thank our ancestors who first utilized spelt as a flour. Although tortillas have been traditionally made with maize, spelt makes these tortillas a health food. Spelt flour is easier to digest than wheat and is a fabulous source of fiber, protein, vitamin B12 and also of manganese, niacin, thiamin, and copper. Spelt actually has four times the fiber of whole wheat flour. It also has a lovely mild, sweet, nutty flavor and can be used in place of wheat flour in many recipes. It can be found at natural food and health food stores such as Whole Foods or wherever you buy your grains in bulk.
Have I sold you on spelt yet? Now, before you think you can’t make this recipe, think again. It can be made with white whole wheat flour which might be easier to find. But if you can find spelt, I highly recommend trying it out! Your body will thank you.
Whole Grain Tortillas
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 ounces) whole spelt flour or white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup warm water is using spelt flour, 2/3 cup warm water if using whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Combine the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl or food processor and mix together. Add the oil and mix into the flour thoroughly. Mix in the warm water (with the machine running, if using food processor). You’ll want a dough that’s soft, the spelt or whole grain flour will absorb liquid as it sits. Once the dough is mixed, let sit, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead it a couple of times, and pat into an even disk. Cut the dough into 10-12 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Cover the balls with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let them rest for 20 minutes. If you have a tortilla press, use it to flatten each ball. If you’re rolling the tortillas by hand, take one of the balls and flatten into a small disk. Using a floured rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface, roll the tortillas into a very thin, flat round about 6-8 inches in diameter.
- Heat a heavy, ungreased griddle over medium-high heat. Toss a tortilla onto the griddle and let it heat on one side for about 1 minute, until it begins to brown in spots, then use tongs to lift and flip the tortilla to bake it on other side, about 1 minute. While the first tortilla is baking, roll the second one out. Transfer the baked tortilla to a plate and toss the next tortilla onto griddle. Repeat until all tortillas are rolled and baked. You may stack the tortillas and cover them with a towel to keep them soft and warm until you’re ready to use. You may also refrigerate tortillas for up to 1 week or freeze tortillas in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Can I use Crisco oil instead has anybody tried this?
I used olive oil and they turned out fine.
I don’t get the recipe, you say 2 cups of flour (8 oz.)
2 cups of flour equals 16 oz.
puzzled.
Hi Susan! This recipe is very old and one of the first Tessa created on this blog, and she uses grams these days for better accuracy – but 1 cup of whole wheat flour = 113 grams or 4 ounces, so for this recipe, 8 ounces of flour is accurate. Learn more about measuring flour here.
Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil?
Thanks
Hi Susan! We can’t say for sure as we have not tried this, but it may work just fine. Olive oil will also change the flavor as it does carry a more savory flavor, so just be aware of that, too 🙂
Hi,
Could you please advise. My tortillas came out more like a chip. They are not soft and crack when folded. If I reheat them, it is a little better, but they soon crack.
Admittedly, I used sunflower oil. What is the texture of the dough? Mine was stiff. Should the dough be moist? Next time I could try to weigh the flour. Do you have a video on the whole wheat tortilla? I saw the one for the other recipe you have.
I gave the recipe 5 stars because the flavor was lovely.
I changed the oil since I’m trying to boost nutrition for someone re diagnosed with breast cancer.
Thank you for any advice
Hi Deborah. While we haven’t used sunflower oil, it should be fine in this recipe. This recipe was actually created in 2011, prior to when Tessa created videos for her recipes, so unfortunately, we do not have one. I would suggest weighing the flour next time like you said, but you could also try making slightly thicker tortillas or baking for a bit less time. I hope that helps! Please let us know how it goes the next time 🙂
These really are better than the ones at the store, and they aren’t that hard to make.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Is this using 2 cups(16oz) or 1 cup (8oz) of flour?
Hi Jess! This recipe uses 2 cups of flour, or 8 ounces total. Keep in mind that different types of ingredients weigh different amounts! Please check out our article How to Measure Flour, where Tessa discusses this very topic 🙂 Hope that helps!
do you have the nutrition breakdown for this recipe? I can’t wait to make these!
thank you
Thank you, Tessa! I prepared these tortillas yesterday, and they turned out great. Delicious taste and perfect texture. I’ve tried so many healthy tortilla recipes and always failed. I’m going to follow yours from now on. 🙂
So happy these were a hit!