Ingredients
276 grams (1 cup) sourdough starter, discard or active
165 grams (3/4 cup) water
113 grams (4 ounces or 1/2 cup) melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
360 grams (3 cups) all purpose flour
Instructions
Mix melted butter, starter, and water in a large mixing bowl. Add flour and salt and continue mixing until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough. Dump onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Cover the dough balls. Roll each ball as thin as possible. Roll from the center out to the edges in a circular motion to keep the tortilla round. You are looking for somewhere between 9-10 inches across. Many recipes will tell you to use flour when rolling but I think this makes it very hard to get a thin tortilla. The stickiness can actually help to get the dough really thin. I roll mine out on a marble pastry board or straight on my soapstone countertops. If you find them sticking you can use a tiny bit of oil rather than flour.
Preheat a dry skillet, preferably cast iron, over high heat. Cook each tortillas for about 30 seconds per side. If you have a large griddle you can cook 2 at a time. They are ready to flip when they have bubbled up and you see some brown spots on the underside. This happens very fast so don't walk away.
Place cooked tortillas in a kitchen towel. Repeat until all tortillas are cooked.
Notes
The dough should be soft and workable not stiff.
I can't stress this enough - roll them thin. Like get them as thin as you can and then keep rolling. I roll mine to between 9 and 10 inches. They puff up as they cook so if they are not thin enough to start they will be more like a flat bread than a flour tortilla after cooking.
Many recipes will tell you to use flour when rolling but I think this makes it very hard to get a thin tortilla. The stickiness can actually help to get the dough really thin. I roll mine out on a marble pastry board or straight on my soapstone countertops. Give it a try on your countertop and see how it goes. If you find them sticking you can use a tiny bit of oil rather than flour. And of course if you have to use some flour, feel free to do so.
If you use very old discard your tortillas will have a lovely, pronounced sour taste (my favorite!). And if you use active starter or very recent discard they will not be quite as sour tasting.
If you are using active starter, you can long ferment these to reap the benefits of sourdough fermentation. So for the initial resting period, you can go 12 hours at room temp and stash it in the fridge overnight for a cold ferment before shaping, rolling, and cooking.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes active plus resting and/or fermentation
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: sourdough, bread
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American