Sourdough Flour Tortillas – Traditional Rollout Recipe

ByLaRee Colburn

Sharing is caring!

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
sourdough flour tortillas pin image

These sourdough flour tortillas have a delicious sourdough tang, and are very similar to regular homemade tortillas.  They can be made with sourdough discard or active starter, and the dough can be long fermented in the refrigerator or cooked up right away.  These tortillas do have to be rolled out, like a traditional flour tortilla, so I usually make them when I have a little more time to make dinner, or else I make them up ahead of time.  If you’re interested in making pourable sourdough tortillas where you don’t have to roll them out, I have a recipe for that here.  

foldable sourdough tortillas
sourdough tortillas with rolling pin and towel

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Flexible – you can make these ahead of time and freeze them, or just keep the dough in the refrigerator so you can roll out a couple of tortillas whenever you need them.  They can also be mixed up and cooked right away.
  • Healthy – these tortillas are made with beef tallow as the fat – although you can use other healthy fats if you wish.  If you mix up the dough ahead of time and allow it to ferment, you’ll get all the health benefits of the long fermented sourdough too.
  • Delicious – there’s nothing quite as tasty as a fresh sourdough tortilla.  It takes a simple meal of tacos or fajitas up to a whole new level.This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups water
  • 1 cup fat – beef tallow, butter or coconut oil
  • 2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 cup sourdough starter
  • 7-8 cups flour
  • 5 tsp. Baking powder

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here

Tools

  • Stand mixer or large mixing bowl
  • Measuring Cups And Spoons
  • Large Cast Iron Skillet (non-stick will also work)
  • Rolling pin

Favorite Sourdough Recipes:

How to Make Sourdough Flour Tortillas

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add water, starter, melted tallow and salt.  

Mix on low speed just until combined and then add the flour and baking powder.  

If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can just knead this tortilla dough by hand.

Once the dough has formed a nice smooth ball, either put the dough in the refrigerator to long ferment until you’re ready to make the tortillas, or start cooking them right away.

Want to save this post?

Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes and homesteading tips from us every week!

To Cook:

Preheat your cast-iron skillet over medium heat.

Pinch off a piece of dough (how much dough will depend on how big you want your tortillas.  Experiment with it, you can always take some dough away or add a little bit more)

rolling out sourdough tortillas

Roll out using a rolling pin on a floured surface.  Try to keep the tortilla as round as possible, and keep the thickness even.  This comes with experience.  No one ever rolled out a perfect tortilla on their first try.  And by the way, homemade tortillas are supposed to be a little rustic anyway.

cast iron skillet with sourdough tortillas

Cook the tortilla on the first side, and after it starts to bubble up flip the tortilla over and finish cooking it on the second side.

flipping sourdough tortillas

Remove from skillet and place on a platter until ready to serve.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel or a lid to help keep them warm and soft.

cooking sourdough tortillas in cast iron

If making ahead of time, the cooked tortillas could be warmed back up in a skillet briefly before serving.

To freeze, place a small piece of parchment paper between each tortilla and place into a freezer bag.  Stays good in the freezer for 1-3 months.

delicious sourdough tortillas

Tips

  • These sourdough tortillas cook best in a cast-iron skillet.  I like to use a big cast iron skillet or get several heating on my stove at the same time to make cooking them faster.
  • You can make these tortillas with sourdough discard or active starter, either one works fine.
  • Sourdough discard tip:  keep lots of sourdough discard in your refrigerator for these and other discard recipes like sourdough discard pizzas or sourdough pizza pockets.  I usually feed my sourdough starter a lot of flour and water on purpose so that I will have lots of discard on hand.
  • Play around with the flavorings of these tortillas.  You could easily add some freeze dried spinach powder for spinach tortillas, or some garlic and different herbs for a delightful flavored tortilla.
  • Always cook your flour tortillas on a dry skillet over medium heat.  There’s a balance to be found between having your skillet to hot or having it to cold.  You don’t want the tortillas to scorch, but you also want to cook them quickly enough so they puff up a little and stay soft.
  • You can use butter, coconut oil or lard in place of the beef tallow if you wish. 

FAQ

Browned hamburger and/or refried beans, cheese, salsa, lettuce and sour cream

Scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast burritos

Kale, lettuce, salad mix or microgreens with ranch dressing and cheese

Apple pie filling can be placed in these, rolled up and put into a baking dish and drizzled with powdered sugar glaze for a dessert enchilada

Canned chicken, cheese, salsa and spices can be put into these tortillas and rolled up and put into a baking dish.  Brush with olive oil and bake for yummy chicken taquitos

Mexican flavored beef roast, canned venison or browned hamburger can be put into these tortillas with cheese and salsa and made into enchiladas.

Fish, pico de Gallo, sour cream sauce and shredded cabbage make amazing fish tacos.

Meat, cheese and veggies can easily be made into sandwich wraps

The sky really is the limit with tortillas!

Sourdough starter discard is fermented flour and water that has to be removed or discarded from your sourdough starter before you can feed your starter more flour and water.  It should never actually be thrown out (or discarded), though, because it can be used in hundreds of different recipes.  I always try to keep a fair amount of sourdough discard in a jar in my refrigerator. That way anytime I want to make these sourdough discard tortillas or any other discard recipe, I can do so quickly.

Anytime you add a fermented element like sourdough to a recipe, it becomes more nutritious because it contains live probiotics and good bacteria that help with gut health and digestion.  Gluten and phytic acid are naturally present in wheat, and are usually what is to blame for people not being able to digest gluten well.  When the grain is fermented through the sourdough process, the gluten and phytic acid are broken down, making it easier to digest.  A lot of people that struggle with gluten intolerance (not people with celiac), can digest food made with sourdough without any issue, especially if the recipe is allowed to sit out for a few hours and “long ferment”.   

In addition, phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that blocks absorption of the nutrients found in wheat. During the sourdough fermentation process, the phytic acid gets broken down and the nutrients are more bio-available to the body. This is why baking with sourdough is so important for our health.

More Recipes Like This

plate of sourdough tortillas

Sourdough Flour Tortillas – Traditional Rollout Recipe

These sourdough flour tortillas have a delicious sourdough tang, and are very similar to regular homemade tortillas.  They can be made with sourdough discard or active starter, and the dough can be long fermented in the refrigerator or cooked up right away. 
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Optional Fermenet Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 25 minutes
Serving Size 16 people

Want to save this post?

Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes and homesteading tips from us every week!

Equipment

  • 1 Stand mixer or large mixing bowl
  • 1 measuring cups and spoons
  • 1 Large Cast Iron Skillet (non-stick will also work)
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup fat beef tallow, butter or coconut oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup sourdough starter
  • 7-8 cups flour
  • 5 tsp baking powder

Instructions

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add water, starter, melted tallow and salt. 
  • Mix on low speed just until combined and then add the flour and baking powder.
  • If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can just knead this tortilla dough by hand.
  • Once the dough has formed a nice smooth ball, either put the dough in the refrigerator to long ferment until you’re ready to make the tortillas, or start cooking them right away.

To Cook:

  • Preheat your cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
  • Pinch off a piece of dough (how much dough will depend on how big you want your tortillas.  Experiment with it, you can always take some dough away or add a little bit more)
  • Roll out using a rolling pin on a floured surface.  Try to keep the tortilla as round as possible, and keep the thickness even.  This comes with experience.  No one ever rolled out a perfect tortilla on their first try.  And by the way, homemade tortillas are supposed to be a little rustic anyway.
  • Cook the tortilla on the first side, and after it starts to bubble up flip the tortilla over and finish cooking it on the second side.
  • Remove from skillet and place on a platter until ready to serve.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel or a lid to help keep them warm and soft.
  • If making ahead of time, the cooked tortillas could be warmed back up in a skillet briefly before serving.
  • To freeze, place a small piece of parchment paper between each tortilla and place into a freezer bag.  Stays good in the freezer for 1-3 months.

Notes

These sourdough tortillas cook best in a cast-iron skillet.  I like to use a big cast iron skillet or get several heating on my stove at the same time to make cooking them faster.
You can make these tortillas with sourdough discard or active starter, either one works fine.
Sourdough discard tip:  keep lots of sourdough discard in your refrigerator for these and other discard recipes like sourdough discard pizzas or sourdough pizza pockets.  I usually feed my sourdough starter a lot of flour and water on purpose so that I will have lots of discard on hand.
Play around with the flavorings of these tortillas.  You could easily add some freeze dried spinach powder for spinach tortillas, or some garlic and different herbs for a delightful flavored tortilla.
Always cook your flour tortillas on a dry skillet over medium heat.  There’s a balance to be found between having your skillet to hot or having it to cold.  You don’t want the tortillas to scorch, but you also want to cook them quickly enough so they puff up a little and stay soft.
You can use butter, coconut oil or lard in place of the beef tallow if you wish.


I'm a homeschool Mom of 5, living out my dreams of growing a simple, sustainable life on our Nebraska homestead. I'm passionate about gardening, preserving, cooking from scratch and baking with sourdough. I enjoy milking Jersey cows and making our own dairy products. Come along with me as I share with you the skills you'll need to be successful at homesteading and frugal living.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating