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stack of whole wheat flour tortillas side view

Best Whole Wheat Tortillas Recipe

Handmade whole-wheat flour tortillas made with freshly ground flour.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting Time 5 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main Course, Tortilla
Cuisine American, Mexican
Servings 10 Tortillas

Equipment

  • Cast iron skillet, electric griddle or electric tortilla press
  • Cast iron tortilla press optional
  • Rolling Pin
  • Clean tea towel or kitchen towel

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/4 cup oil (extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or melted coconut oil)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp liquid sunflower lecithin (optional; also comes in powdered form, but I prefer the liquid)
  • 2 to 3 cups flour (fresh milled, if possible, but if not, all purpose will do!)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine water, oil, salt and liquid sunflower lecithin, if using. (A stand mixer works best if you have one, but if not, you can mix by hand.) If you are using powdered lecithin instead of liquid, do not add it to the mixer at this point. Instead, whisk it into your flour, making sure to break up any clumps.
    1 cup warm water, 1/4 cup oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp liquid sunflower lecithin
  • Add 1 cup of flour and baking powder and mix until a thick batter forms. While mixing, add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until a soft dough forms. The dough should be easily workable. Resist the urge to add more flour right away, as the dough may become too dry as it absorbs the liquid! Fresh milled flour absorbs liquid faster than all purpose flour, so you may not need to use as much. 
    2 to 3 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).
  • Divide the dough into equal portions. I use a scale to weigh each portion for more evenly sized tortillas
    37g ball of tortilla dough sitting on a kitchen scale
  • Round each portion into smooth balls with your hands and place on a baking sheet. Cover with a damp paper towel or clean tea towel; or brush with oil to keep the dough from drying out. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes to relax the dough while your skillet or griddle preheats.
    balls of tortilla dough partially covered with a clean white tea towel
  • Roll each ball of dough into a thin circle (~ 6 to 8 inches wide), and cook on hot griddle or skillet (heated to approx. 375 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 1 minute on each side. The tortillas should be soft but look dry, with a few brown spots. You may need to adjust the temperature of your stove or griddle as you go. Be careful not to let them burn!
    tortilla cooking in a cast iron skillet
  • Stack cooked tortillas on a plate and cover with a clean tea towel to keep them warm until ready to eat. 
    best whole wheat flour tortillas stacked on a plate with one folded

Notes

  • You can double, triple or even quadruple this recipe and freeze any unused tortillas for future meals. I like to plan several tortilla meals in a week (i.e. tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas). Then I can set aside one day on the weekend and make multiple batches in one day to use for each meal. 
  • If you don’t plan to use them within 1 to 3 days, I recommend freezing so they don’t dry out too quickly.
Keyword flour tortillas, fresh ground flour, fresh milled flour, Tex-Mex, tortilla, whole wheat tortillas, wraps
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