Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

We should have taken stock in tortillas because we eat them so often. Some of our favorite meals are huevos rancheros, shredded chicken tacos, breakfast burritos, pizza quesadillas, fish tacos, chicken enchiladas, veggie quesadillas... all involving tortillas. Plus, Ruby just decided that she really likes saying tortilla ("tor-tee-yah!") so there's even more of an incentive to eat them.

We often buy corn tortillas & I want to experiment more with making those, but for the meantime, I am so in-love with these whole wheat tortillas & I am not usually a big whole wheat tortilla fan. I find them to be gummy & flavorless, but these are surprisingly tasty & once you cook them, delightfully crispy.

I think I've avoided making them in the past because they just seem like another thing I could make, & probably something that wouldn't turn out as well as the store-bought ones (which is especially not motivating when you don't even really like the store-bought ones). Sometimes I just don't want another step when I'm struggling to get dinner ready. Although I'm sure these tortillas won't be at every meal where we need them, I will say that they were worth the extra 30 minutes or so (15 of those minutes were spent waiting for them to rest).

Have you ever checked out 100 Days of Real Food? It's one of my absolute favorite blogs for making simple, non-processed foods. She has an incredible index of recipes & that's where I snagged this one. If you're trying to eat more whole foods, you should definitely head on over there (after you make these tortillas).

Whole wheat tortillas used for shredded chicken tacos (shredded chicken, red peppers, onions, avocado, Greek yogurt, salsa, & cilantro-lime black beans)

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Ingredients
2½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
½ cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water

Directions
In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil & salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water & continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes. Take out the dough & divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle & so on until you have 12 pieces.

Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball & flatten it out on a board. Cover with plastic wrap & let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.

Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle. Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.

Grease the pan with a touch of oil & then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan & cook until puffy & slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.

Recipe taken from 100 Days of Real Food