Have you ever tried homemade flour tortillas before? Let me just say that the taste and texture is far superior to those that come in a plastic bag at the grocery store. Those at the store honestly don’t even deserve to be called tortillas compared to the real thing. And luckily, the 
tastiness of homemade tortillas justifies the effort it takes to make them. Up until now almost all the recipes I have posted have been easy to make, but I must admit that this one is definitely an exception to the rule. I will also say that I actually tried a couple of different methods for making tortillas and this is the easy (easier) version. Please trust me when I tell you…it is worth it!
Once the dough has been made it takes me about 30 minutes to roll out and cook a dozen of these tortillas. Everyone in my family (including me) practically scarfs them down as soon as I make them, and if used as wraps they can add some variety to your lunch over typical sandwich bread. My 3-year-old’s favorite combination (which she lovingly calls a “roll up”) is to have hummus and cheese wrapped up in her tortilla. I actually love a “roll up” myself although I usually add diced tomatoes, cucumbers, or spinach to mine. My kids also just like to snack on plain tortillas too and if you have time to make a big batch then you can freeze some for later!
Whole-Wheat Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup avocado oil, or other oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water, heated in the microwave for 1 min
Instructions
- In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
- With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Take out the dough and 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 and so on until you have 12 pieces.
- Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and 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 (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). 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 (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and 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 Notes
Nutrition Facts
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Hola! Don’t have a fancy mixer with dough hook…actually, no mixer at all. But, do have hands :). How would I go about successfully making these…the old-fashioned way? Please advise. Gracias! ;)
Some of our readers have successfully made these without a mixer, by just mixing by hand. – Nicole
This recipe is great! But I have a large family and they go too quick. Are their any tortillas that you can purchase that are still Real Food approved?
Hi Larkin, when you’re looking for store-bought tortillas, just keep an eye on the ingredients. Look for whole-wheat versions with 5 or less ingredients in them. – Nicole
I should have realized that this recipe called for far more oil than is typical in a tortilla recipe, and also more water as well. My first hint was that the flour/salt/oil combo didn’t get crumbly — it made a dough on its own. Adding the water resulted in a batter, not a dough. Still, I persevered :) I added more flour until I got a dough (along with more salt so that the ratio would stay stable), and I finished the kneading by hand.
(I was using freshly ground soft white wheat flour, and this may be why the recipe didn’t work for me without tweaks. In all, I used a little more than 4 cups of freshly ground flour, 1.5 t. salt, 1/2 cup olive oil, and 1 cup water.)
I will say, the amount of oil in the recipe makes it beyond easy to roll and handle the dough. I divided the dough into 16 pieces and was able to roll them thin enough for light to pass through. The downside to that much oil is that if you cook them too long you’ll get a cracker texture. So don’t cook them too long, and be sure to wrap the finished tortillas in a towel when you take them off the cast iron griddle. But they taste great, are super easy, and not as finicky to work with as recipes with less oil.
I tried this recipe. I’m so pleased with it. I used the Great Value brand of whole wheat flour as well as canola oil. Even though I have made white flour as well as corn tortillas for years, I have never tried to make whole wheat ones. I followed my Mexican grandmother and mother’s advise to always use very hot water. The hot water works together with the oil to make the tortillas soft and easy to roll out. I always boil the water (in a glass [liquid] measuring cup) in the microwave for one minute and a half. With this recipe, I made some wraps with deli meat. My husband asked if I will make them regularly from now on. I also figured that each one is about 17.5 carbs.
I just made these and they turned out really delicious! I made 8 tortillas and followed the recipe except I halved the oil. The flour:water ratio was perfect. I rolled them out between two pieces of parchment paper so I could lift up the paper and use gravity to get the thin dough into my hand without tearing. Avocado oil worked really well with its higher smoke point and the tortillas flipped well in my ceramic non-stick skillet. I’m hoping they’ll stay flexible over the week for lunches. The one I ate for dessert after frying them up was very tasty (melted chocolate chips and berry jam).
Glad to hear they turned out great for you! – Nicole
I love this recipe, thank you!! I used olive oil & they were great! FYI, for those who are (like me) trying to deal with the plastic crisis by not using single-use plastic – you do NOT need plastic wrap to cover when resting; a dampened (not wet – barely damp) dishtowel works well, as does parchment paper or waxed paper.
Will a regular mixer work , regular beaters?
I would highly recommend getting a hook attachment for your mixer. This kneads the dough instead of mixing like a regular beater would do. – Nicole
Hi there! Learning curve here. What heat level do you cook these? Mine puff up but then are brittle when wrapping for burritos and sometimes have areas that are darker (uncooked maybe?).
Help?
Honestly, you should consider purchasing a tortilla warmer. I think this will solve your problem with the texture issue. I cook them between medium-high and high.
30 – 45 secs per side, 12 tortillas, 6 minutes cooking time?!
This is correct.
Can you substitute the flour for Almond flour or coconut flout?
Hello. That is not something that we’ve tried. There are many almond flour tortilla recipes that you can find with a quick goodle search. You might be able to use one of those to adapt this one.
Im wondering about the 1 c. if water. I added 1/2 c and the flour and oil mixture made a ball. Had I added much more water I would have had a sticky mess. I used home ground whole wheat flour. Could that be the difference?
What is the nutritional value ?
Hi. We do not provide that information. This helps explain: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/healthy-eating-defined/.
Hello! Wondering if butter or olive oil would be good in this recipe instead of avocado oil? Or is avocado oil best? I can’t use coconut oil, my son is allergic to coconuts. I don’t usually buy avocado oil, but obviously I can if needed :) Just thought I would ask. Thank you!
Hi there. Avocado oil is our favorite for this recipe. I’ve used olive oil but do not like it as well.
I love these tortillas!! They have been a game changer for my breakfast and for my 16 year old! Do you have any tips on rolling them out to be a nicely shaped circle like yours? I can’t seem to get it right! Of course they still taste delicious!
You can buy a tortilla press. We found a cast iron one on Amazon years ago.
Hi there. Truly, it is just a matter of practice and ours aren’t perfect, either. :)
Do you have suggestions on freezing these tortillas. How to store/thaw and expiration?
I typically separate them with parchment and freeze them in ziplock. I try to use them within 3 months.
I used the snow days yesterday and today to try this recipe out. Followed it exactly yesterday and they were great! I found if difficult to mix them with the dough hook though. Today I used the paddle and it mixed much better. Also, today I used half the amount of oil (1/4 cup) and they were still delicious. I took a picture to upload but can’t see a way to do it…