When life gives you lard, make sourdough tortillas!
I have always used a really nice sourdough tortilla recipe that a friend passed on to me. It calls for flour, starter, butter, lard, salt, water, and baking soda. While I like this recipe, it does not call for proper fermentation of the flour. So I set out to design a recipe that uses only sourdough starter as a leavening agent and is fully fermented for proper digestion and nutrient absorption.
This is the exceptional result. A soft and chewy sourdough tortilla!
These real lard sourdough tortillas are soft, chewy, rich, and flaky! Use them to wrap your favorite burrito ingredients, make killer quesadillas, or eat them warm spread with butter, honey, and cinnamon.
Enough Tortillas for an Army
If you have read any of my recipes then you know I cook in large batches. I do this to be more efficient in the kitchen. Often I will freeze a portion of whatever I make so I have an easy meal later. This works really well for me but might not work in a household with one or two. Please feel free to halve this recipe if needed.
Helpful Tools and the Right Ingredients
Making tortillas is pretty straight forward but having the proper equipment and ingredients will give you the best results. The following are links to the exact tools and ingredients that I use in my own kitchen!
Feeling Inspired To Render Lard Yourself?
Find out everything you need to know about rendering lard from my colleague Ashley at Practical Self Reliance!
Find the T200 Organic Whole Wheat Flour that I used in the recipe by visiting Camas Country Mill. Yes, they ship!
Soft and Chewy Sourdough Tortillas Made With Real Lard
These authentic-style flour tortillas use traditional lard and sourdough fermentation to achieve the perfect balance of healthy fats and digestibility.
Ingredients
- 450 grams (3 cups) super fine organic whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 208 grams (1 cup) pastured lard, melted
- 250 grams (about 1 cup stirred down) active sourdough starter at 100% hydration
- 117 grams (1/2 cup) hot 110℉ water (not boiling)
- 14 grams (2 teaspoons) salt
Instructions
The Night Before
- Mix the flour with the melted lard.
- Add the starter, hot water, and salt and mix into a dough.
- Knead the dough on a smooth surface until it is smooth and elastic. No need to add extra flour while kneading. The lard keeps this dough from sticking.
- Form the dough into a tight ball and place it in a covered bowl to proof overnight. Do not use a towel to cover the dough or it will dry out. I use a glass bowl with a lid like this.
The Next Day
- Working on a large clean surface, pull the dough from the bowl and divide it into 20 equal pieces weighing around 50 grams each.
- Shape each piece of dough into a round ball by pulling the sides in toward the middle and pressing to seal. You can see an example of how to shape dough into a tight ball in this recipe.
- Place the formed balls seam side down on the surface. Once all the dough is formed, cover the dough balls with a towel and let them rest for 1 hour.
- Preheat a cast-iron griddle over medium heat and then turn it down to medium-low.
- Using a rolling pin, roll one dough ball at a time out into an 8-inch circle. Make sure to keep the seam side down and the top side up. The wetter seam side will stick to the work surface just enough to get a really thin tortilla while the drier top side will not stick to your rolling pin!
- Carefully peel the tortilla from the work surface and drape it over your hand. Using both hands to hold the edges of the tortilla, gently lay it on the cast-iron griddle. The tortilla should bubble up and cook to golden brown in about 1 minute. Carefully and gently grasp the edge of the tortilla with your fingers and quickly flip it to cook the other side.
- Repeat this process with all the dough balls.
- Line a plate with a clean cotton napkin and place the cooked tortillas in a stack on the napkin. Fold the corners of the napkin over each new tortilla to keep them warm and soft.
Notes
Tortillas can be made by one person but if you can get a friend to help, the process will be much expedited. Have one person roll tortillas while the other person cooks them. This is a great way to get your friends and family involved!
Want To Learn Everything About Sourdough?
Start with this free guide:
Whitney
Sunday 23rd of June 2024
Hi! I am excited to try these! Question: Can I let them ferment overnight on the counter and then put them in the fridge in the morning until I am ready to roll them out and cook them? Or is this something I should do when I have enough time to go straight through?
Butter For All
Monday 24th of June 2024
Hi Whitney!
Absolutely! Using temperature to control timing is an essential skill. The dough will probably need a little while at room temperature to be workable again, so factor that I as well.
Ellen
Tuesday 17th of October 2023
This recipe looks so good. If I can find my cast iron skillet, I will try this.
Courtney
Wednesday 26th of April 2023
Once these are cool, they become too hard and I can't wrap anything with them. They just crack. Is it possible I'm cooking them too long?
Butter For All
Thursday 27th of April 2023
Hey Courtney,
So yes, that is a possibility. Cook them on a little lower heat, for less time. And you can also up the hydration of the dough if the cooking changes don't make much difference. There are variables in the flour of course, so sometimes minor adjustments need to be made. You certainly can't hurt the final product by playing around with time, temp and hydration! Wetting and warming the tortilla before use will also help.
Hope that helps!
PS. I like your name ;)
Katie
Saturday 24th of September 2022
Hello, stumbled on your blog when looking for long fermented sourdough tortilla recipes, now I’m looking at all the other yummy things you share!
My question is can I use organic white flour when making these tortillas and would I use the same amount?
And can these be kneaded in a stand mixer? I am fine doing it by hand, but lately have really enjoyed using my new mixer.
Butter For All
Tuesday 27th of September 2022
Hey Katie!
Yay! So glad you found me!
You can definitely use white flour, it's delicious! You may need to add just a touch more flour but I'd wait and see.
Yes, you can also use your stand mixer. I like to mix in 1-2 minute intervals letting the dough rest for a few minutes between each mixing.
Enjoy!! And Happy baking!
Courtney
Terri
Tuesday 9th of August 2022
Two questions: 1. I have a tortilla press. Can it be used for these tortillas, rather than a rolling pin?
2. In Step Two of "The Next Day," you said "You can see an example of how to shape dough into a tight ball in this recipe." Should there be a hyperlink for the words "this recipe"? Or can you please point me to the recipe you were referring to for the demonstration?
Thanks.
Butter For All
Thursday 11th of August 2022
Hi Terri!
Ahhhh, I really appreciate your comment and I fixed the link in the recipe. It takes you to my burger buns where there is a video that shows shaping. Shaping dough in a tight ball is a valuable skill and will give you nice round buns, pizza, and tortillas!
As for using a tortilla press, no. There is too much gluten in flour tortillas so the won't spread out in a press like corn will. You really need to roll them to get that nice thin bubbly tortilla. I do have a hybrid recipe that uses masa and sourdough though. Check it out - Homemade Sourdough Corn Tortillas – The Best of Both Worlds
Hope you love all the recipes!
Courtney