Sprouted Flour Tortillas
I love flour tortillas. I grew up in San Antonio, Texas and my favorite part of a Tex Mex meal was the flour tortillas rolled up with lots of butter.
But white flour is not good for us, since it’s devoid of nutrients. It’s also hard to digest.
Enter sprouted flour. My favorite way to make healthy versions of all my favorite foods. Sprouted flour is a whole lot more nutritious than white flour, and it digests like a vegetable.
These sprouted flour tortillas are delicious. You can use them for soft tacos such as Carnitas or Brisket Tacos. Or just serve them warm, on the side of any Mexican dish.
Our former housekeeper, Carla, from Honduras, helped me perfect this recipe. She used to make these tortillas for us every week. How I miss Carla!
Sprouted Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
Flour, sprouted (1 1/2 lb) — I use my digital scale to weigh it — where to buy sprouted flour
Sea salt (1 tsp) — where to buy sea salt
Baking soda (1/2 tsp)
Lard or expeller-pressed refined coconut oil (1/2 cup)
Water, filtered (1 1/2 cups)
Equipment
Cast iron skillet (you can also use stainless steel)
Optional: Mesh strainer
Optional: Stand mixer
Optional: Tortilla press
Directions
1. If you like, sift part of the bran from the flour using a mesh strainer. (I prefer my sprouted flour sifted — further reduction of phytic acid.)
2. Add all the ingredients except for the water to a large mixing bowl.
3. Adding the water a little at a time, mix together with a wooden spoon or clean hands, about 5 minutes.
4. Move the dough to a large surface, lightly floured if you like, although I don’t think it’s necessary (I use a clean counter, but you could use a large cutting board or table), and knead for 5-10 minutes. You can also do this in a stand mixer using the bread hook.
5. Let the dough rest on the counter for 15-30 minutes.
6. Form 16-18 small balls. A good way to do this is to divide the dough in half, then divide it again. Then divide each of your 4 balls into 4 smaller balls.
7. Heat an unoiled, dry cast iron skillet on high heat.
8. While it’s heating, take a dough ball and stretch it while turning it in your hands. Basically you pull it slightly at the edges, while turning it around in your hands.
9. Once it starts to take shape (when it turns from a ball into a flat disc), you can start patting it. The way you do this is to hold the disc between your hands and pat it on one side, then the other, alternating hands, turning it ’round and ’round at the same time. It’s sort of looks like clapping. This is how they do it in most of South and Central America — but if you prefer, you can use a tortilla press .
10. If you use a tortilla press, it’s best to use a little rice flour to keep the dough from sticking. You can also cut out some pieces of plastic (either Ziploc or a plastic shopping bag) which you put on either side of the dough to keep it from sticking. If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can also use a large flat skillet to press down on the dough (with plastic on either side). Any of these methods will work. I was afraid at first, and wanted to use the press — but now I enjoy the patting. (You can let your kids do it, too.)
11. Press or pat your tortilla dough until it is as thin as possible (about 1/8 inch) and then place it on the hot skillet.
12. Let cook for 1 minute, then flip.
13. After you flip it, cook for a final 30 seconds. This final time, press the tortilla down with a balled up dishcloth (that’s what Carla uses) or a spatula or other implement. She does this to make sure it cooks all the way through — so it’s not doughy in parts.She says to work from the outside edges to the center.
14. After 30 seconds (we timed it, but you will know they are done when they start to show very slight brown spots), remove tortilla from heat and place in dish-cloth lined bowl or basket with a cover to keep the tortillas warm. Eat one immediately with plenty of butter.