Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas (Using a tortilla press and cooker)

I’ve been making homemade whole wheat tortillas for awhile now by hand. A friend of mine called me a couple weeks ago and said she wanted to make a lot of them for lunches and snacks and wanted to know some of my tricks for making and storing them in bulk. When she asked me this, I had to confess I only really make them for this one recipe because rolling them out is actually kind of annoying. It’s totally doable, and I did a post about it awhile back, but making them by hand takes enough time that I shy away from it.

Well then, we were asked to come to a food storage fair where we needed to bring samples for 150+ people. The recipe we made called for tortillas. Homemade ones. Using fresh ground wheat. Well, I wasn’t about to make enough for THAT many people by hand. Oh – we’ll be sharing the recipe Thursday, so you’ll just have to stay tuned for that. Anyways, that’s when I called my other friend and asked to borrow this beautiful tortilla maker from her. The magic machine FLATTENS AND COOKS the tortilla in a fraction of the time and they turn out PERFECT!

Making Tortillas Using a Tortilla Press

This is the recipe I used. I followed the directions, then instead of rolling the balls of dough out, I just flattened them in the maker and waited for them to cook. It was like watching someone ELSE do a really annoying job… Now if only I could find a way for my laundry to magically clean and fold itself.

Ingredients:
3 cups of fresh ground whole wheat flour (fine)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup of warm water (may need a little more)
1/3 cup cooking oil (I use olive)

Directions:
1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Add the oil, then the water. Knead 5 minutes
3. Roll the dough out so you can easily make equal pieces
4. Let dough rest 10 minutes
5. Form into 12
6. Roll thin (spray pam to help if there are sticking or dryness problems)
7. Grill on both sides, they cook quickly (no need to grease the frying pan at all)
8. Eat! It doesn’t take long to cook.

When I asked my friend where she got her press, she said she did her research and the best place to get this one was on amazon. Check it out here

Making Tortillas By Hand

I know fancy tortilla presses aren’t in everyone’s budget, so for a full post on making these by hand, check out the post here. Here are some kitchen tools that may make making them by hand a little easier.

I use a little hand roller that helps a lot and since I use tortillas mostly in recipes where they don’t have to look perfect, I don’t feel so bad when they don’t turn out in perfect circles… (Although I’m sure I could trace some lid from a bowl and cut around it if I really cared)