Once you realize how easy it is to make these homemade sourdough tortillas, you'll never go back to store-bought! They're soft, chewy, full of flavor, and perfect for taco night! These tortillas are also one of my favorite ways to use up leftover sourdough discard!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need 5 super simple ingredients to make these sourdough tortillas! [Water and salt barely count so it's more like 3 ingredients!]
Sourdough Starter - I just love the flavor that using sourdough starter adds to the tortillas. I typically use my sourdough discard for these tortillas, but I've also used ripe starter and it works just as well! Don't have a sourdough starter? Just check out my sourdough guide for all my tips for making your own sourdough starter at home!
Unsalted Butter - Tortillas are traditionally made with lard, so I find that butter is the best easy substitute for both flavor and texture. However, you can absolutely use lard or tallow instead.
Flour - You just need regular all purpose flour to make tortillas!
Water - Use filtered water for the best flavor.
Salt - Use high quality kosher salt or sea salt!
*You'll notice that some homemade tortilla recipes call for baking powder to help them puff up, but that's not necessary when using sourdough discard and if you make sure to roll the tortillas thin enough.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Special Equipment
Kitchen Scale - This is optional, but I highly recommend measuring your ingredients in grams so that your tortilla dough turns out perfectly!
Tortilla Press - This is also optional but ensures that your tortillas will be as thin as possible, which helps them puff up properly. If you don't have a tortilla press, just use a rolling pin and roll them as thin as you possibly can; you want to be able to almost see through them. This is a small tortilla press that makes perfect taco sized tortillas (also great for small quesadillas)! For large burrito size tortillas, you'd need to either roll by hand or a much larger tortilla press.
Cast Iron Skillet - You want to cook the tortillas in a very hot pan, so I always use cast iron because it heats up quickly and retains that heat well. I prefer my cast iron griddle, but any large cast iron will do! You can also cook sourdough tortillas on a Blackstone!
How to Make Sourdough Tortillas
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
Cut the butter into small chunks and add to the flour mixture. Press the butter into the flour with your hands until you have small pea sized crumbs.
Stir in the water and sourdough starter and mix until the dough comes together in a ball. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Turn the dough out on to a clean surface and knead for 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and supple.
Place the dough back in the bowl, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours. You can also let the dough rest in the fridge overnight.
Note: The dough will look like photo 3 before kneading and photo 4 after kneading.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (about 44 grams each) and then shape into small balls.
Use a tortilla press to press each tortilla dough ball as thinly as possible. If you're having trouble with tortillas sticking, you can place the dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
Place a pressed tortilla in the skillet and cook until it puffs up and begins to brown (about 30 seconds). Then flip and cook on the other side for 30 more seconds.
[The key to making perfect tortillas is keeping a close eye on the cooking temperature! If the sourdough tortillas are too crispy, reduce the heat a bit. If they tortillas aren't puffing up, increase the heat!]
Repeat with each tortilla.
Serve the sourdough tortillas immediately
Use these homemade sourdough tortillas to make your favorite tacos, quesadillas, etc.
Sourdough Tips & Tricks
If you've never baked with sourdough before, it can be a little tricky. But don't worry, I have a full Sourdough Starter Guide all about making and maintaining a sourdough starter! I also have a full guide on different types of flour you can use to make sourdough and of course a guide on how to make a Beginner Homemade Sourdough Loaf. Below are a few quick tips and key terms you need to know.
- Sourdough Starter - A culture of wild yeast and bacteria that leavens and flavors sourdough bread. I use what's called a "liquid starter" versus a stiff starter. This means the starter is made with equal parts flour and water and should be a consistency similar to cake batter.
- Sourdough Discard - The portion of your starter that is discarded when feeding your starter (can be used in tons of recipes like sourdough discard blueberry muffins or sourdough pancakes).
- Ripe Starter - A starter that's ready to be used in baking. Your starter is ripe roughly 6 hours after feeding and will have doubled in size, have lots of visible bubbles, and a fresh acidic aroma.
Weigh your ingredients! For all my sourdough recipes, I measure the ingredients in grams because it's much more accurate! I highly recommend getting a kitchen scale if you don't already have one! However, I have included alternate US customary measurements for your convenience.
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If your oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all breads and baked goods! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Easy sourdough recipes for beginners! If you've never made sourdough bread before, I recommend starting with some simple, no-fuss recipes like my sourdough naan or sourdough bagels! But if you're already a pro, I have a ton of fun sourdough recipes you can try!
Recipe FAQ's
These sourdough tortillas are best eaten the same day, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can store the uncooked dough in the fridge for up to 2 days.
For best results, freeze tortillas with a piece of parchment paper in between each tortilla. Then wrap with foil or plastic wrap and then place inside a plastic bag. [I also love freezing them in vacuum seal bags!] To thaw, just set on the counter for 20 minutes and then reheat on the stove!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
Taco Recipes!
We're a big fan of all things tacos in our house, so these are a few of my favorite recipes to eat with these sourdough tortillas!
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Recipe Card
Sourdough Tortillas
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 243 grams all purpose flour
- 8 grams kosher salt
- 85 grams unsalted butter, cold
- 113 grams sourdough starter discard
- 100 grams water, lukewarm
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- Cut the butter into small chunks and add to the flour mixture. Press the butter into the flour with your hands until you have small pea sized crumbs.
- Stir in the water and sourdough starter and mix until the dough comes together in a ball. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
- Turn the dough out on to a clean surface and knead for 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and supple.
- Place the dough back in the bowl, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours. You can also let the dough rest in the fridge overnight.
- Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces (about 36 grams each) and then shape into small balls.
- Use a tortilla press to press each tortilla dough ball as thinly as possible (they must be as thin as possible to properly puff up). If you're having trouble with tortillas sticking, you can place the dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- Place a pressed tortilla in the skillet and cook until it puffs up and begins to brown (about 30 seconds). Then flip and cook on the other side for 30 more seconds. Repeat with each tortilla.
- They key to making perfect tortillas is keeping a close eye on the cooking temperature! If the sourdough tortillas are too crispy, reduce the heat a bit. If they tortillas aren't puffing up, increase the heat!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
More Sourdough Recipes!
Browse more sourdough recipes →
Alex says
10/10 recommend trying this recipe!!! It’s not only the best sourdough discard tortilla recipe I’ve made, but the best tortilla recipe I’ve made in general! I only comment on recipes that blow me away and this one absolutely did. I don’t have a tortilla press and was worried my rolling pin would stick to the dough, so I used my hands. I put a silicone mat on my counter and pressed the dough very thin. The mat made it easier to pick up the dough than it would have directly on my counter.
Now go make these tortillas!
Pamela Collins says
This sourdough tortilla dough is beautiful! It's soft and smooth and so easy to make that I made 3 batches. I had alot of discard! Diffinately a keeper!
Jay says
So good thanks for the recipe.
I was wondering if you can do a crunchy taco shell recipe using sourdough, thanks
Tyanne says
I love that it is cast iron! It is such a unique recipe as well being sour dough.
Jere Cassidy says
Yeah, I am so glad to find this recipe. I have a sourdough starter and I am running out of recipes to make. I've made bread, biscuits, pie dough, pretzels over and over so now I am going to make your tortillas.
Leslie says
There is nothing better than a homemade tortilla! This recipe is beyond perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Jeri Walker says
These were so easy to make, and were delicious! I used them for chicken fajitas and they were so good! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Elizabeth says
I am a sourdough lover and these tortillas definitely take tacos to another level! So delicious! Will definitely be making again!
Becki says
So soft, yet crispy! They were a perfect base for my shrimp tacos, and I even made a few wraps with the leftovers
Kate says
These are the best homemade tortilla I’ve ever had! And I just love that they use up sourdough discard too!