Delicious to eat and simple to make, these homemade soft tortilla wraps have many variations to include all your favourite flavours.
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Homemade soft tortilla wraps are just so darn versatile.
They’re a great sandwich substitute in a lunchbox, delicious when turned into quesadillas, a quick pizza base… So many ways to use them!
I think everyone should have a basic tortilla wrap recipe under their belt. The amount of times whipping up a batch of these has gotten us through a ‘there’s nothing for dinner!’ situation, I can’t even count!
The main recipe is so simple; flour, just boiled water, salt, oil and baking powder.
It’s all mixed into a soft dough and left to rest for 5-10 minutes while the dough cools down. The hot water really softens the dough so it’s easy to roll out.
This batch of dough makes 6 medium or 8 small tortilla wraps
Roll one tortilla out at a time. If you roll too many at once they’ll really soften and start to stick. Roll each circle out on a floured bench until it is about 1.5 mm thin. That’s really thin, but not so thin that it’s see through.
While you’re rolling, preheat a pan. Now comes the important part.
I think a crucial part in making soft tortillas is how they are cooked. It needs to be hot which creates those little pockets of air in the tortillas, but also cooked through enough without burning the tortilla.
A little like the first pancake (you know, the first one that’s always a little bit of a mess because the pan isn’t hot enough, or too hot), the first tortilla may not be your best.
Use the first tortilla as a guide to what temperature your pan is. It needs to be hot but if it starts burning the dough straight away then it’s too hot. I use a cast iron pan which holds heat really well. I pre-heat the pan on medium high-heat first, then turn it down to medium-low heat and keep it there for the duration of cooking. The pan is not greased.
Now the heat is sorted, let’s get to cooking the tortilla wraps.
Two minutes on one side, then flip and 1.5 minutes on the other side is perfect for my tortillas.
I watch for small bubbles to appear in the dough when it’s cooking for that first two minutes. Flip the dough and check that the bubbles aren’t burnt. If they get too black then the tortilla won’t be as soft to roll up. A medium-dark golden brown is perfect.
Stack them on a rack or plate, one on top of the other and cover with a tea towel while they cool.
Then let them cool completely before rolling them up. They may break and crack if you try roll them before they have cooled.
Store the wraps in an airtight container in the pantry for up to three days or freeze them.
Tortilla Wrap Variations
Use the same basic recipe below for these variations. The water amount will vary as some of the variations use wet ingredients.
Green Soft Tortilla Wraps
In a blender add 1 cup of greens (spinach, kale, silverbeet…etc) along with 1/4 cup of cold water. Add this to the basic tortilla recipe though adapt the water so you only use as much as needed.
Yellow Soft Tortilla Wraps
To the basic tortilla dough recipe add 1 tsp ground turmeric or 2 tbsp grated fresh turmeric.
Pink Soft Tortilla Wraps
To the basic tortilla dough recipe add 1/2 cup finely grated fresh beetroot (adapt the water amount so you only use as much as needed) or 2 tbsp dehydrated beetroot powder.
Homemade Soft Tortilla Wraps
Ingredients
- 300 g all purpose flour (2 cups)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 180-190 ml just boiled water
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the flour, oil, salt and baking powder.
- Add in the hot water, slowly and not all at once. Mix together with a fork to start then start, then once it's not too hot to touch, gently knead by hand until it forms a soft but not sticky, pliable dough. You may not need all the water, especially when adding other wet ingredients like spinach or beetroot.
- Leave this dough to sit and cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Place the dough ball on a floured bench and cut into 6-8 even sized pieces.
- Preheat a pan to medium-high heat. I like to use a cast-iron pan.
- Roll one piece of dough out into a circle of about 1.5mm thickness.
- Place in the preheated pan, don’t add any grease or oil. If the dough starts smoking, turn down the heat.
- Cook on one side for two minutes before flipping and cooking on the other side for 1.5 minutes more.
- Repeat the rolling and cooking process with the remaining dough. Place the cooked tortillas on a wire rack or plate to cool, stacking them on top of each other. Cool completely before rolling up.
Nutrition
Have you made these? Tag me and let me know! @home_grown_happinessnz
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