Easy Gourmet Lard-Free Handmade Sourdough Tortillas with Rosemary and Thyme (Mmmmm.....To Die For!)
Here is one of my favorite recipes for homemade tortillas! I make these from sourdough discard, although you could use your starter as well. Also, I don’t prefer cooking with lard or shortening, so there’s none of that! These are made with olive oil. Add some delicious aromatic herbs, and you have gourmet, very special tortillas!
I’ve become enamored with baking bread from scratch for quite some time now. I’ve baked traditional vintage white bread from the 1600’s, whole wheat no-knead seeded bread, and some beautiful, flaky buttermilk biscuits. But the most exciting thing I’ve made in the kitchen recently are these lard-free, gourmet, rosemary & thyme sourdough tortillas. SO good! The recipe is quick and easy. And I’m sharing it with you now!
Last weekend, Mr. V. and I went over to our friends’ house for….get this! A sour dough bread making class taught personally by Pat, who has been experimenting with his bread making for quite some time now. We have been blessed to become friends with Pat & Jan.
Not only are they great friends, but they have helped educate us as to the benefits of eating grass-fed beef. They own and work Crow Bench Farm—where they raise and sell grass-fed and finished beef on their small farm. You must read about why real grass-fed meat is the best kind of meat to feed your family. It’s VITAL for your health.
Anyway, I digress….
I was SO excited about the sourdough lessons! Not only did we learn how to make our own homemade sour dough bread, but they were kind enough to gift us with enough starter to get us going on our own. I was THRILLED, ya’ll! And this starter, Jan revealed, is rumored to have come over with her family on the Mayflower!
But. Before I tackle full-on sour dough bread, with all its intricacies, I thought I’d start with an easier task….like these gourmet lard-free tortillas. I have now made them several times, using both olive oil and avocado oils to be sure they turn out well. And they’ve been perfect every single time.
Mr. V., whose Mexican granny was an expert tortilla maker (you know, perfectly round and perfectly delicious—the kind from the old country) even said these are the BEST tortillas he’s ever tasted. I attribute this to the addition of the healthy spices—-cooking with herbs is where the health and taste benefits are at, you know!
I beamed with pride, anyway. ;-)
When I posted pics on Facebook and Instagram, I got tons of requests for the recipe. So, here it is! I’m proud and happy to share this with you. I know you’ll love these tortillas!
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Mmmm…Delicious! These are the BEST tortillas I’ve ever had (my husband told me)! This handmade tortilla recipe is lard-free, healthy, easy, and SO delicious. It uses sour dough starter, so if you have some going on, you are going to make some incredibly tasty tortillas in no time at all. Quick. Easy. Fermented. Delicious. #tortillas #handmade #homemade #recipe #gourmet #lardfree #sourdough #healingharvesthomestead
Gourmet, Lard-Free, Sourdough Tortilla Recipe with Rosemary & Thyme
I’ve made these tortillas using this recipe several times now. I’ve tried using both olive oil and avocado oil to see how the different oils would react, and I’ve added different amounts of the spices. This recipe has been successful and easy every single time!
A note about the spices: Most traditional tortillas are just plain bread. I thought I’d give these something extra because I love rosemary and olive oil bread. The spices I added give these tortillas a special and extra delicious taste.
If you aren’t a fan of the spices, just leave them out! But I suggest playing around with your favorites in this recipe. You could try chipotle powder, other savory herbs, and special herbed finishing salts substituted for the regular salt. The sky is the limit!
Ingredients for Healthy Gourmet Sourdough Tortillas
3 cups flour (I used high quality baking flour, organic; but any should be just fine)
1 cup sourdough starter (I used the liquid starter I got from my friends, but I’ve made it easily in the past myself. You can also take a look at this link for a starter.)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil or avocado oil (I’ve tried both, and both healthy oils work fabulously!)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh powdered Rosemary
1/2 tsp dried & crushed Thyme
Black Pepper (optional)
NOTE: I grew, dried, and powdered or crushed both the spices here. If you need to purchase your spices, I recommend buying them in bulk from a good online store like Starwest Botanicals. The links above are to Amazon for other good brands I can recommend.
Here are some excellent instructions for making your own sourdough starter from The Perfect Loaf, a site I’m becoming addicted to.
This is some healthy sour dough starter! It’s alive!
Mixing up the ingredients. As you can see, I don’t pay much attention to the dry/wet thing. I know I should, but… These have turned out every time regardless!
Click here, and I’ll send along this FREE 24 page guide to using certain easy to find herbs and essential oils to help you sleep better, relax in the evening, and just feel better. Recipes included!
Directions for Making Lard-Free Sour Dough Tortillas
These tortillas are SO easy, and the resting time is extremely forgiving. If you have to let your dough go a litttle longer or even less long a period than recommended, these should still turn out fine. I’m saying this based on experiences with the recipe.
Step 1) Mix
Mix your dry ingredients well. Then add in your wet ingredients. Using a fork or spatula, fold the mixture together until you have a nice dough.
Step 2) Knead
Knead your dough—-I’d say three to five minutes should do it just fine. You want your dough completely mixed.
Here’s the dough getting ready to rest for the day.
Here’s the dough after resting for 24 hours. I’m always amazed at how healthy sour dough starter is often better than the dried yeast from the store! It’s better for you, too.
Step 3) Rest
Place your ball of dough into an oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let your covered bowl sit in an out of the way place to rest and rise.
I’ve let it go as little as 8 hours and as many as 26. You’ll get a higher rise the longer the dough rests, but it doesn’t seem to affect the tortillas much.
Step 4) Knead and Split into Balls
Take your risen dough from the bowl, and give it a couple of kneads. Then split your dough into 12 sections and roll these into balls.
To get roughly the same size balls, I cut the dough in half, then I cut the halves into thirds. Then I cut these smaller thirds in half again to give me 12 balls.
Here they are, cooking. I’m terrible at getting that perfect circle. But the irregular shape is part of the homemade charm, right?
Step 5) Roll the Balls
Roll the little balls out into flat tortillas. If you leave them on the thick side, you’ll get something similar to naan bread, which my husband informs me is actually closer to the tortillas made in certain regions of Mexico. So play around with this. Try them thick, thin, and in between. You’ll get a feel for how you like them.
Step 6) Cook
Using a flat griddle or cast iron pans, lay your flattened tortillas onto the surface. I like the heat set at about medium for this. It takes about a minute or so on each side of the tortilla.
Mr. V. says these are the best tortillas he’s ever had! He may be saying this to make me feel good…but the indisputable fact remains: they’re delicious!
Elk Tacos——SO good.
Step 7) Enjoy!
I just love this part! You can freeze them if you have extra. They’ll last a couple of days just fine without refrigeration. Depending on how long you cook them for, they will stay pliable and yummy.
We like ours plain with butter, used as soft taco shells, or with an egg on top for breakfast!
Final Thoughts on Homemade Sourdough Tortillas with No Lard or Shortening
These lard-free tortillas have quickly becoming a staple in our home, and have been for the past two years. Mr. V. even asks about them if we run out. (We actually ate the first batch all in one day.) I’m learning to keep these on a schedule now, so we always have them on hand!
Do you make sourdough breads? What do you think of sourdough tortillas? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment in the comments section!
You might also enjoy these related traditional bread recipes:
Quick and Easy Traditional Vintage White Bread Recipe from the 1600’s!
The Flakiest Buttermilk Biscuits
There are lots more over on the blog, too! Head on over and browse around. I think you’ll enjoy all the information there!
Also—-Want to look cute in the kitchen? Take a look at Flirty Aprons! They sell the sweetest aprons for all members of the family as well as kitchen supplies.
And if you love a beautiful kitchen, Magic Linens is an amazing company with some lovely accessories for yourself or to gift to a friend.
Hugs, Health, and Self-Reliance,
Heidi
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And these tortillas are perfect in the morning with just butter or an egg on top!
