Sourdough Discard Tortilla Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much sourdough starter to use for 500g flour? ›

The reward is a homemade tortilla that's fluffy, pliable, and elastic, perfect for making the best burritos you've ever had. The most important part of making a great tortilla is to not overwork the dough and to make sure it is hydrated enough. If the dough is overworked, then it will be difficult to roll out.

While you can technically make a sourdough starter with self-rising flour, it's not the best choice and is generally not recommended. Self-rising flour contains baking powder and salt, ingredients that can inhibit the growth of the wild yeasts and bacteria needed to produce a healthy sourdough starter.

The most common feeding ratio is 1:1:1 (sourdough starter: flour: water). This is also known as a 100% hydration starter. For example, let's say you have 40 g of sourdough starter in a jar. To feed it, you'll add 40 g of flour + 40 g of water.

The colony of wild yeast and bacteria inside your starter jar are fairly resilient, however, like most living things, they can be overfed. When you overfeed a sourdough starter you dilute the natural population of yeast and bacteria, making your sourdough culture weak and inactive.

It can sit on the counter for up to an hour if needed, but don't go beyond that. Pro Tip: Resting for at least 15 minutes relaxes the gluten so you can roll them out into smooth discs of deliciousness. Once the dough has rested (don't skip this step!!), you are ready to roll the tortillas out and to cook them.

The crucial process comes after cooks knead the dough. Tortilla preparers then rest the dough at room temperature for about 15 minutes. However, it is best to think of that 15-minute period as a minimum resting time.

What makes flour tortillas hard is not adding enough lard or oil and water and not kneading the dough for the required amount of time, and NOT allowing the dough to rest in a warm place at least 30 minutes before making flour tortillas.

So, if you don't have baking powder then you can omit it altogether. The tortillas will be just as good! However, the version I tested that had more baking powder resulted in a thicker, doughy tortilla that wasn't as pliable and was harder to roll when making a burrito or wrap.

Use warm water: Using warm water instead of cold water when making the dough can also help to increase its elasticity. Rest the dough: After making the dough, let it rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This will allow the gluten to relax and make the dough easier to work with.

Why do my homemade tortillas crack? ›

Dryness, stiffness, and heat — oh my!

The temperature part is pretty simple. If you've made your tortilla dough earlier in the day and are storing it in the fridge, the cold dough will be drier and stiffer — two surefire issues that will lead to cracking. Even non-glutinous doughs get stretchier as they warm.

If you think you killed your starter with heat, always use a probe thermometer to take the temperature in the center of the starter. If it is below 130F/54C it is still alive, even if it was exposed to a higher oven temperature for a short time.

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

However, if you see a pink or orange tint or streak, this is a sure sign that your sourdough starter has gone bad and should be discarded. The stiff starter above was left out at room temperature for two weeks. It's definitely time to throw it out and start over.

If you don't have a scale, go for 1/4 cup starter to 1/2 cup of flour to 1/4 cup water. (Flour weighs less per volume than the water or starter.) I've found that for maintenance, it's fine to just have a small amount, and since starter is infinite, you can always feed it more if you need more starter.

You will use around 300g to 800g of the Starter per kilo of flour in your sourdough loaves. Recipes will specify an amount to use. If you are a skilled baker you can judge for yourself. Mother/Starter is another term widely used to describe the sourdough culture.

500g of flour is perfect for a family loaf. 1kg of flour will provide two large loaves, three smaller loaves or a baker's dozen of rolls or buns (you can always freeze the loaves you don't use immediately). Whatever amount of flour you use, take the weight of the flour as being 100%.