Incredibly flavorful and soft sourdough discard tortillas made with just 5 simple ingredients! Healthier and more delicious than anything you’ll find in the store. Plus, make a big batch and store them in the freezer for fresh, homemade tortillas anytime—no thawing necessary! Even my picky toddler can't get enough of them!
Once you start making homemade tortillas, it's hard to turn back! Not only is the taste and texture SO much better than store-bought, but they're also way better for you. Flour tortillas at the store have a long list of ingredients, meanwhile, these sourdough discard tortillas are made with just 5 ingredients: flour, salt, butter, sourdough discard and water.
I love creating better-for-you recipes that rival store-bought options, starting with homemade sourdough bread, of course, but also including fudgy sourdough brownies, brioche sourdough discard buns, and fluffy sourdough discard pancakes - just to name a few. Any others you want me to recreate? Let me know in the comments!
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Why you'll love sourdough discard tortillas
- Better than any store-bought tortilla! They're far superior to anything you'll find at the store—10x more flavorful and incredibly tender. One bite, and you'll feel like you've been transported to a Mexican getaway. I’ve made tortillas without sourdough discard before, but I can confidently say that sourdough discard tortillas are truly the best!
- Easy to make. I’ll be totally honest—it does take a few minutes to roll out each tortilla, so it can be a bit time-consuming. But don’t worry, they’re still super easy to make! The dough comes together in one bowl in just minutes, and after a quick minute or two of kneading, you’ll divide it into balls and roll them out. Put on some music and let the rolling process become your little moment of therapy
- Make a big batch and freeze. I love making a big batch of tortillas and storing them in the freezer so we always have fresh, delicious tortillas ready to go! They reheat perfectly, and there's no need to thaw them beforehand. I also do this with my favorite everyday sourdough bread! I cut it into slices, place in a resealable bag, and pop in the freezer! You can reheat from frozen using the toaster.
Ingredients
You'll need just 5 simple ingredients to make sourdough discard tortillas:
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour: Like any sourdough recipe, for best results, weigh the flour in grams using a kitchen scale.
- Salt: The dough craves salt. Without it, the flavor would be incredibly lacking. I typically use sea salt or Himalayan pink salt.
- Butter: I find that salted butter adds the most flavor while also helping to create a soft, pliable dough. The fat in butter coats the flour, helping with gluten development and creating tortilla dough that is tender but easy to work with.
- Sourdough discard. I love using up sourdough discard for this recipe. It adds an extra depth of flavor (a very subtle sour flour) and creates insanely soft tortillas!
- Water: You want the water just warm, about 110 degrees. The heat from the water helps to evenly distribute the fat and activate the gluten in the flour.
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
- All-purpose vs bread flour: While I do prefer to use all-purpose flour for homemade tortillas, you can use bread flour in a pinch. Bread flour develops more gluten, giving you a more chewy, elastic texture, which is perfect for making sourdough bread or sourdough hamburger buns, but I find that all-purpose flour provides the right balance between soft and chewy when it comes to sourdough tortillas.
- Salt: This recipe calls for 1 ½ teaspoons of salt. I would not reduce to any less than 1 teaspoon.
- Butter: I find that salted butter always adds so much more flavor than unsalted, and these tortillas are no exception. However, you can substitute unsalted butter if that's what you prefer, and for a dairy-free version, you can try substituting coconut oil.
- Sourdough discard: If you're out of discard, you can substitute active sourdough starter - just keep an eye on the dough if you're doing a long ferment.
This recipe hasn't been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you make any changes or additions, I'd love to hear how it turned out—drop a comment below!
How to make sourdough discard tortillas
- Step 1: Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Work the softened butter into the flour mixture using a dough hook, fork, or pastry blender. Add the sourdough discard and water. Mix until a shaggy dough begins to form.
- Step 2: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Cut the dough into 16 equal pieces (or 8 pieces for burrito size).
- Step 3: Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes, or 2-3 hours.
- Step 4: Lightly dust a work surface. Working with one dough ball at a time, use a floured rolling pin to roll out until very thin - you should almost be able to see through the dough. To achieve this, I often turn and flip the dough, adding an extra sprinkle of flour to my work surface or to the top of the dough. It can be hard to roll out into a perfect circle, so don’t stress about it!
- Step 5: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, cook the tortillas for about 30 seconds, until it starts to bubble and develops little brown spots on the underside.
- Step 6: Flip the tortilla and continue to cook another 30 seconds, until both sides have golden brown spots. Stack the cooked tortillas on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm and soft.
See recipe card for full instructions.
Expert tips
- Allow the dough to rest. Letting the dough rest for 30 minutes before rolling allows the gluten in the flour to relax, making the dough easier to roll out without snapping back.
- Have patience when rolling out the tortillas. This is the most hands-on, time-intensive part. It takes a few minutes to roll out each tortilla, and just remember that you'll get better with practice. When rolling out a tortilla, I'm constantly flouring the counter and the dough to ensure it doesn't stick - if it sticks, it won't roll. It also helps to give the dough a 180-degree turn after every few rolls, and once the circle gets bigger and it feels like it isn't stretching anymore, flip it over and keep rolling. I end up flipping the dough a few times. You are finished rolling when the dough is paper-thin.
- Don't overcook the tortillas. I like to heat my cast iron over medium heat. This cooks the tortillas in about 60 seconds. Lay the dough on the hot skillet and cook until you see large bubbles and the underside has golden brown spots, then flip until you achieve the same look on the other side. Cooking them too long will result in burnt tortillas with hard edges.
Recipe FAQs
Sourdough tortillas are a great way to use up sourdough discard, but you can also use active sourdough starter.
Traditionally, when making sourdough bread, the best flour to use is bread flour because its higher protein content creates better gluten development, giving the loaf a nice rise. However, when it comes to sourdough tortillas, I recommend all-purpose flour. The slightly lower protein content gives the tortillas the perfect soft but chewy texture.
With a tortilla press, you will not be able to get the tortillas as thin as you will from using a rolling pin. A tortilla press will give you thicker tortillas that are not quite as thick as flatbread or pita, but definitely thicker than a traditional tortilla.
If desired, you could start by pressing the tortillas, then switch to a rolling pin until nice and thin.
Sourdough tortillas can be a healthier option compared to traditional store-bought tortillas. They're only made with 5 simple ingredients (flour, butter, sourdough discard, salt, and water) and long fermenting the tortilla dough can make them easier to digest and less likely to spike blood sugar levels because of its lower glycemic index
Make ahead
Sourdough tortillas are a great make-ahead recipe! They reheat beautifully. I always make a big batch to save for later use! Follow the directions below for storing, freezing, and reheating.
Room Temperature Storage
Store cooked tortillas at room temperature in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to 5 days.
Freezing
Place parchment paper between each cooked tortilla and store in a freezer resealable freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Reheating tortillas
For room temperature tortillas, I like to reheat over an open gas flame for about 30 seconds, flipping halfway through, until they're lightly charred and warm. Alternatively, reheat in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until warm and soft.
To reheat frozen tortillas, place a frozen tortilla in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until thawed and warm.
To reheat a large quantity of room temperature or frozen tortillas, wrap in tinfoil or parchment paper and heat in a 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes until warm.
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Homemade Sourdough Discard Tortillas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 360 grams all-purpose flour (3 cups)
- 12 grams salt (1 ½ teaspoons)
- 113 grams softened butter (½ cup)
- 250 grams sourdough discard (1 cup)
- 150 grams warm water (⅔ cup)
Instructions
- Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Work the softened butter into the flour mixture using a dough hook, fork, or pastry blender until it’s pea-size. Add the sourdough discard and water. Mix until a shaggy dough begins to form.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for a minute until it comes together in a smooth ball. Sprinkle with extra flour if the dough is quite sticky. Cut the dough into 16 equal pieces (or 8-10 pieces for burrito size), and roll each piece into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes, or 2-3 hours.
- Optional: Long Ferment. Place the portioned dough balls in an air-tight container and store in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Before rolling out, let the dough warm up a bit at room temperature.
- Lightly dust a work surface. Working with one dough ball at a time, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out until paper thin (about 9 inches) - you should almost be able to see through the dough when you hold it up. To achieve this, I often turn and flip the dough, adding extra sprinkles of flour to my work surface or to the top of the dough as needed so it doesn't stick. It can be hard to roll out into a perfect circle, so don’t stress about it!Note: You can cook the tortillas as you go, or you can stack the uncooked tortillas with parchment paper between each one and cook them all once you’re done rolling.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, cook the tortillas for about 60 seconds, flipping halfway through once the tortilla starts to bubble and develops little brown spots on the underside. Stack the cooked tortillas and cover with a towel to keep them soft.
Notes
- Have patience when rolling out the tortillas. This is the most hands-on, time-intensive part. It takes a few minutes to roll out each tortilla, and just remember that you'll get better with practice. When rolling out a tortilla, I'm constantly flouring the counter and the dough to ensure it doesn't stick - if it sticks, it won't roll. It also helps to give the dough a 180-degree turn after every few rolls, and once the circle gets bigger and it feels like it isn't stretching anymore, flip it over and keep rolling. I end up flipping the dough a few times. You are finished rolling when the dough is paper-thin.
- Burrito-size tortillas: You will need a larger 12-inch cast iron skillet to cook these.
- Storing and freezing: Store cooked tortillas in an airtight container or resealable bag at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze tortillas, place parchment paper between each cooked tortilla and store in a freezer resealable freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheating tortillas:
- Room temperature tortillas: I like to reheat over an open gas flame for about 30 seconds, flipping halfway through, until they're lightly charred and warm. Alternatively, reheat in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until warm and soft.
- Frozen tortillas: Place a frozen tortilla in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until thawed and warm.
- Reheating a large quantity: Applies to both room temperature and frozen tortillas. Wrap in tinfoil or place in an oven safe dish with a lid and heat in a 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes until warm.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated by a third party software and is only an estimate, not a guarantee. This information is provided as a courtesy, and you are solely responsible for all decisions related to your health.
Rachel Kochlin
These sourdough discard tortillas are truly staple in our home. They are absolutely amazing!! Just like sourdough bread, I make these sourdough tortillas on a regular basis and store them in the freezer, so we always have them on hand. A lot of the tortillas get made into quesadillas for my picky toddler, and I don't feel even the slightest guilt because I know they're made with clean, simple ingredients. My husband and I both love them, as well!