Spelt Flour Tortillas

If you haven't noticed by now, I don't use white all-purpose flour.  It's just not my thing.  I find it processed and flavorless.  Don't get me wrong, I sometimes use a little of it when making baked goods, but for the most part I stick to whole grain flours.  My favorite regular whole grain flours are spelt and whole wheat pastry flour.  My favorite gluten free flours include buckwheat, oat, garbanzo bean, almond, and coconut.  I normally use a combination of a few of these to get achieve a particular taste/texture.  Baking is fun that way: you need to understand how each individual flour works in order to achieve your desired result!

I choose spelt flours for these tortillas in order to bind the dough and allow them to stay elastic when wrapping and folding once cooked.  Thank you gluten!  Spelt flour is lighter than whole wheat flour, and really adds an amazing depth of flavor when cooking with it.  These tortillas are very simple to make and perfect for keeping in the fridge/freezing so you always have tasty homemade wraps on hand!

There are only 5 ingredients in the dough.  Spelt flour, baking powder, sea salt, olive oil, and water.  Try to find to find that few ingredients in a store bought brand!  I love this recipe for its simplicity and versatility.  I have made burritos, pizza, wraps, tortilla chips, soft tacos, and grilled open faced sandwiches from this recipe.  Pretty cool, huh?

     

When rolling out the tortillas, it is impossible for me to make the edges perfectly smooth.  I normally leave the edges rough, because it still tastes delicious and I'm lazy.  If I'm making these for company (or photographing them for you, my lovely readers) then I cut the rough edges off and leave them looking like the classic round tortilla. 

After rolling the dough out, it's time to cook the tortillas.  It takes a little over a minute to cook each one, which means you get to eat them faster!  You need to make sure that your pan is preheated on medium before you put the uncooked tortilla in it, otherwise it will stick to the bottom.  There is no need to grease the pan before cooking (another awesome benefit!)  The dough should bubble shortly after placing it in the heated pan, and once there are a fair amount of bubbles, flip it.  Cook for about 30 seconds on the other side, or when it starts to smoke.  Make sure you remove the tortilla right away, as these will burn fast!

I have an option for adding buckwheat flour to the tortillas in the recipe.  This is one of my favorite ways to make these because the combination of buckwheat with spelt flour really brings out a unique rustic nutty flavor that I can't get enough of!  Be warned: when adding buckwheat flour the tortillas will crack when used as a wrap, and are best served flat, in pizza, sandwich, or chip form. Unless, of course, you are by yourself or don't care about making a huge delicious mess!  Then by all  means, stuff the half buckwheat flour tortillas with your favorite sandwich fillings and go at it!

Pictured, I have a spelt tortilla wrapped around crispy baked tempeh, spicy yellow mustard, avocado slices, and dino kale.  The other tortilla is a breakfast pizza with toasted with almond butter, cinnamon, cocoa nibs, pomegranate seeds, and banana slices. Both were delicious (and happened to be what I had for lunch yesterday and breakfast today)!

What is your favorite way to eat a tortilla?

Spelt Flour Tortillas 

vegan

2 cups spelt flour (or use 1 1/2 cups spelt flour and 1/2 cup buckwheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup hot water

Directions:

1.  Mix dry ingredients together.  Stir in oil and hot water.  Knead together until a ball of dough forms.  Let rest, covered, for 25-30 minutes.

2.  Cut dough into 8 equal sized pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball.  Cover and let rest again for 25-30 minutes.

3.  Take a ball of dough and push down in the palm of your hands to flatten it.  Then place on a floured surface and roll it out in a circle until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick.  If edges are rough, you can cut them off to make a smooth circle.  Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.

4.  Heat a non-stick pan on the stove to medium heat.  Make sure you wait until the pan is warmed up.  Place a rolled out piece of dough in the center of the pan and when it is full of bubbles, flip it over and cook another 30 seconds, or until it starts smoking.  Remove immediately.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.  

5.  Serve warm.  You can store leftover tortillas in the fridge, or freezer to last longer.  If storing in the fridge, layer them in a sealable container/bag with moist paper towels in-between each one to keep them moist.  Remove moist paper towels if storing in the freezer.