Gluten Free Tortillas

Back when I first found out that I had to go on a gluten-free diet, it looked like I would have to give up on burritos.

There wasn’t much in the way of gluten-free products, certainly nothing that was anywhere close to a traditional tortilla.

Sure, there were gluten free corn tortillas - which were great as an option for tacos, but nothing that was worth using as a wrap.

In getting ready to write my first gluten-free cookbook - Beyond Flour: A Fresh Approach to Gluten-Free Cooking & Baking - one of the most popular requests was for a great tasting gluten free flour tortilla recipe that made tortillas that didn't rip.

Seems like a soft gluten-free tortilla recipe was a bit of a "holy grail" for a lot of people!

I've got to say... I was eating a lot of great gluten-free food while developing that book, so I was pretty spoiled by the time I got to making tortillas.

Even still, nothing could have prepared me for how great it was to have a proper burrito for supper when I first perfected that new recipe.

I think I'd gotten to the point of taking things for granted, you know? I guess I'd managed to forget just how great a GOOD burrito
could be, it had been so long!

These homemade tortillas are the best gluten free tortillas I’ve had - homemade or purchased. It’s a great recipe, producing soft flour tortillas that taste and behave like the “real” thing!

Note: Since developing this recipe, I’ve also come up with recipes for Paleo Tortillas - made with cassava flour, a super easy recipe - and also my Hybrid Tortillas

Those hybrid tortillas are wild - they’re from my second gluten-free cookbook, and are tortillas that taste like freshly roasted corn, but act like flour tortillas!

A tortilla for every occasion, all gluten-free!

Equipment

This is a very simple recipe, and can be made with as little as a rolling pin... but there are some pieces of small kitchen equipment that will save time and effort:

A Food Processor

This recipe can be made with a bowl and a potato masher or forks, but it comes together in just seconds when you make it in a food processor.

A Rolling Pin

If you don’t have a tortilla press, you’ll need a rolling pin.

I use this Rolling pin with adjustable thickness guides, and LOVE it in general - highly recommend it!

It was perfect for getting uniformly thin tortillas, before I invested in a tortilla press.

A Tortilla Press

After I’d been making tortillas for a while, I decided to break one of my big kitchen rules: "No single-purpose items!"... and bought a tortilla press.

I hesitated at first, not sure how much of a difference it would make, or how often I'd use it.

... and I don't regret a thing!

There's no way I'd be making tacos as often as I do, without this. Absolutely worth the (reasonable!) price and storage space, it's definitely a frustration-saver.

I can press them out in no time, it's just SO much easier than rolling out.

THIS is the one I bought, and I definitely recommend it for smaller tortillas.

Eventually I bought a second one, a 10" Tortilla Press, which is perfect for making larger tortillas with this recipe.

Ingredients

The Gluten Free Flours, Starches, Etc

While regular flour tortillas require only the most simple ingredients, these require ingredients that you may not even be able to find at your local store.

As I tend to preach, I find it well worth the effort, cost, and space to invest in several basic gluten free flours (Look for those certified gluten-free), and use them as individual ingredients, rather than rely on a premade gluten-free flour blend.

Not only does this generally result in a better taste, it lets you adjust the proportions of each - utilizing the properties of each flour - to create a flour blend that will work best for whatever recipe you’re working on.

In this case, this blend of flours results in great gluten-free flour tortillas. The taste is very similar to those made from wheat flour, and these gluten-free tortillas behave like traditional flour tortillas.

They have the perfect texture - soft tortillas, flexible without being gummy. You can use them for gluten-free wraps to make sandwiches, as a burrito wrap, or even make homemade tortilla chips from them.

Sorghum Flour
Light Buckwheat Flour
White Rice Flour
Sweet Rice Flour
Tapioca Starch / Tapioca Flour
Xanthan Gum

Additionally, you’ll want some Corn Starch or Potato Starch for rolling the tortillas.

Additional Ingredients

Aside from the more specialty ingredients, you will need:

Vegetable shortening or lard
Granulated sugar
Salt
Baking powder
Cold water

How to Make Gluten-Free Tortillas

This recipe is made in two parts - making the dough, and then making the tortillas from that dough.

Each step has two different methods you can choose from, so you can work this recipe up 4 different ways, depending on your equipment and inclination!

IMHO, the food processor and tortilla press is the best way to make these, but I started out making them manually and rolling them.

Either way, the whole recipe is in a recipe card at the end of the post, this is a bit of a pictorial overview that goes over the various different methods and includes more tips.

Makes 6-8 8" tortillas, more if you’re aiming for smaller tortillas.

Make the Tortilla Dough

You can make this dough by hand, or with a food processor:

By Hand

In a medium mixing bowl (or a large one!), whisk together dry ingredients until very well incorporated.

Add shortening/lard to the bowl. Use a potato masher or pastry knife to cut the shortening down to small, irregular pieces - mix should look sort of like gravel.

Add water, stir until well mixed. Knead a few times, just to bring it together into a dough ball - don't over work it!

Wrap in dough in plastic wrap, allow to rest at room temperature on your counter for 30 minutes.

In a Food Processor

Measure flour and starch ingredients into the bowl of your food processor, along with remaining dry ingredients. Blitz briefly to combine.

Add the shortening or lard to the food processor, blitz a few time to cut the shortening down to small, irregular pieces - mix should look sort of like gravel.

Stream the water into the food processor, running it just until the water incorporates and a loose dough forms. Knead a few times, just to bring it together into a dough ball - don't over work it!

Wrap in dough in plastic wrap, allow to rest at room temperature on your counter for 30 minutes.

Form the Tortillas

Rolling the Dough

Generously sprinkle clean work surface with corn starch. Separate dough into 4 equal sized chunks.

One chunk at a time, roll dough out as thin as possible, sprinkling more corn starch as necessary.

Cut an 8" round - I like to use a plate or cake pan as a guide - set aside. Collect cuttings from each round, knead together and roll to cut more rounds from.

Repeat until all the dough is cut into circles.

Using a Tortilla Press

Note: Photos are of my Cassava Flour Tortillas - it’s the same process!

Divide mixture into 8 equal portions. (Or more, for smaller tortillas)

Form each portion into a ball, flatten slightly into a disk shape.

Cut two pieces of parchment paper slightly bigger than the surfaces of your tortilla press.

Sandwich one disk of dough between the pieces of parchment paper, press in tortilla press. I like to turn it 90 degrees after the first press, and press a second time.

Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Cook the Tortillas

Heat a cast iron skillet to smoking hot. Alternately, you can heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.

Place a tortilla in the hot pan, cook for 2-3 minutes each side, until it has air bubbles and brown spots forming. Don’t overcook them, or you could dry them out.

Cover freshly cooked, warm tortillas with a towel, repeating until all tortillas are cooked.

Serve right away, or store in an airtight container or plastic bag for a day or two. Reheat to soften, before use.

More Gluten-Free Bread Recipes!

Looking for more gluten-free bread products for the whole family? Here are some fantastic options!

Gluten-Free AIP / Paleo Flatbread
Gluten Free Bagels
Gluten-Free Beaver Tail Recipe
Gluten-Free Gougeres
Gluten-Free Hybrid Tortillas
Gluten-Free Paleo Cassava Flour Tortillas
Gluten-Free Paska [Easter Bread]
Gluten Free Pita Bread
Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels
Gluten-Free Sourdough Waffles

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