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These homemade sourdough discard tortillas are made using sourdough discard to create an easy to handle dough that takes around 5 minutes to make! They’re soft and bubbly, with just the right amount of chew and little brown spots, and most importantly my whole family eats them!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Simple Ingredients – You literally need bread flour, water, sourdough discard, olive oil and salt. That’s it! You can use all-purpose flour if you prefer, but you’ll need to reduce the amount of water you use.
No Fancy Equipment – The dough can be kneaded by hand or in a mixer. You can use a rolling pin to roll them out (no tortilla press required) and cook them in a super hot skillet.
Make Ahead – These are easy to make ahead and freeze for busy week nights or make earlier in the day for dinner later on. I’ll show you how to store them so they stay soft and fresh.
Updated Recipe
Just a little note to say that this recipe has been updated in August 2026 to include more discard, which makes the dough more pliable and helps the dough become ready to roll out much more quickly. I’ve also updated the photos and method, making the sourdough discard tortillas easier to knead and cook. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as my family does!
Making Sourdough Discard Tortillas
All you need to do to make the dough is mix together the bread flour, water, sourdough discard, olive oil and salt and then knead it until it’s soft and elastic. You can knead the dough by hand (this takes around 5 to 10 minutes) or using a stand mixer or spiral mixer (definitely under 5 minutes). I like to mix my dough using a spiral mixer because I can get on with other things while my dough is kneading – and of course, it’s much faster!
Once the dough is kneaded, it needs to rest at room temperature. Tortillas don’t need the kind of rise that sourdough bread does, so you’re not looking for your dough to double here. I generally say to let the dough rise around 30%, but the tortillas will still work even if the dough hasn’t risen this much. As long as the dough has relaxed and started to bubble underneath, it will work.
Shaping The Tortillas
Once you’ve let the dough rest, you’ll need to divide the dough into equally weighted portions. I like to weigh mine out to 50 to 60 grams. This gives me around 18 tortillas measuring around 6-inches across.
Let the dough balls rest for around 10 minutes to allow the gluten to relax and then, using a light dusting of flour, roll each one out nice and thin. This can take a little patience and practice, but once you’ve done a few, you’ll get the hang of it. Don’t be afraid to use a little flour for each dough ball to stop it sticking to the rolling pin.
Kate’s Tip
Don’t Use a Tortilla Press
It’s best to use a rolling pin to shape the sourdough tortillas. Tortilla presses don’t work for flour tortillas as the dough will keep springing back and shrinking. Save the tortilla press for corn tortillas.
Let’s Cook!
You’ll need to heat a large skillet or cast-iron pan to cook the sourdough tortillas in. I’ve tried lots of different pans, but I always come back to my nonstick crepe pan. I always put the heat right up high to start with and then once the pan is hot, back it off to a more medium heat. You don’t need butter or oil, a dry skillet works best.
Before you place each sourdough tortilla onto the pan, gently stretch it out with your hands to ensure it’s as thin as possible. Once it bubbles, flip it over to cook the other side (you’ll generally only need to cook it for around 1 minute on each side). Once it’s bubbly and has lots of little brown spots, take it off the skillet and place it straight into a flour sack towel.
Kate’s Tips
A few things to help
- Don’t roll them all out before you start cooking. Roll out a few before you start cooking and then as you’ve got one in the pan, roll out the next one or two. This will save you time!
- Use your hands to gently stretch the dough out into a rough round and then use the rolling pin to get the dough really thin.
- If the dough shrinks back, this is just the gluten tightening up. Leave it on the counter for a few minutes and it will stretch back out.
If you aren’t eating them straight away, keep the tortillas stacked and wrapped in a flour sack towel to ensure they stay nice and soft and pliable. If they’ve puffed up while cooking, they will flatten down when wrapped).
Using Leftover Sourdough Tortillas
We mostly use these soft tortillas for making wraps or taco night, but there are generally leftovers. While they freeze really well, we often use the leftover tortillas for other meals during the week. Here are some of the ways we use leftover sourdough tortillas:
- They make fantastic pizza bases for the kids!
- They make the most delicious bean and cheese quesadillas for lunch the next day!
- Tortillas that aren’t quite as soft can be used as baked tacos. I love stuffing them with chicken, cheese and black beans, brushing them with melted butter and sprinkling them with a little garlic powder and paprika and then baking the in the oven until they’re crispy on the edges.
- Leftovers can be cut into tortilla chips and sprinkled with garlic granules and paprika and baked in the oven until crispy. We love using these for nachos a few nights after taco night.
How To Store + Freeze
These sourdough discard tortillas are so soft and pliable and if you store leftovers the right way, they will stay like this for at least 48 hours.
Making Ahead for Dinner – If I’m making these for dinner, I just wrap them in a cotton flour sack towel or tea towel. The warmth keeps them soft and supple and they are perfect for dinner (they will last like this for a good few hours, so this is a good idea if you’re transporting them too).
Storing Leftovers for 48 Hours – Once we’ve eaten, I store leftovers wrapped back up in a cotton towel and under a glass cloche for up to 24 hours. If storing for longer, I transfer to a resealable plastic bag as this keeps them soft. Remember these have no preservatives, so they will mold if you don’t use them within around 3 days (especially if storing them in plastic).
Freezing – If I freeze these, I layer them between sheets of parchment paper and store in a resealable plastic bag. They freeze well for up to 3 months. To thaw them, simply take them out of the freezer and lay them out on the counter to thaw at room temperature. If you need them faster, 30 seconds in the microwave is perfect.
Sourdough Discard Tortilla Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (optional)
- Rolling Pin
- Cast Iron Skillet (or nonstick crepe pan)
Ingredients
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 250 g Water, (you can use extra if your dough needs it)
- 250 g Sourdough Discard
- 15 g Olive Oil
- 15 g Salt
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and bring it together into a rough dough. Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead until it's soft and elastic. You can do this by hand or use a stand mixer with a dough hook.
- Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, cover it and let it rest until it's risen around 30%. I like to leave my dough for a few hours to let it develop flavor, but you can let it rest for as little as an hour, especially if it's warm.
- When you're ready to cook the tortillas, divide the dough into equally weighted portions. I generally make around 18 balls weighing around 50 go 60 grams. Let the dough balls rest under a tea towel for around 10 minutes to let the gluten relax.
- While you're letting the dough relax, heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick crepe pan on high heat.
- Roll each ball out into a thin round, around 6-inches across. I like to roll a few out before I start cooking.
- Gently use your hands to stretch out each tortilla before you drop it into the dry pan (do not add butter or oil).Cook for around 1 minute on each side before removing and placing into a flour sack towel to keep soft and warm. Repeat for each tortilla until they're all cooked, ensuring they stay wrapped up to ensure they stay nice and soft and pliable.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I have learned so much from you, so much. I feel it’s time I return the favor on this recipe, only because I’ve adapted my grandmother’s recipe for tortillas to include sourdough discard and it worked! Her original recipe was 4 cups flour, and half cup lard. I have changed this to your usual 500 gm of flour and 20 gm salt which I whirl in a food processor for a few seconds, then I add 80-100 grams of cold lard (manteca, pork) and whirl until the lard is processed with the flour like pastry dough. Then I transfer the flour mixture to a bowl and add the 200 gm discard and enough water to make a workable smooth dough, I don’t do the shaggy thing with this recipe. I just went by what the dough felt like when I made my grandmother’s original recipe. Then divide into 75 gm balls and let rest for at least 2 hours back in the bowl with the lid on. These are rolled very thin, flouring as you roll, then done on a cast iron griddle just a few seconds each side as you describe, and stored in a dishtowel as described. The addition of the lard instead of olive oil gives these tortillas their authentic texture and flavor. I have mixed the dough at night and let it sit overnight on the counter and rolled and cooked the next am. Those were very flavorful and tangy. But, lard is the key to really good tortillas. One time I was short on lard and evened out my fat content with cold butter. That worked too. I hope you try this method though many are adverse to using lard in recipes these days.
PS Lard makes the best pastry crust too!
I was wondering if these could be made with lard like the ones my babysitter made for me when I was a little girl. Lard truly is the best fat for a tortilla! Thank you for suggesting it.
Yes, that should work!
I intend to make these for lunch tomorrow. Can I mix at night with an active starter and leave them in the fridge overnight? Or is it better to mix in the morning? Kitchen temperature is around 15 degree Celsius. Thank you!
Can a tortilla press be used with this recipe instead of rolling out?
Could you develope a tortilla recipe that incorporates MASA? I prefer corn tortillas over flour, but the sourdough mixed in sounds like a fabulous treat!!
I was so excited to try this recipe as I’ve tried a few sourdough discard tortilla recipes before from other bloggers but I wanted to try yours because I have loved pretty much every single recipe you have published. However I didn’t love these. The process was way different than I’m used to but I followed it as directed. I tried rolling them out with the rolling pin after the gluten strands relaxed but they were so sticky despite dusting the surface and my rolling pin with flour. I finally did get one rolled out but failed to get it off the parchment paper. So I decided to do my usual method with the large tortilla press and parchment paper and I was able to get them pressed out. I also froze them for 30 minutes to solidify them so I could remove from the parchment paper easier. This finally worked but I don’t care for the end result of the tortillas, maybe because my starter is whole wheat/rye and it uses a lot more discard than other recipes. That being said, I still love your recipes Kate, perhaps this one just needs some tweaking. For reference I live in north Texas and my starter has been established for a year and a half.
Done, thank you! I did half the recipe only. They were pliable and tasty without any filling LOL and bonus – slightly sour.
Hey there,
I’ve got 400g of sourdough discard and I’m surfing your site for a recipe.
I love your no yeast pizza bases, these are my only pizza bases I make.
It’s only my husband and I and I usually make my bread to give away. I love bread, but my hips do not.
This tortilla recipe looks good but I wonder if I can freeze them? My hubby and I would only have 2 at a time, me even possibly 1. If these can be frozen, I’ll give them a go.
Looking forward to your response.
You can absolutely freeze these. They’ll be good for up to 3 months. Just keep a piece of parchment paper in between each tortilla so they don’t stick together, and store in an airtight container, like a freezer bag.
Fabulous
I have made many tortillas over the years, these are the best. I did use 1/2 cup of lard as was suggested by another, the dough sat on my counter for about 5 hours to rise. I also cooked the tortillas outside on my Blackstone, which also worked well. I will be trying English Muffins next.
I made the dough for these and left it on the counter for it to bulk ferment overnight. I keep my house COLD. However, the next morning I woke late, got ready for work and ran out the door without even looking at it. Of course it had raised the lid of the container I had it in. Rising probably 6 X the original. Now I know you’d normally make focaccia with it. However, since these are flatbreads, can I just punch it down and go ahead with the tortillas?
Yes, you can still make tortillas with it because they don’t really need to rise so much as just bubble 🙂