Kitchen · Des Moines Quadrangle September 7, 2026
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Food · Adapted

Sourdough Discard Tortillas

Slack dough, a long rest, and a dry pan as hot as it gets.

1 hr
Rest
1/16 in
Roll to
High, dry
Pan
30–45 sec
Griddle
Print card One page, US Letter (PDF)
§ 01 · Ingredients and method 1 hr

You'll need

  • Cast iron, or anything that holds heat without a nonstick coating

The dough

  • 210 g All-purpose flour
  • 110 g Sourdough discard, unfed, straight from the fridge
  • 100 g Warm water, around 105°F
  • 54 g Avocado oil
  • 4 g Salt
  • 2 g Baking powder, optional
  1. Whisk the discard, oil, and warm water together until smooth.
  2. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix to a shaggy dough, then knead two minutes until it comes together. It should feel tacky and slack. Leave the stickiness alone, it's what keeps them soft.
  3. Cover with a damp towel and rest an hour on the counter, or overnight in the fridge. The rest hydrates the flour and relaxes the gluten, so they roll thin without springing back.
  4. Divide into 8. Roll each one on a lightly floured surface to 7 or 8 inches across, about a sixteenth of an inch, nearly translucent.
  5. Heat dry cast iron over high until a drop of water skitters across it. No oil in the pan.
  6. Cook 30 to 45 seconds, flip when bubbles rise and the edges set, then another 20 to 30 seconds. You want pale with brown freckles, not evenly browned. The longer they sit in the pan the more water you drive off, and water is what keeps them foldable.
  7. Stack each one directly on the last in a towel-lined bowl and keep it covered. The steam trapped between them is what keeps them pliable.
Watch out
  • Cooling them flat and uncovered stiffens them in about five minutes. Stack them the second they come off the pan.
  • Leave the towel on for ten minutes after the last one. Bag them before they are fully cool and you trap condensation instead of steam.

Storage. Airtight, 3 to 5 days. Freeze with parchment between each.

Reheat. Ten seconds a side on a dry pan, or 15 seconds in the microwave under a damp paper towel.

§ 02 · Notes Notes
§ 02 Reasoning that doesn't belong on a card

A few notes.

These stiffen up after a day -it isn’t permanent. Cooked starch tightens as it cools and pushes water out as it goes, fat and hydration slow that down, a covered stack hides it, and ten seconds on a hot dry pan undoes it. A day-old tortilla off the griddle is as good as a fresh one.

This version uses liquid oil, which blocks that tightening less well than lard or shortening does. I’ll take the tradeoff for something I can mix in one bowl on a weeknight. If yours firm up faster than you’d like, swap half the avocado oil for shortening and keep the total fat the same.

A thick one still tastes fine…it’s just a flatbread at that point.

Adapted from Milk and Pop