Homemade Einkorn Tortillas

In this post, learn how to make fresh, from scratch, homemade einkorn flour tortillas.

I have been dying to share these homemade einkorn tortillas with you! They made a recent debut in one of my What I Eat videos on YouTube, so I’m finally bringing you guys the full recipe! These tortillas are so tasty, they will take your weekly taco night up about ten notches. Fun fact: I used to make tacos fairly often (with basic store bought tortillas) and one day Matt asked if I could just leave those out of the rotation…he was just not a fan. But I recently brought taco night back (the only thing I changed was the fresh tortillas) and now it’s his all time favorite meal I make. It’s all in the tortillas, friends.

Why Homemade?

Why do I make my tortillas fresh, from scratch, you ask? I mean, they are in every grocery store so why go to all the trouble. A couple reasons: first, the taste alone is one million times better. Store bought tortillas don’t have very much flavor, have a bit of a gummy texture, and just do not measure up (at all) to their fresh counterparts. This might have something to do with the long list of ingredients & additives to keep tortillas soft & pliable for a very long time as they sit on grocery store shelves everywhere.

Second, as stated above, the ingredients are tremendously better. The ingredients in my tortillas? Flour, butter, water, salt. The ingredients in store bought? The list is much longer, and typically includes hydrogenated oils, cellulose gum, monoglycerides, and sodium acid pyrophosphate, to name a few.

Why Einkorn?

You certainly don’t have to make your tortillas with einkorn, but after reading this you might want to! First, einkorn flour has a very rich, nutty, almost buttery taste which I just love. But there are so many benefits beyond just taste! Einkorn is an ancient wheat – and the only type of wheat that has not been touched by modern hybridization. Meaning, it’s the exact same today as it was when it was consumed thousands of years ago. Hybridizing wheat manipulates it slightly so that it is hardier, more disease resistant, and will yield a larger crop.

Modern day wheat, through hybridization, now contains a total of 42 chromosomes, in comparison to the untouched einkorn that contains only 14. This difference affects the gluten structure – which paired with the overall lower gluten content in einkorn, is likely why people can generally tolerate it much easier (myself included!). Einkorn also contains 3-4x more beta-carotene, 2x more Vitamin A, 3-4x more lutein (a powerful carotenoid), and 4-5x more riboflavin.

I have a hard time digesting modern wheat and typical wheat products – it’s not that it makes me super sick, but it does make me immediately bloated and uncomfortable; it’s clear to me that my body does not digest it easily. However, I can consume sourdough anything that was made with typical wheat flour, and I also found that I can consume einkorn without trouble. If you also have a hard time with wheat products, I would suggest experimenting with these two! I love me some bread products so this was the sweetest discovery after not really eating them for almost a year. I have a whole post on how to make a sourdough starter here.

Watch the video here!

How to: Homemade Einkorn Tortillas

2 cups einkorn flour * (I love this brand)

1/2 cup water

5 tbsp butter (grass-fed preferred)

1 tsp salt

1. Melt butter on stove and pour into bowl.
2. Add flour, water, salt and stir to combine. The dough should form into a ball.
3. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Knead the dough until the surface has become smooth, about 5 minutes.
5. Separate into golf ball size dough balls. This recipe makes about 10.
6. Roll out dough with a rolling pin and parchment paper (or use a tortilla press).
7. Cook on a preheated skillet (I prefer cast iron) until bubbles, about 1-2 min, then flip. Cook until browned.
8. Wrap tortillas in a tea towel to keep them warm, and then serve immediately.

*If grinding your flour fresh using a grain mill (I have a whole post on that here) then I would increase to 3 cups. I find you need more flour to get the same dough consistency compared to all purpose einkorn.

These tortillas are best when eaten fresh, as there are no preservatives or additives to keep them soft and pliable. They will, however, keep in the fridge for a few days, and we typically have leftovers we enjoy in the day or two following. Just throw them back onto your skillet to warm them up before serving.

Printable Recipe

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