Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas - From Scratch

I got another recent challenge from a different niece, Janae, to help her with a recipe for whole grain tortillas.  She lives near a small town in Colorado and doesn't have easy access to good tortillas.  

As I mentioned in my post on making corn tortillas from scratch, the Meso-Americans were making tortillas since long before the arrival of Columbus.  Unleavened flatbreads were well known to the Sumerians and the Egyptians.  The oldest known bread oven was found in Babylon and dates from around 4,000 BC.  The Meso-Americans either invented flatbread independently or brought the tradition with them when they emigrated.  They made tortillas from their most available grain--the indigenous maize which we call corn, but after the arrival of the Europeans they began making tortillas from other grains (introduced by the Europeans) as well.  The most common alternative grain used was wheat.  As with corn tortillas these wheat ones were unleavened (essentially a paste was made of grain salt and water, flattened, and baked on a hot surface).  Wheat provided an alternative to their indigenous grain and "flour tortillas" generally made from refined white-flour has become another staple for the Mexicans (although my dad who was born and raised in Mexico says of the flour variety--"those aren't real tortillas").

I enjoyed making whole-wheat tortillas.  There's something therapeutic about rolling them out by hand and watching them puff-up on the hot griddle.  See below for instructions.

Here's How to Make 'em:

• 2.5 cups Whole Wheat Flour - freshly ground (better for you because oils in the wheat can go rancid when flour sits on the shelf)
• 1 cup Water 
• 2 Tbsp Powdered Milk
• 0.5 cups Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Salt

Cut together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and oil with a pastry cutter, food-processor, or simply with a couple of forks.  The result should look like the texture of coarse corn-meal.  Stir in the water to make a wet dough.  If you have time, let it rest in the refrigerator so the gluten relaxes (makes it easier to roll out).  

When you're ready to make the tortillas (these are best fresh so make them within an hour of eating them) make a long roll of the dough on a floured surface, cut it into a dozen pieces, roll each one out between two pieces of plastic wrap and cook on a hot griddle or pan about 40 seconds per side (looking for them to puff up and brown a bit).

You can freeze leftovers.  My lovely wife made some of these into enchiladas and they were delicious.