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Homemade Sourdough Corn Tortillas – The Best of Both Worlds

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Homemade sourdough corn tortillas don’t get better than this.

If you have ever had a homemade tortilla made with both wheat flour and corn flour then you know that the thick, soft, chewy tortillas that result from this combination are to die for. Don’t be afraid to really load these sourdough corn tortillas up with your favorite toppings because they’re strong enough to hold it all!

A stack of thick, soft, chewy tortillas made with sourdough discard and corn masa with text overlay.

Fermented Wheat and Traditionally Soaked Corn Flour

This recipe uses sourdough discard, the portion of fermented sourdough mother that you remove before feeding your sourdough starter. Typically this sourdough discard is thoroughly fermented, resulting in better digestion of the grain.

Thick, soft corn tortillas loaded with toppings.

The recipe also calls for traditional corn flour, or masa harina. Masa harina flour is corn that has been soaked in lime water, dried, and ground into flour in the traditional way. Lime water is actually made from dolomite powder, the powdered form of limestone!

Dolomite powder is mainly made up of calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and other minerals. Soaking the corn in lime water releases vitamin B₃ and improves the amino acid content of the grain. You can make your own corn masa and other forms of soaked corn at home by using dolomite powder. Please see “Sources” for more information on dolomite powder, its uses in traditional cooking, and where to buy it.

Find Masa Harina on Amazon:


A big, hot stack of freshly made sourdough corn tortillas.

Special Equipment:

While you could roll these tortillas by hand, a tortilla press is inexpensive and if made from cast iron will last a lifetime.


I also recommend using a cast iron griddle to cook your tortillas. Cast iron will give the evenly distributed heat that is ideal for cooking tortillas, pancakes, English muffins, eggs, and more.


Thick, soft, chewy tortillas made at home.

Homemade Sourdough Corn Tortillas

Yield: 10
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Get the best of both worlds by using fermented wheat sourdough discard and traditional masa harina to make these thick, soft, chewy tortillas.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a big mixing bowl. Start with 4 tablespoons of warm water and only add more if needed.
  2. Mix the dough with your hands until it comes together in a soft pliable dough. Add warm water as needed. It should be moist but not sticky. If you add too much water you can always add a little extra masa to get the right consistency. 
  3. Pat the dough into a round ball and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.
  4. Heat a griddle over medium-high heat.
  5. Prepare your tortilla press by cutting two pieces of waxed parchment or thick plastic (think ziplock bag thick) to fit under and over each tortilla. While I don't like to use plastic that much it does work the best in this case.
  6. Divide the dough into ten 2-ounce (56-gram) balls. Working one at a time press the ball in your tortilla press. 
  7. Peel away the plastic and cook the tortilla in the center of your griddle. Cook for approximately one minute per side, just until the tortilla starts to brown.
  8. Lay a large cotton napkin or towel over a small plate and stack the cooked tortillas on the towel. Fold the towel over the tortillas while cooking so they stay hot and soft.
  9. Serve the tortillas with your favorite filling. They make great quesadillas and mini pizzas too!

Notes

I've been known to spread butter on the warm tortillas for a delicious snack!

Tari A

Monday 5th of August 2024

So excited to try these this week, but alas, I don’t have a tortilla press. I see the gm measurement for each ball, but what diameter should I roll them to and approx. what thickness? Also, will they remain pliable days later or after being in the freezer?

juju

Wednesday 18th of October 2023

hi! made these tonight for family taco tuesday. everyone loved them. they were soft and made perfect tacos. i like my tortillas on the larger side, so i just made 8. if you hate plastic, parchment paper works great! i just trimmed it into two circles.

Butter For All

Sunday 5th of November 2023

Hi Juju!

Very helpful! Thanks for the nice feedback!

Cristina

Wednesday 15th of February 2023

Hi, I’d love to try this recipe. I noticed the quantity of sourdough to masarepa is less in cups, but more in grams. What is the correct measurement? Thank you!

Butter For All

Thursday 16th of February 2023

Hi Cristina!

Are you saying that 2 cups of masa didn't weigh 215 grams for you? If you want to follow the recipe most exactly always use the weight measurements over volume. Volume measurements are alway approximate. I try to get them as close as possible, but your masa may be different than mine.

Hope you enjoy them!

Decah

Thursday 7th of October 2021

Hi, I am getting ready to make these wonderful tortillas and I am unclear as to whether I use discard or fresh ripe starter for this recipe. Will you please clarify this for me?

Thanks, Decah

Butter For All

Thursday 7th of October 2021

Hi Decah,

Either is fine. Depends on how sour you want them! I like to use active starter myself. But I recommend trying it both ways, you wont be sorry!

Courtney

Brenda

Friday 5th of February 2021

I just finished making these and they turned out beautifully! I have a medium size tortilla press & prefer tortillas on the smaller size. I used my 1 1/2 tbsp scooper, rounded, to get equal sized tortillas. So my yield was 16 tortillas. I live in Arizona, so maybe this is why I had to add double or more the water. I read what you said about the earlobe & used that as a guide. Worked well. My previous recipe for regular corn tortillas had a good flavor, but I couldn’t stop them from cracking. These stayed together beautifully & peeled right off the plastic. They were a dream to work with. I like the combination flavor of the corn & flour. No sacrifice in flavor! Thank you so much for this recipe! I have deleted my previous recipe. This is now my go to recipe!

Butter For All

Friday 5th of February 2021

Hi Brenda!

I'm so glad these worked out so well for you! Interesting that you needed so much water, but definitely a great tip for other people. I really appreciate the positive feedback.

Thank you 😊

Courtney

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