Ultra pliable and soft, these purple sweet potato flour tortillas are fermented with your sourdough starter for a bonus gut friendly result.
Purple Sweet Potato Tortillas
ultra pliable ân soft
If you’ve already whipped up my purple sweet potato sourdough then you already know this magically bright ingredient (for it’s packed with antioxidants to boot) also has a tendency to soften our baked goods.Â
The trick? You can either add some cooked purple sweet potato puree, but adding it in powder form has as tendency to not just speed up the results… but amplify them (i.e. even softer tortillas)(or bread)(or both).Â
the deets
Making flour tortillas with your sourdough discard is extremely easy (please see video in recipe card for reference)(but just combine all your ingredients together)(and rest for a couple hours at room temp until your dough is lightly fermented- i.e. you’ll see it puff up nicely under the cling film).Â
And the fat? Flour tortillas in my beloved Mexico are traditionally made with lard (either pork or vegetable), so feel free to either go down this route (noting that beef tallow works great too). But you can alternatively also use butter or a vegetable oil for the dough is fairly lenient in this regard.Â
Otherwise a tortilla press comes in handy to get them nice and thin before cooking (key to get them to puff up nicely). And when cooking, its generally suggested to cook them for just a few seconds on the first side (say 10 seconds), then flip them over twice more until cooked and they should puff up nicely.Â
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(The Softest!) Purple Sweet Potato Tortillas
Equipment
- a tortilla press
- wax or parchment paper so your tortillas don't stick to the press!
Ingredients
- 120 g unbleached all purpose flour *
- 12 g purple sweet potato powder
- 3 g sea salt
- 33 g lard or tallow or 40g unsalted butter
- 1/3-1/2 cup spring water hot to touch (but not boiling)
- 30 g active sourdough starter
Instructions
make your dough (see video for reference!)
- Add the flour, purple sweet potato powder and salt to a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.Â
- Add the lard and rub it against the flour using your fingertips until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.Â
- Add the hot water, a little at a time and working it in with your hands until the dough just comes together. The amount will vary mainly depending on the flour youâre using and your humidity (and remember we still have to add the starter!).Â
- Work your sourdough starter into dough and knead it on the counter until it comes together into a smooth dough (takes just a minute or two). And if your dough is too tacky feel free to add a touch more flour (conversely if it feels crumbly go for a bit more water).Â
- Transfer to a bowl (or ziplock bag) and allow it to ferment at room temp anywhere from 3-12 hours, noting that the longer you let it go the more your culture will have worked its way through the flour (i.e. less gluten and *much* less carbs, if thatâs what youâre going for).
- Heat up a skillet (preferably) or pan over medium heat. You can test the heat by sprinkling a few water droplets, if the drops evaporate immediately your pan is too hot. The droplets should ârunâ through the skillet.
- Break the dough into eight balls and roll out between two sheets of parchment with a rolling pin or using a tortilla press (easier!) until the dough is ultra thin (even lightly translucent)Â
- Cook over medium heat for just 3-6 seconds until the dough is *just* sealed on the first side (very important to get your tortillas to puff up!). Flip it over immediately (using a thin spatula or knife), and continue to cook until just lightly charred, say 30 to 40 seconds on each side. The key is not to overcook them, as they will no longer be pliable or puff up.
- Keep them warm wrapped in a kitchen cloth until serving. And to rewarm, heat briefly on both sides (less than a minute).
- Tortillas are best enjoyed fresh off the stove, so feel free to keep some dough handy in your fridge for up to five days (but they also freeze well ready-made for up to three months).
Video
