… A Recipe for a Great Nosh!
This gluten-free, dairy-free flour tortillas and flatbread recipe has become a staple in the Daily Forage kitchen. I’ve put this baby to the test more times than I can count – but loved all the noshing during the trials, and since. This recipe is quite versatile and the outcome merely depends on what you want to do with it – you can have soft, tender, pliable flour tortillas for your Mexican Tacos, or awesome flatbread with a perfectly tender chew and bread-like quality ideal for filling with hummus or tuna salad. I love it when recipes will do double duty, don’t you?
Yes, this recipe is the same for either the tortillas or the flatbread, determined by the thickness to which you roll out the dough, and the embellishments you choose to include. For tacos, rolled slightly thinner than the flatbread, the tortillas take on Mexican flavors with some fresh cilantro and lime zest “kneaded” into the dough. For my favorite “speckled” flatbread, rolled out to about two nickels’ thickness (or between 1/8 and 3/16th of an inch), I add flax seeds and chia seeds. Gives great crunch to a sandwich, as well as a nutritional boost! The flavor possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Don’t be afraid to experiment – I’ve never found an add-in that has required altering of the basic dough recipe (though I’ve not experimented with cocoa powder or other “drying” ingredients).
It took me a couple of tries on my first batch to get the hang of rolling out the dough just right. You’ll want to roll the pieces of dough, one serving at a time, between two pieces of “X”. I found parchment paper not to work well at all. Plastic wrap is a no. Wax paper works well. Also, having a way to dust the “paper” you’re rolling the dough between is essential. Using a small canister with a mesh lid (shown below), as is often used for dusting pastries with powdered sugar, makes a perfect flour duster. It even has a well-fitted plastic cap to keep out moisture and foreign particles. Not expensive and I’m pretty sure it’s readily available at Target Stores (that’s where I’ve found my two). Love this gadget.
This recipe is not difficult or time-consuming at all, once you get the hang of it, so don’t give up. The noshing of these tortillas and flatbread is really, really worth it!
Oh I almost forgot to tell you … this dough can be made ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap, and stored in the fridge for up to a week, so it’s ready when you are. Makes fresh flatbread sandwiches for lunch a snap. You don’t even have to let the dough come to room temp. Just roll out wanted portions as mentioned above. Happy noshing!
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Flour Tortillas and Flatbread
Prep time: 10 minutes
Rest time: 10 minutes (You can roll the dough without resting, but it is much more temperamental. I choose to wait.)
Cooking time: about 10 minutes for the entire bunch
Makes: about 6 7-inch diameter tortillas, about 5 flatbreads
Basic Flour Tortilla and Flatbread Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups (280g) gluten free all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for dusting – I use Authentic Foods Bette’s Four Flour Gourmet Blend1
1 teaspoon guar gum – omit if it is already in your flour blend
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder – I like Clabber Girl
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
3/4 cup warm (not boiling) water
Mexican Tortilla Flavor Add-ins:
1-2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
zest of one fresh lime
Speckled Flatbread Add-ins:
1 1/2-2 Tablespoons flax seeds – I use King Arthur Flour2or Bob’s Red Mill
1 teaspoon chia seeds – I use TruRoots (This can be found less expensive in local stores than online, and is widely available at Whole Foods Market. TruRoots is the only brand of certified gluten free chia seeds, to my knowledge.)
Directions:
Combine flour, guar gum, baking powder, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Whisk well.
Add the flavor “add-in”s to the dry mixture and whisk again to disperse.
Stir in the oil and water until well combined and a rough dough ball begins to form. (See note below if dough needs adjusting.) Using your hands, continue to slightly knead dough and create a dough ball that holds its shape well and will form a smooth ball that has some “give” to it.
Place dough ball back into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10 minutes. This helps the texture and the “roll-ability” of the dough.
Heat your griddle over medium heat. (No oil or cooking spray is needed.)
Prepare your wax paper with a dusting of flour.
Divide dough into six portions. Using one portion, while keeping the rest of the dough covered, place the dough on the floured sheet. Dust the top of the ball, then cover with second sheet.
Roll the dough a couple of times, turning the sheets 90º sometimes to create an even circle. Carefully peel back the top sheet, dust the dough on the top and recover, flip your sheets of wax paper with the dough between them and bottom, peel back the second sheet, dust and recover, then roll again. Continue a couple of times until you have a tortilla or flatbread the size and thickness preferred.
Transfer the rolled dough to the pan letting the rolled dough do an easy flip/fall from the paper to your hand, and repeat onto a heated griddle. This is so much easier than trying to transfer the dough with a spatula.
Cook the dough about one and a half to two minutes on each side, flipping with a spatula once the dough begins forming air bubbles and the bottom begins to color.
Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest 1-2 minutes. To keep warm, cover with a clean cloth.
Serve within about 30 minutes, or place completely cooled tortillas or flatbreads into a resealable, airtight container or plastic bag. Use within 24 hours. Can be nicely reheated by placing single serving between two slightly damp paper towels and heating in microwave for 15-20 seconds.
Note: If you’re using a different flour and you need to make adjustments to the dough because it’s either too wet or too dry, do so by adding only a half teaspoon of flour or liquid at a time. The texture changes quickly. If the dampness of the dough seams right, but the elasticity is not quite right or the dough ball wants to crack, try adding oil. This helps the dough with the texture and pliability without making it too wet. If the dough ball feels a bit “glue-y” and sticks to your fingers, add about a half to one teaspoon of flour to the dough and gently work it in. You cannot overwork gluten-free dough here. It shouldn’t take much to achieve the right consistency.
*The Basic Tortilla and Flatbread recipe has been adapted from the Flour Tortilla recipe in Gluten Free on a Shoestring – Quick & Easy by Nicole Hunn. She also writes Glutenfreeonashoestring.com.
1Authentic Foods Bette’s Gourmet Four Flour Blend Product Review
2King Arthur Flour Whole Flax Seed Product Review
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