Spinach Flour Tortillas
These beautiful, dark green-laced spinach tortillas are perfect for wrap sandwiches, dipped in hummus, used in pinwheels or any Mexican dish. While spinach focus, they are definitely a soft flour tortilla with regular flour tortilla undertones. These spinach tortillas take the color and flavor of traditional flour tortillas to a whole new level.
Servings: 10 large or 20 small tortillas
Ingredients
- 12 oz chopped spinach, frozen or fresh thawed, drained, and squeezed (if fresh- sauté, rinse, drain, and squeeze)
- 420 g (3½ cups) all-purpose flour fluffed, scooped, and leveled if using a measuring cup
- 1½ tsp (6 g) baking powder
- 1¼ tsp (~7 g) salt
- 6 tbsp (72 g) vegetable shortening (diced into small pieces) or lard, butter, or coconut oil
- 3-6 tbsp warm tap water
Instructions
- Thaw frozen spinach (in the fridge overnight or quickly in the microwave). Drain and squeeze out most of the moisture. TIP: If using fresh spinach, rinse it under water in a colander. Place it in a large saucepan or skillet. Heat on medium and sauté just until wilted. Return it to the colander and rinse with cold water, drain, and squeeze out most of the moisture.
- Place the spinach in a food processor or blender. Process until broken down.TIP: The spinach will remain in very small chunks, a little stingy. The small pieces will lace the tortilla with pretty green pieces.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Turn machine on low and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, add shortening and mix until the shortening is dispersed. Switch to the dough hook attachment and with the machine on low, add the spinach and continue to knead. The dough will look crumbly. Add warm tap water (1 tbsp at a time, 3-6 or so total depending on the amount of moisture in the spinach) until the dough comes together into a cohesive mound as it spins in the machine. The dough should be soft. Knead for 5 minutes increasing the speed to medium.TIP: Instead of using a stand mixer, mix ingredients in a large bowl. Stir or knead by hand the spinach into the flour and then knead or stir in water until the mixture comes together. Once combined, knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface for 8- 10 minutes. The dough should not be sticky but soft and tacky.
- Remove the bowl from the machine and use your hands to form the dough into a ball and place it at the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and allow the dough to rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes.TIP: You can prepare the dough a day ahead of time. Place the dough in the fridge overnight or until you’re ready to divide, shape, and cook the tortillas.
- Remove the dough and place it on a work surface (only lightly flour if the dough is sticky but it’s not necessary here). Divide the dough into preferred sizes either 10 large pieces (~84-85 g each) or 20 small pieces (~42 g each). You can weigh or eyeball the sizes.
- Roll each dough piece into a smooth ball in your hands. You can place each dough ball on the work surface (all flour moved aside), cup your hand behind each ball and roll the ball towards you along the surface so the friction creates a smooth ball all around.
- Cover them with a towel and allow the dough balls to rest for 15 minutes.
- Heat a large dry (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Use a rolling pin to roll out one tortilla into a 10-inch circle for a large tortilla or a 5-inch circle for a small tortilla. Roll thin enough to see through the dough. Keep the surface well-floured to prevent the dough from sticking. Flip the tortilla as you roll. If the tortilla retracts as you roll, allow the tortilla to sit for a few moments to get used to the shape and continue to roll. If the dough begins to curl, flip it over and roll on the other side.TIPS: The tortillas slightly shrink when they hit the hot pan. Consider rolling out each tortilla 1 inch larger than desired cooked tortilla. Skillet has heated enough to cook the tortillas when a splatter of tap water sizzles when it hits the skillet. Adjust the stove temperature as you go. Start out high and decrease as needed. If you cook the tortillas at a temperature too low, they will be stiff. If they are cooked at too high of a temperature, they will brown (even burn) too quickly.
- Cook each tortilla as you roll out the next one. Turn down the heat to medium. Place a tortilla in the skillet and cook for 1 minute or so (or until the brown spots appear on the underside. Flip the tortilla and cook for another 30 seconds or until brown spots appear. Set the tortillas aside on a foil-lined plate with another sheet of foil on top to keep them warm. Continue to roll out and cook the remaining tortillas stacking them on the plate as they cook. Keep foil over the top tortilla.TIPS: Use a paper towel to wipe loose flour out of the pan as needed to keep the flour from burning. The tortillas should be soft and foldable. They should form bubbles, but they will deflate as they cool. You can also place a heat-proof plate in a 200˚F (93˚C) oven and stack tortillas as they bake to keep all the tortillas warm before serving.
Video
Notes
Serving Suggestions:
Use tortillas in any recipe that calls for soft flour tortillas.
-pinwheels
-burritos
-chips (brushed with oil, topped with salt, cut into triangles, & baked at 400˚F for 10 minutes flipping at 5 minutes)
-enchiladas
-fajitas
-quesadillas
-sandwiched wraps (rolled flatbread sandwiches filled with cheese, meats, veggies, & preferred condiments)
-tacos
-taquitos
-tostadas
Storing:
Store in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge for a few days or freeze for a couple of months. They thaw very quickly; you can just heat them in the microwave from the freezer for 30 seconds. You can also, microwave them between 2 damp towels to keep them moist or in a dry skillet over the stove.