“Soaking” is a traditional method of preparing grains used by our ancestors to make the grains easier to digest. The result is a light, delicious tortilla which won’t weigh you down after eating.
How Do I Make Soaked Wheat Tortillas?
The process involves soaking the flour in water and an acidic substance (apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or whey) for 12-24 hours before cooking. Soaking was a common method of preparing grains, before our foods started coming from a factory rather than our kitchen.
When I cook these, my kids wait anxiously by the stove and devour them faster than I can cook them. My daughter loves them brushed with butter or ghee. My older son smothers them in lebneh, while my little guy prefers scrambled eggs or strawberry jam. They are also really delicious filled with melted cheddar cheese or nut butter. I like to freeze them and keep on hand for quick and easy school lunches.
I use these tortillas in my Mexican Lasagna and Chicken Enchiladas.
Some of you may be thinking, why go through all this trouble when I can just pick up a bag of tortillas from the store? Let’s compare these tortillas with 2 popular store bought tortillas you can find here in Saudi:
Both are made with:
- white flour: which is highly processed, bleached, and stripped of most of the nutritional aspects of the grain. It raises your risk for diabetes and obesity as well as many other preventable diseases.
- preservatives: these products contain at least 3 different preservatives, each with it’s own list of harmful side effects
- artificial colour: known to cause hyperactivity in children, and may cause cancer
So as you can see, it’s definitely worth the extra effort to make these delicious Soaked Wheat Tortillas! To save time, I like to make a large batch and store in the freezer.
Soaked Wheat Tortillas
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole wheat flour* I use freshly ground
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, coconut oil, melted butter, or ghee
- 1 cup water you may need more or less
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or whey*
- 1.5 teaspoon natural salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the oil.
- Add the water and vinegar. The amount of water needed will depend on the density of your flour, so add slowly until you have enough to make a soft dough.
- Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours. The color of the dough will become a little darker after soaking, but after you knead it, the original color will return.
- Add the salt and work it into the dough.
- Divide the dough into 12 balls. One at a time, roll the balls into thin circles and cook on a hot skillet, just a minute or so on each side. Watch closely and don't overcook, as the tortillas will become too dry and hard to fold.
- Store in the fridge or freezer.
I make tortillas all the time and didn’t know it’s better to soak them to make the wheat easier to digest. I will definitely do this next time! I brought back a tortilla press from my last trip to the states which eliminates the need to roll out, so worth it!
Yes Emily, grains contain a substance called phytic acid, which combines with the good stuff in grains (iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc), blocking their absorption from your intestines. Grains also contain something called “enzyme inhibitors” that can interfere with digestion. SubhanAllah, these substances were put in the grain by Allah in order to protect the seeds from hungry animals. The animals would know that if I eat those grains, it will give me a tummy ache, so they stay away from it. But guess what? It can also be hard for us to digest. So soaking really helps reduce these problems. I’ve noticed after I eat soaked grains, I feel much better. I don’t have that feeling of “ugh, I need to take a nap!”
Bonus on the tortillas press! Does it work well?
Dear dr laura , is that mean after that i will use my whole wheat flour as a wet ingredients ?
After you soak the flour overnight, you will just add salt and then cook it.
So at what point is the oil added during the water soak or ? As it it not mentioned in the soak nor at time salt is added….thank you for clarifying
The oil is added to the flour in the first step… “In a large bowl, mix the flour with the oil.”
Excuse my question but did u mean to add salt then the ingerdients above ( oil , water , vinegar) ? And i will have a dough ? M a little bit confused cs i didnt use the flour soaking with water it gona be wet. Sorry for disturbing and thanks 💖
Ohhhhhhh ok ok ok i got it sorrryyy thank you again 🙈🙈💖💖
Thanks for ur tips above
What consistency should the dough be just before leaving it for 12-24 hours ?
Since you are only adding salt the next day before cooking, it needs to be soft but dry. Otherwise you won’t be able to roll it out.
can we just add the salt with the other ingredients, as we commonly do when we make chapatis or will that alter the process of soaking the wheat in some way?
It’s recommended to add it at the end, after the soaking process.
Assalam o alaikum, i a little bit confused should we knead the dough before leaving it for 24 hrs or we just add wet ingredients with flour and after soaking time we knead it?
Walaikum assalaam, I usually do both. I knead it for just a minute or two at the beginning to combine the ingredients. Then after soaking the dough for 12-24 hours I knead it again when adding the salt. It’s not really necessary to knead it for a long time.
Thanks for this recipe, we always make it ❤️
I’m glad to hear that! Thanks for your comment ❤️
Jazaakillahu khayran for the knowledge shared, may Allah accept it and be pleased with you in both worlds……I’ll give it a try in shaa Allah
Wa eeyaki 💜
Can these be made with less salt? I am on a low sodium diet these days….
Yes you should be able to cut the amount of salt in half.