Now that Halloween is over and before the Thanksgiving madness begins I thought that I would take a minute to share a recent discovery on our seemingly never ending quest to find a suitable replacement for flour tortillas. We have come up with a few really interesting tweaks on the corn tortilla and we enjoy making them together, but they are a labor of love and not nearly as fun when you are making them alone. *You can find links to our corn tortillas at the bottom of this post.
A few weeks ago I was perusing the nuts.com site and came across black bean flour. I had read about people including this flour into their gluten-free chocolate baked goods, but I honestly wasn't sure what else you could do with it. Since we are lovers of all things black bean I decided that I should give it a go and order a small bag. A couple of days later my bag of flour arrived and I decided to test out a small batch of tortillas. I love our corn tortillas for tacos and tostadas, but they just aren't pliable enough to make a decent enchilada.
This batter is simple to prepare and the cooking method reminds me a lot of how I used to make crepes. The end result was a beautiful stack of purple hued tortillas that were elastic enough to withstand being stuffed and rolled. Todd said that the consistency of the tortilla reminded him of Injera bread that he had at an Ethiopian restaurant a few years ago and he LOVED it! *Injera bread takes days to make and this only takes a about a half an hour, BONUS! We have since been dipping these little tortillas into hummus, had yummy enchiladas, and I am considering trying to make a Southwestern style savory crepe with these little beauties.
Black Bean Flour Tortillas
Makes 12-13 8-inch tortillas
⅓ cup black bean flour
½ cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp. tapioca flour
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. cumin
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups filtered water
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix until combined. Mix in the wet ingredients with a whisk until the batter is free of lumps. *The batter will be really thin. Set aside to rest for 20-25 minutes.
Preheat an 8.5 inch skillet over medium high heat. *The skillet is warm enough when a few drops of water dance and sizzle around the pan. The same way you would check a pan for pancakes. Ladle a ¼ cup of the batter into the skillet at a time, swirling the pan so that the thin batter coats the entire pan and barely begins to go up the sides of the pan.
Allow the tortilla to cook between 30-45 seconds before flipping with an offset spatula to cook the other side. *This batter is so thin that it is easy to tell when it is cooked through and ready to flip. You can literally see the consistency change from liquid to solid pretty quickly.
When the tortilla is cooked through place it on a sheet of waxed paper and continue the process with the remaining batter, placing a sheet of waxed paper in between each tortilla.
I couldn't help but throw a picture of my precious little monsters in this post from Halloween! Eliza went as a day of the dead girl inspired by the paintings of Sylvia Ji and Kash was "Max" from Where the Wild Things Are, one of our favorite books. We had such an amazing evening!
If you are looking for a new twist on corn tortillas you should check out our other tortilla recipes:
Cilantro Infused Corn Tortillas
Beautiful Beet Infused Tortillas
We are happy to have shared this post at the Gluten-Free Friday’s link up party hosted by Vegetarian Mama, Eat.Live.Make, and Gluten Freed R.D.! Hop on over to find more great gf recipes.
Carol Z says
These were very delicious and easy to make. Can unbleached or whole wheat flour be substituted for the cornstarch and or the tapioca?
Summer Dickerhoof says
Yes, you can substitute flour, but just know that for every tablespoon of cornstarch required, substitute 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
WALLACE says
lots of junk in this recipe. tapioca flour??? cornstarch??? why not buy the grocery store brands if you want all the crappy ingredients in your tortilla.
Eliza Clendenin says
Hi Wallace - I agree crappy ingredients in store about alternatives are exactly why we make ours at home. This recipe is for black bean tortillas - I've never actually seen those in a store, but good for you if you can find them. For the record - tapioca flour & cornstarch are not "crappy ingredients" or
"junk" they are merely common place ingredients in a healthy, gluten free diet.
Lila says
I made them and they were AMAZING! The cumin gives them an incredible flavor. Someone said they were disgusting and I can’t disagree more. It gives it a unique flavor and the texture did remind me of a crepe. I used bobs mill egg replacer and 1 egg just to see if they still stayed together. Thank you!
thismess says
I am so glad you liked them Lila!
Linda in Asheville says
Thanks a million! Exactly what I was seeking. I'll substitute something for the corn starch. Will also use Trader Joe's or other organic coconut oil spray (shake long & hard b4 use) with lecithin in pan to prevent them sticking. The lecithin is ideal for that.
Kerry says
Hello. The recipe calls for eggs and I need gluten and dairy free. Is there a substitute for eggs?
Meg says
Hi Kerry, eggs do not contain gluten or dairy. If you need a vegan recipe you can try substituting a flax egg for the eggs.
Donna says
I really want to try this recipe. What is the nutritional content per tortilla. Also is this recipe diabetic friendly?
Thank you!
Shannon says
Hi Meg, thanks for this recipe! I took some dried black beans from the cupboard and ground them in my Breville coffee / spice grinder, and they turned to bean flour in under two minutes. Hope that saves you some money and time! Peace.
Meg says
Thanks so much Shannon! That is awesome:)
Lisa says
These taste nothing like injera. Everyone in the house hated them. They look nice but taste awful. I think it was the cumin that made them taste so bad. If you are a big, and I mean big fan of Indian food, then maybe this would be for you, but if your not beware and 86 the cumin. This is not a sour pungent taste like injera, which I would eat everyday if I could find it. They are also like a cross between a pancake and a tortilla. Not doughy like tortilla's and not fluffy as a pancake. Hope this help those who think about making these tortilla's.
Meg says
Lisa, I am sorry that you and your family didn't like the black bean flour tortillas. In the post it clearly states that the texture, not the taste, is like Injera bread. I use these for enchiladas a lot at our house and we really enjoy them. I find that the softness of the black bean flour tortillas lends really well to stuffing and rolling unlike corn or brown rice tortillas which often split or crack.
fae says
I just tried these tonight and they're so good! I used them enchilada-style with a sweet potato and soy chorizo filling.
Meg says
Fae, that sounds amazing!! I am so glad that you enjoyed them;)
Dana says
Oh, these are lovely! I'll be on the lookout for BB flour to add to my (insane) flour collection 🙂 these are too pretty to pass up!
-Dana
admin says
Thanks Dana!
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says
There is NO excuse, I have to try this!! It sounds So easy!!! 🙂 Thanks for kicking off the Gluten Free Fridays party this weekend! WOOT! We have some awesome recipes and they just keep coming!! So....Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned ALL your entries to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
admin says
Hi Cindy, thank you! Thanks for all of your hard work and I am so excited about the Domata products that will be at our house soon. See you next Friday!
Sarah Bakes Gluten Free Treats says
I was given a bag of black bean flour and I haven't used it yet...this would be a perfect recipe to try! they look so good and our family is always up for mexican food for dinner!
admin says
Hey Sarah, I hope that your family loves them! Thanks so much for stopping by.
mjskit says
I've never seen black bean flour, but I will definitely be keeping an eye for it! These look great! Love tortilla, but I know the regular one just aren't good for us. 🙂 Come over from GF Fridays.
admin says
Hi! Thank you so much for stopping by:) I get my black bean flour through nuts.com and I know that Bob's Red Mill has bb flour as well. I have never seen it in the store, but you may be able t ask your local Whole Foods or grocer to carry it.
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
I was going to say that this looks like injera and then you mentioned it! It really does. And I attempted my own injera once--it was a disaster. The whole kitchen smelled like a dirty sock for days, they stuck to the skillet, and they tasted like they smelled. I totally want to try making these--wonder if I can find that flour at Whole Foods?
Love those Halloween costumes. Eliza and Kash are adorable!
admin says
Thanks Kiersten! Todd had talked about how good injera was a few times and was so excited when he saw these tortillas. I have never tried it before, but the thought of it taking days makes me a little queasy. I hate it when I spend so much time on a recipe and it doesn't work out. I had to order the black bean flour because I couldn't find it at our Whole Foods, but hopefully yours will carry it.