We developed this recipe for long tent camping trips. We wanted a source of “carbs” we could make in a reasonable amount of time without an oven, electricity, or any perishable ingredients. Also, lacking a sink or very much water, something we can make with minimal pan mess is a big plus. And as always, the more delicious the better! Given this criteria, we settled on tortillas, and they are now a much-anticipated camp treat.
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water
The above quantities yield seven tortillas, but I often make a double batch to have a good supply of leftovers.
Directions
Stir together the dry ingredients. Add the olive oil in drops distributed through the flour. As you continue stirring, try to squash the oil balls to get the oil well distributed through the flour mixture. Gradually stir in the water to get it evenly distributed. If the flour is so crumbly is doesn’t want to stick together, add a wee bit more water. At this point, abandon your stirring implement and knead the dough with your hands to complete the mixing of ingredients. Divide the dough into seven balls, which end up being roughly 1 1/2″ diameter each. Roll the balls flat on whatever your cleanest available surface is, dusted with flour. If you’re camping, I recommend bringing a cutting board for this purpose. If the dough starts to stick to your rolling pin, flip the tortilla over so that both sides are coated with flour. Re-dust the rolling surface with flour between each tortilla. Fry in a lightly-oiled skilled heated to medium-low. Flip the tortilla when a few bubbles form, and keep the skillet lightly oiled between tortillas. I think they taste best when they’re just barely cooked through… but maybe you’ll like them crispy, so experiment with the cook time. I’d like to give you a precise amount of cook time, but it varies a lot with temperature. It might take 30 seconds per side cooking indoors on a hot pan, for soft tortillas. Or if you’re cooking outdoors in freezing temps, it may take several minutes per side. In the latter case, covering the pan with a lid helps keep the heat in/ speed things up. Of course, thicker tortillas also take longer to cook than ones rolled very thin.
An easy way to turn these into a simple but delicious, kid-approved camp meal is to melt a bit of cheese inside and dip the resulting quesadillas in some good canned marinara sauce, such as Rao’s. Yum!
