Chipotle To Simplify Tortilla Ingredients

Chipotle is perhaps best known for going GMO-free and vowing to uphold their policy toward animal welfare (we're still mourning over carnitas). Their latest endeavor is simplifying the chain's tortillas recipe to require just four ingredients: whole-wheat flour, water, oil, and salt, according to The New York Times.

Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, reportedly teamed up with The Bread Lab at Washington State University to create this new tortilla. The Bread Lab is a research center dedicated to creating breads, pastas, and more using locally grown grains. "We aspire to make artisanal tortillas on an industrial scale," Steve Ells said in the Times' report.

Most mass-produced tortillas contain cornstarch, many varieties of which are made using genetically modified corn. Working with whole-wheat flour is more challenging because it has more unrefined grains, which are not easy to rehydrate and knead.

These new tortillas are still being tested and are said to be "golden brown with a slightly nutty taste and a bit of elasticity." From here, they will be tested at a small group of restaurants and will be gradually added to all Chipotle locations by region.

We have reached out to Chipotle for further comment and are waiting to hear back.