Corn Tortillas
"Home-made corn tortillas! Great for home-made corn chips, enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas--everything! A money-saver too, considering how much chips and store-bough tortillas can be. Prep time includes 30 minutes "sitting time.""
photo by limeandspoontt
- Ready In:
- 1hr 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 3
- Yields:
-
16 tortillas
- Serves:
- 16
ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina flour (corn flour)
- 1 cup water
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
directions
- Mix flour and salt, then add warm water.
- Knead until a soft dough forms, adding more water or flour as needed.
- Tightly wrap dough in plastic wrap and let sit for 10-30 minutes.
- Divide dough into about 16 balls, about 1/2-inch in diameter each.
- Place each ball between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper and roll into 5-inch round using a rolling pin, heavy flat-bottomed pan or tortilla press (available at cooking. com[http://www. cooking. com/products/shprodde. asp? SKU=116136]).
- If the edges of the tortilla are uneven and crumbly, the dough needs a little more water.
- If the dough sticks to the waxed paper and it is very soft, add a few tablespoons of flour.
- Repeat with remaining dough, leaving each tortilla between the sheets of waxed paper.
- Heat an ungreased cast iron griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Peel off the top sheet of waxed paper and invert the tortilla into the hot pan, quickly and carefully peel off remaining wax paper.
- Cook tortilla until stiffened, about 30 seconds; turn for 1 minute or until it is lightly browned, then turn to the first side for 30 seconds.
- The cooking time for each tortilla should be less than 2 minutes, do not cook until crispy.
Questions & Replies
-
Hi, I would like to know if you don't have masa flour available, what can you use instead. Thanks
Reviews
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I have been using this same recipe for years and we LOVE it! But believe me, don't leave out the salt! Using this recipe, I now make my enchilladas "grandma" style. Stacking enchilladas,lasagna style, like we learned while living in New Mexico, instead of rolling makes great individual casseroles. Yummie! -
Oh, YUMMY! Thanks for the detailed instructions, they made it quite easy. Funny, it never dawned on me to make my own tortillas until I spotted a metal tortilla press for sale on a very top shelf at Rancho Market. I have made them twice now, and found that the addition of about 1/8 t. to 1/4 t. of xanthan gum to the flour makes them a little less likely to disintegrate. There really is no comparison with the store bought ones. These are tender and chewy, rather than stiff and dry. I can't wait to have one with mashed pintos and tabasco for dinner tonight. -
I love homemade tortillas and do not have a press so I take a piece of Saran wrap (big enough to place under and over a reg.size tortilla) place my small ball of Masa in the center fold over the saran wrap and press down with the bottom of a dinner plate....works for me! Even and round..... -
I never buy tortillas at the store any more. You can also add a little taco seasoning or cumin and chili powder with salt. I use the press and press between two ziploc bags. I also use a large electric griddle for cooking them. I put two down, make another, flip the first, make another, flip the next. They can dry out if they are kept warm in an oven, so what I do is just stack them on the end, but instead of putting the new tortilla on top, I put the new one on the bottom. The steam coming up from that one keeps them all perfectly moist. You can skip the wax paper with a griddle because you cook up more than one at a time (I do six small ones). -
This is pretty much the recipe from the Masaca bag, but less water. I like it a bit dry because it's easier to roll and peel. I like to roll on a masa dusted silicon baking mat and use half a zip-top bag on the top (Mexico style). I roll exclusively with a wine bottle. Great variation is to substitute 30% wheat flour (#118085). Can also be made with PAN from Venezuela -- a precooked corn meal, that is not soaked in cal/slacked lime. Increase the water to 1:1. PAN tortillas are a bit tender and crumbly -- add flour for strength.
see 17 more reviews
Tweaks
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Use parchment paper. It's sturdy, and you can leave it on the tortilla while it sets in the pan. It's only a few seconds, and it makes it easier to remove the paper. I used a tortilla press. It's not necessary, but it makes quick work of forming the tortillas and the results are uniform. (You can make the tortillas thin for street tacos or thicker, like a sope.)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Roosie
San Francisco, CA
