Homemade Tortillas Recipe

How to make it

---

• 1. Mix the masa harina and salt in a medium sized bowl, mix well.
• 2. Measure 1¼ cups of boiling water and the shortening into a separate bowl. Stir until the shortening is melted and the combination is well mixed and cloudy.
• 3. Pour this mixture into the bowl of corn flour and mix with a whisk until stiff.
• 4. When the mixture is cool enough to touch, mix the dough with your hands. The dough will probably be a little dry. Add hot water one tsp. at a time until the dough stays together and doesn't crumble apart.
• 5. Knead the dough for one or two minutes. Play with the consistency by adding more water if needed. What you want is a dough that is moist enough to stay together but not too sticky and firm but not tough.
• 6. If you don't have a tortilla press, you can simply roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Just make sure you piece of dough to be rolled between two sheets of wax paper or plastic, per the directions . You could try the old Mexican lady way but I’ve never mastered it. They talk and laugh and pay no attention at all while turning out heaps of tortillas.
• 7. Pinch off a golf ball size bits of dough and roll them into smooth round balls with your hands. Masa for tortillas is not like pie dough so don't worry about over handling it.
• 8. I would suggest covering the dough you're not working with, with damp paper towels to keep the dough from drying out while you are making golf balls.
• 9. Flatten each ball a bit in the palm of your hand. Did I mention that you should be pre-heating a cast iron skillet over medium high to high heat? Now's the time. And don't put anything in the pan like shortening or Pam. You don't need it.
• 10. Put the flattened golf ball on a piece of wax paper, on your cutting board.
• 11. Cover with a second sheet of wax paper and roll into a round, about 6-7 in. (15-17 cm) across. The first one is tricky but it gets easier.
• 12. Peel off the wax paper and place your tortilla in the preheated cast iron skillet and cook for 45 seconds to a minute then turn over and cook for another 45 seconds to 1 minute.
• 13. Unlike store bought, these tortillas are now ready to eat. For most dishes you cook them a bit more but it’s not a must. Also, these won’t look exactly like store bought. That’s okay. See Photo
• 14. These are really best served fresh but you can store them in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator for several days. You can freeze them but I never do. Fresh is just so much better.
• A Tortilla Press Is A Wonderful Thing: Have you ever seen a tortilla press? They are designed to help you create perfect corn tortillas quickly and easily. Corn tortillas can be made without one but these sure make tortilla making a snap. There are lots of different styles around. This is the style I use and it works really, really well. See Photo
• If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making your own tortillas, find a Mexican restaurant or specialty store that makes their own tortillas and try those. The flavor difference between those and supermarket tortillas will amaze you.

  Close

  Close