Corn/Flour Tortillas

Grandpa’s Corn/Flour Tortillas

How To Make Corn Tortillas:

So here’s the thing about corn tortillas — they are quite easy to make, but it will take a bit of hands-on practice to learn how wet the dough should be, how to press the tortillas, and how quickly they will cook. So if this is your first time making corn tortillas, have a bit of patience with the process, and I promise that you will learn quickly as you go. And of course — the end result will be deliciously worth it! ♡  Here is the basic overview of the recipe instructions (full details in the recipe below):

1. Mix the dough: First things first — mixing the dough! Pull out a big mixing bowl and briefly whisk the masa harina and salt together, then gradually stir in 1.5 cups of the hot water until an evenly-mixed dough begins to form. Use your hands to knead the dough for 2-3 minutes in the mixing bowl (or you can knead it on a floured surface) until it’s smooth and forms a cohesive ball. But pay close attention to the texture — it should feel springy and firm, similar to the texture of Play-Doh. If the dough feels too wet and is sticking to your hands, add in a few extra tablespoons of flour. If it feels too dry and crackly, add in an extra tablespoon or two of hot water.
2. Rest the dough. Cover the bowl with the dough with a damp kitchen towel (or paper towel) and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
3. Portion the dough. Then use a medium cookie scoop (my preference!) or a spoon to scoop a 2-tablespoon ball of dough (35-40 grams, or about the size of a golf ball), then use your hands to roll the ball until it is nice and round.
4. Press the dough balls. Place the dough ball between two pieces of plastic in the center of a tortilla press. (I use a ziplock bag; see notes below.)  Then gently press the dough ball until it forms a 4- to 5-inch flat tortilla. At this point, I recommend doing a quick texture-check of the tortilla. If it peels away easily from the plastic, it’s good to go! If it’s sticky and does not peel away, your dough is too wet, so I would recommend kneading a bit more flour into the batch of dough before scooping out more dough balls.
5. Cook the tortilla. When your tortilla is ready to go, heat a non-stick skillet or comal over medium-high heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, gently peel the tortilla away from the plastic wrap and lay the tortilla flat in the skillet. Cook the tortilla for about 40-60 seconds per side, flipping it once speckled brown spots begin to appear on the bottom of the tortilla. The tortillas will likely bubble up while cooking, especially on the second side, which is a good sign! Once it is cooked, transfer the tortilla to a tortilla warmer or a bowl wrapped in a clean kitchen towel, so that the tortillas do not dry out.
6. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. I recommend keeping the cycle going by cooking one tortilla while pressing the next dough ball at the same time. If you notice that the skillet begins to seem too hot as time goes on, just turn down the heat a bit.
7. Serve. The tortillas will continue to soften a bit more as they sit in a stack in your tortilla warmer (or wrapped in a towel). So I recommend using the tortillas at the bottom of the stack first — they will be the softest. Serve however you would like and enjoy! 🙂