Okay, it's time for some homemade corn tortillas. Sound good?
Of course, that's assuming you have a bowl of masa dough waiting patiently on the counter.
Corn Tortillas From Masa Dough
You can check here for our latest post on how to make masa from scratch. It's surprisingly easy and worth looking into if store-bought tortillas are messing with your mojo.
We also have another post on the site that details making corn tortillas from masa harina (dried masa). The process is similar and it's worth getting familiar with masa harina because we'll be using it in this recipe as well. Masa harina is basically dehydrated masa dough; you simply add water to form the dough. Maseca is the brand you'll see in most supermarkets.
I know what you're thinking...why would I need masa harina if i I have a fresh bowl of masa dough on hand?
Good question!
Remember the shortcut we took in the Masa Dough post? We used a food processor to grind the masa dough, and to get the dough rolling it takes a bit of water. So now there's a chance your masa dough is too wet to form into tortillas. Adding a bit of masa harina can create the perfect consistency for making tortillas. (Note: this is suggested in the Daniel Gritzer article we referenced in our last post so it's worth checking out his article for more info on it).
But it's close. As in...you can almost get away without using it, but it does make the process less tedious. Adding some masa harina isn't affecting the flavor that much, so if it's your first time making these tortillas I would recommend having some on hand to simplify the process.
I added 1/4 cup masa harina to 2 cups of our masa dough. Combine well using your hands.
You'll know where you stand when you start rolling the dough into golfball sized rounds.
If the dough is sticking to your hands then you'll need to dry it out a little; that's where the masa harina comes in handy. The 1/4 cup was all I needed, but if your dough is still sticky then add a couple more tablespoons of masa harina.
I typically use a Ziploc with the top and sides cut out when flattening the dough balls, but you can use plastic wrap with similar effect.
And don't fret if you don't have a tortilla press. You'll get an equally good result using the bottom of a casserole dish.
And now comes the real test to see if your masa is dry enough to work with. If the dough is too wet it'll stick to the Ziploc when you try to remove the tortilla. If the dough is the right consistency the Ziploc will peel away easily, no questions asked.
After peeling off the top layer, I find it easiest to then place the tortilla in the palm of the hand and peel off the bottom layer using your other hand.
It's also worth mentioning that this process can be unbelievably frustrating when things start to go wrong. Trust me, I've been there. It might take a few tries to get it down but once you get familiar with the danger zones then it really is easy.
Plop this tortilla onto a skillet over medium heat. Comals, double griddles, and cast iron pans are all good choices to cook your tortillas, but lately I just use a nonstick skillet.
Why? The sloped edge of this pan makes it easy to flip them. So instead of using a spatula you can just use your fingers to slide the tortilla up the edge of the pan and give it a quick flip.
The other potentially frustrating part of the process is the heat level in the pan. It might take a couple tortillas until you find the right level of heat. Ideally you'll hear a tiny sizzle when the tortilla goes in the pan, and each side will need approximately 1-2 minutes before golden brown spots start to appear. On my stove the ideal heat level is dead center on medium, but your stove might vary a little bit.
Okay, you've got two options on cooking the tortillas.
The first option is to cook each side for 1-2 minutes or until brown spots start to appear.
The second option gives a quick flip after 5-10 seconds, and then cooks each side for 1-2 minutes. The idea is that a quick sear and flip will seal in some of the heat, helping the insides to cook faster. I tend to use this method (as mentioned in the masa harina tortillas post) because it seems to result in lighter, fluffier tortillas.
That's where the sloped edge comes in handy. 5-10 seconds after adding the tortilla it should start to slide around in the pan; you can use your finger to push it up the edge of the pan and give it a quick flip.
If all of that sounds like way too much work, then just start by cooking each side for 1-2 minutes and going from there. Don't be surprised if your setup needs even less time than that to cook the tortillas. And once you get familiar with the process you can add in a second pan so that you'll always be cooking two at a time, making the process go much faster.
Two cups of masa dough will make 12-16 delicioso corn tortillas that you'll be tempted to gobble up on their own.
And it's true, they are best right off the skillet. Try to keep them warm before serving, using either a tortilla warmer or a kitchen towel.
I've been using these all week for some barbacoa tacos and they are delicious. They also work well in these black bean tostadas.
But similar to the tortillas made from masa harina, they will get a little gummy if you let them sit around too long before serving.
If that happens, or if you are using some that were refrigerated, then I highly recommend crisping them up before chowing down. For me, the microwave isn't sufficient to bring these back to life once they've cooled down. I like to add them to the skillet again, sometimes even with beans and cheese on top. This will not only warm them up but will crisp up the edges and give you some tiny charred spots. A bit of char on these tortillas makes them beyond delicious so please keep this in mind if yours have cooled down.
If your first attempt ends with dough sticking to ziplocs and visions of dinner up in smoke then feel free to get in touch with any questions. It might take a practice round, but once you eat a taco using a tortilla that's only been in the world for five minutes then it will all be worth it 🙂
Buen Provecho.
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Corn Tortillas Using Homemade Masa Dough
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa dough
- 1/4 cup masa harina (plus more if necessary)
Instructions
- First gauge how 'wet' your masa dough is. If it sticks to your hands you'll need to add some masa harina to dry it out. I added 1/4 cup masa harina to 2 cups of masa dough. Combine well using your hands.
- Separate the dough into golfball sized rounds, this will make the tortillas approximately 4 inches across.
- Flatten the dough balls using a tortilla press or a flat bottomed casserole dish. Be sure to line each side of the dough ball with plastic or ziploc pieces. The tortillas should peel off the ziploc easily; if not then you might need to add some masa harina to the dough.
- Heat a skillet or comal to medium heat. Add a tortilla and flip after 10 seconds. Then cook each side for 1-2 minutes or until light brown spots are forming. Alternatively, you can skip the quick flip and just cook each side for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, keeping them warm in a tortilla warmer or kitchen towel.
Notes
You can also build some tortilla pockets with the masa dough.
Still hungry?!
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Jen Rollins
Thank you for this recipe. I made fresh masa from field corn which I sourced from a pet/produce store in Sydney Australia. The tortillas taste really good, full of corn flavour. As you suggested, the addition of a little masa harina helps to get the right consistency. The only change to your recipe was that I used a pressure cooker on high for 10 minutes to cook the corn initially. Due to time constraints I left it after cooking for 24 hours instead of your slightly shorter time.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for mentioning your adjustments Jen, so glad to hear these worked out for you! I love getting notes from peeps who are using these recipes halfway around the world 🙂 Cheers.
Alison
I can't wait to try this! Have ordered my lime to make my own dough from homegrown Painted Mountain Corn:)
Patrick
Cheers Alison.
Thinkandbefree
Made 'em, ate 'em, loved 'em. These worked perfectly. I've been chasing this for 25 years - how to get the smell and taste of a Guatemalan market in my kitchen. Every attempt with masa harina has been disappointing. More like a total failure. I'm making my second batch of fresh masa in three days. I made so much beans and carnitas and fixings that I need more tortillas. The masa has kept well in the fridge to make tortillas on demand. Ugh. I'm doing IF so I'm not eating breakfast, but I can't wait to have eggs and black beans with fresh tortillas, fried plantains, salsa verde and crema.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for your note! I know exactly how you feel -- really tough to beat tortillas made from fresh masa dough. Sounds like a feast over there 🙂 Cheers.
Jeanne
Hi everyone,
The recipe covers everything except if you should cook them in hot oil. Do you put oil in the pan and heat it up before putting the tortilla in?
Thank you
Patrick
Hi Jeanne! When cooking corn tortillas from masa dough you can use a dry skillet, no oil required. Cheers.
Alan
Thank you for the explanations. I have a corn grinder so I’m going to use that first, but will use the processor if need to.
Marco
Sorry but I disagree with your suggestion to cook the tortillas and THEN fry them to make tortilla chips. They come out too hard this way.
Marte
Can this recipe also be used to make taco shells and corn chips?
Patrick
Hey Marte! I would think so but to be honest I haven't tried deep frying the masa dough yet. Cheers.
Deborah
Great instructions, thanks. I have found that the Bob’s Red Mills masa harina has a much better corn flavor than the Maseca. Of course it’s more expensive, but unless you are making hundreds it doesn’t add up to that much.
Patrick
Thanks for mentioning that Deborah! I've been meaning to do a post comparing different masa harinas and your note will get me moving on that one. Gold Mine is the other masa harina I want to compare to Maseca so we'll see how they all stack up. Cheers.
Simon
I have a question! I don't have access to Maseca or any comparable Masa Harina, that's why I acquired field corn, which I nixtamalize on my own. The problem is, I don't have a proper grinder, only a hand blender which works (with a lot of effort though) but leaves me with a mostly wet masa in the end. In some other post I read that adding Masa Harina helps especially in that case - the thing is, I dont have any. However I do have P.A.N corn flour (the one used for arepas) - does this work as well? I don't mind the taste, as I dont think only adding a little makes a difference. What are your thoughts?
Patrick
Hey Simon!
Yeah I know the corn flour you're talking about. It's a precooked cornmeal and although I've never used it I think it would work to dry out the masa, but probably only in small doses. If you don't need much to dry out the masa then I would go for it and test it out.
One other option to consider is baking the wet masa dough at a low temp (250-300F) to dry it out. I haven't tried this yet either but I know some people do that instead of adding masa harina to the fresh masa.
Okay hope this helps a bit, let me know how it goes! Cheers.
Joycelyn
Where I am, Canada, there's no way I could find the dried corn used in your first post on making these, nor is it available on amazon Canada.
Ordering from amazon US is out as the postage and custom/brokerage would make it too expensive.
I do however have access to organic or non organic masa, as well as fine or course stone ground yellow or white cornmeal. I should also be able to find the calcium hydroxide needed.
So.. My question is.
Could your corn tortillas be made with masa ( that I have on hand ) and stone ground cornmeal ( that I have on hand ) instead of the dried corn kernels?
Have you experimented with both types of corn?
I've only just recently been making home made tortillas but with masa only. Although I've had great success and like them much better than store bought, my spouse, alas, prefers the store bought.
I would like to change that.
Many thanks
Patrick
Hi there! Thanks much for your note.
Can I ask...which masa do you have access to? Is it masa harina, similar to the Maseca brand?
Jamie H. Harrison
I buy organic seed corn ( White Dent Corn)
Mark R Jacobson
a company called Honeyville out of Nevada or Utah has corn in 50 lb bags