Home-made corn tortillas add a whole new dimension to tacos or fajitas. Coming right off the grill before serving, hot and freshly made tortillas get out-sized appreciation from guests who don’t know how easy they are to make
Well, moderately easy. Like anything else, the more often you make, the easier they are pull off. It takes a little experimenting to get just the right amount of water to allow the dough to press easily, but not become sticky. And they’re waaaaay easier with the right tools.
Tortilla Press
We bought a cast iron Tortilla Press a few years ago and it makes great, consistent tortillas. With the right dough consistency and a couple of sheets of parchment paper against the cast iron, prep time is cut tremendously and it’s a lot easier to clean up. Most importantly, the tortilla press makes neatly round, consistently thin tortillas that cook evenly without burning on uneven spots.
A rolling pin or pressing out balls of masa dough under a plate or pan will work, but if you make tortillas with any regularity, investing the $20-30 for a cast iron press is totally worth it. Check out the tortilla press we bought here.
Preparation Tips
We’ve learned a couple of things in various experiments with home-made tortillas. First, prepping a stack of pre-cut parchment paper makes for quicker preparation and gets tortillas on the grill faster. Don’t forget the parchment paper when pressing the tortillas out on the press. It’s quite a mess without the paper.
Make as close to serving as you can. Fresh and hot is amazing. Keep wrapped in paper towels or in a tortilla basket before serving. If you leave a bit thicker, tortillas become gorditas, and hold up well against wet filling like pulled pork. Much tougher to roll, though.
Reheating is easy, either a couple of seconds on the grill or microwave. Leftovers can be served with butter and honey, cinnamon sugar, or jam as a snack or dessert.
| This recipe is part of our Cinco De Mayo Post |
Corn Tortillas
Equipment
- Tortilla Press
- Griddle
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina brand name: Maseca
- 1.5 cups water
Instructions
- In mixing bowl, measure masa harina
- Add about three-quarters of water to masa in bowl, mix by hand
- Dough will be dry and crumbly. Keep adding water and mixing as dough comes together
- Continue mixing dough and adding tablespoons of water until dough becomes soft and slightly sticky. It may take more water to get dough to this consistency
- Portion dough into roughly golf-ball sized pieces. Two cups masa should yield about 14 balls
- Press dough between parchment paper or wax paper in tortilla press. Or roll between paper with rolling pin to 1/8 inch thickness, and about 6-7 inches in diameter
- Keep tortillas between parchment paper and under plastic wrap or kitchen towel to keep moist
- On a hot, oiled griddle or frying pan, cook tortilla for 30-45 seconds, then flip for additional 30-45 seconds. Continue flipping every 30-45 seconds, until both sides slightly brown.
- Keep cooked tortillas wrapped in paper towels on a plate or in a tortilla warmer basket. Serve immediately
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