Corn Tortillas
By Matthew FairmanPublished on August 6, 2019
Time
1½ hours
Yield
Makes 18 tortillas
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Using a clear pie plate to press the ball of dough into a 5½-inch circle in step 3 makes it easy to see the size of the circle as it expands. You can also use a tortilla press or a flat-bottomed skillet. You can find masa harina at your grocery store in the international aisle or near the flour. We recommend stacking the cooked tortillas in a damp dish towel and microwaving them, still wrapped, for 2 minutes before serving.
Instructions
- Whisk masa harina and salt together in medium bowl. Stir in 2 cups warm water and 2 tablespoons oil with rubber spatula until combined. Using your hands, knead dough in bowl until it is soft and tacky and has texture of Play-Doh. If necessary, add up to ½ cup more warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until proper texture is achieved. (You can test for proper hydration by gently flattening a golf ball–size piece of dough with your hands. If many large cracks form around edges, it is too dry.)
- Divide dough into 18 equal portions, about a scant 3 tablespoons (1½ ounces) each. Roll each portion into smooth ball between your hands. Transfer dough balls to plate and keep covered with damp paper towel. Cut open seams along sides of 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, leaving bottom seam intact. Spray inside of bag lightly with vegetable oil spray; wipe excess oil spray from bag with paper towel.
- Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Using tongs, wipe skillet with paper towels. Place 1 dough ball in center of prepared bag. Fold top layer of plastic over ball. Using clear pie plate, press dough flat into thin 5½-inch circle.
- Peel top layer of plastic away from tortilla. Using plastic to lift tortilla from bottom, place exposed side of tortilla in palm of your hand and invert tortilla. Peel away plastic. Carefully flip tortilla into skillet and cook until bottom begins to brown at edges, about 1 minute.
- Using thin spatula, flip tortilla and cook until second side is browned at edges, about 45 seconds. Flip tortilla again and press center and edges firmly with spatula so tortilla puffs, about 15 seconds.
- Transfer cooked tortilla to tortilla warmer or wrap in damp dish towel. Repeat with remaining dough balls, lightly spraying bag with oil spray and wiping off excess as needed to keep tortillas from sticking. Serve. (If storing tortillas in damp dish towel, microwave for 2 minutes to rewarm before serving.)
Time
1½ hoursYield
Makes 18 tortillasIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For fresh homemade tortillas that were light and tender and bursting with corn flavor, we began by making a stir-together dough of masa harina (corn flour), warm water, vegetable oil, and salt. The warm water helped the dough hydrate quickly and fully while the oil made the dough easier to work with and tenderized the tortillas. For easy tortilla pressing, we divided our dough into equal portions and placed them, one by one, in a greased, cut-open zipper-lock bag, pressing them flat using a clear pie plate. We transferred each pressed tortilla to a hot nonstick skillet, flipping it twice and giving it a final press with a spatula to cause it to puff. Puffing the tortillas in this manner gave them a fluffy, light texture. Finally, to ensure that our tortillas remained tender and pliable, we wrapped the hot tortillas in a damp dish towel to steam them and keep them warm while we finished the batch.
Before You Begin
Using a clear pie plate to press the ball of dough into a 5½-inch circle in step 3 makes it easy to see the size of the circle as it expands. You can also use a tortilla press or a flat-bottomed skillet. You can find masa harina at your grocery store in the international aisle or near the flour. We recommend stacking the cooked tortillas in a damp dish towel and microwaving them, still wrapped, for 2 minutes before serving.
Instructions
- Whisk masa harina and salt together in medium bowl. Stir in 2 cups warm water and 2 tablespoons oil with rubber spatula until combined. Using your hands, knead dough in bowl until it is soft and tacky and has texture of Play-Doh. If necessary, add up to ½ cup more warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until proper texture is achieved. (You can test for proper hydration by gently flattening a golf ball–size piece of dough with your hands. If many large cracks form around edges, it is too dry.)
- Divide dough into 18 equal portions, about a scant 3 tablespoons (1½ ounces) each. Roll each portion into smooth ball between your hands. Transfer dough balls to plate and keep covered with damp paper towel. Cut open seams along sides of 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, leaving bottom seam intact. Spray inside of bag lightly with vegetable oil spray; wipe excess oil spray from bag with paper towel.
- Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Using tongs, wipe skillet with paper towels. Place 1 dough ball in center of prepared bag. Fold top layer of plastic over ball. Using clear pie plate, press dough flat into thin 5½-inch circle.
- Peel top layer of plastic away from tortilla. Using plastic to lift tortilla from bottom, place exposed side of tortilla in palm of your hand and invert tortilla. Peel away plastic. Carefully flip tortilla into skillet and cook until bottom begins to brown at edges, about 1 minute.
- Using thin spatula, flip tortilla and cook until second side is browned at edges, about 45 seconds. Flip tortilla again and press center and edges firmly with spatula so tortilla puffs, about 15 seconds.
- Transfer cooked tortilla to tortilla warmer or wrap in damp dish towel. Repeat with remaining dough balls, lightly spraying bag with oil spray and wiping off excess as needed to keep tortillas from sticking. Serve. (If storing tortillas in damp dish towel, microwave for 2 minutes to rewarm before serving.)
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