Corn Tortillas

 

1 lb. fresh Masa (made from stored masa harina as per directions)

Tortilla Press

Plastic Bag

The dough should not be dry, nor sticky.

 

Prepare the resealable bag, by cutting off the top sealed lines of the bag and cut open the 2 sides of the bag. Now you have like a plastic folder. Open the tortilla press and put a drop of oil, then lay down the plastic. This will prevent the plastic from moving while pressing the masa. Now, start by making 1 ½” round ball (you can use a small Ice cream scooper to help make them even size). Remember to keep your masa covered with a piece of plastic wrap or damp towel at all times to prevent from drying out. Work with one ball of masa at a time. Now, place the masa ball in the center of the opened plastic and flatten slightly with your fingers. Fold the plastic over the masa, and fold down the metal tortilla press. Hold the handle and press down gently until the dough has spread about 4” inch diameter. Rotate the plastic and slightly press if necessary. On medium-high heat, heat up a large cast iron pan, a griddle, a comal, or a teflon pan will work too. With your hand, hold the tortilla in the plastic, and carefully peel the plastic just like if you were peeling a sticker. Once one side is peeled, flip it into your writing hand and peel the rest of the plastic. As you peel allow the tortilla to rest halfway on your hand, and half hanging down. Gently lay down the tortilla on the warm skillet. Once you place it Do not try to reposition!, you just have one shot! Using a flat spatula, check around the edges until the edges start to release from the skillet. Once it releases easily, then it’s time to flip. You should not battle the flip if it does not release with ease, just give it a bit more time. Usually it takes 30-40 seconds per side, especially with these little tortillas. Once you flip you can press down a little on the edges. After you laid the tortilla on the pan, 2 flips is all it needs. The tortilla should be lightly colored and air pockets will form on the second flip. As soon as the air pockets are forming the tortillas are done. Transfer the tortilla into a tortilla warmer lined up with a clean cotton kitchen towel with a dry paper towel on the bottom to keep them moist. Keep them warm in a tortilla warmer until you finish with all the masa, working one ball at the time. Depending on size you can fit 2 or 3 on a 12″ skillet, and once you start getting a good tortilla rhythm it’s fun and the process goes fast and smooth.

 

* First tortilla is always a disaster, do not get discouraged, learn from it.

 

* Feel the masa; too wet will stick to the plastic and won’t release, too dry, it will crack, and won’t hold together.

* When cooking: Too hot griddle will char the tortillas without cooking them through, too low temperature, will dry out the tortillas before they are cooked, and they won’t be pliable and soft… This temperature issue is the same when you are making pancakes, the first pancake it’s always a bad one until you bring the pan to the right temperature,

*You will have more than 10 tortillas worth of masa. Go ahead and make extra. You can wrap almost anything in a taco. If you have the ability to fry, you can cut the extra tortillas into wedges and make fresh tortilla chips to serve with an easy pantry salsa for your next snack / meal.