Homemade Corn Tortillas

A stack of corn tortillas on a small kitchen towel

Nothing beats fresh homemade corn tortillas. The smell, the texture, the taste – you just can’t buy something at the store that stacks up to the hand made stuff.

Corn tortillas are super easy to make, especially with a tortilla press. Once you get the flow of it, you can make a lot of tortillas rather quickly.

Helpful Equipment

???? Servings: 12 tortillas (6 inch)

???? Prep Time: 35 Minutes

???? Cook Time: 15 Minutes

⏲ Total Time: 50 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups masa harina
  • 1 ½ cups hot water
  • 1 tsp. sea salt, finely ground

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Mix masa harina and salt in a large mixing bowl to evenly blend. 
  2. Gradually add hot water while stirring with a wooden spoon or your hands.
  3. Once you have a dough ball, wet your hands and knead for 3 minutes, until the dough is not sticky anymore.
  4. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Portion

  1. Divide the dough into even sized portions, about 2 tablespoons each – roughly the size of a golf ball.

Press the tortillas

  1. Place a piece of plastic on top of your tortilla press. To do this, you can cut open a large ziplock bag, which can be cleaned and reused to reduce waste. This will prevent your dough from sticking to the tortilla press.
  2. If you don’t have a tortilla press, still set out the plastic bag and you can use a rolling pin.
  3. Dust the inner surface of the bag with masa harina. Then place a dough ball in the center and add a little more dusting on top.
  4. Use the press to flatten the tortilla evenly.
  5. Remove the raw tortilla by flipping the open plastic onto the palm of your hand and then peeling the other side.

Cook the tortilla

  1. Use a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Place the tortillas on the skillet so that they don’t touch.
  2. Cook for about 2 minutes each side, until the tortilla looks dry and begins to brown on top and start to rise a bit.
  3. Keep in a towel inside of a bowl or basket while cooking the remaining tortillas. 
  4. Enjoy with tacos, soups, or just as is! 

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