Learn to make corn tortillas with this simple 3-ingredient recipe! Gentle and flavorful, these do-it-yourself tortillas are so significantly better than store-bought.
You possibly can’t totally recognize corn tortillas till you’ve tried do-it-yourself ones. They’re fully totally different from the shelf-stable, store-bought form. As an alternative of being dry and liable to cracking, they’re smooth, bendable, and filled with toasty corn taste.
I shared these corn and flour tortillas a number of years in the past, and ever since then, I’ve gotten tons of requests for a 100% corn tortilla recipe. I’m so excited to lastly get this one to you—it’s completely gluten-free and requires simply 3 components. I like making it to make use of in Mexican dishes like enchiladas and tacos and to pair with refried beans. I believe you’ll too!
Home made Corn Tortillas Substances
The important thing ingredient on this corn tortilla recipe is masa harina.
Masa harina is a dried corn flour made out of floor nixtamalized corn. In case you’re not acquainted, nixtamalization is the method of soaking dried corn kernels in an answer with calcium hydroxide, or slaked lime. Developed by Mesoamerican civilizations hundreds of years in the past, it makes the vitamins in corn extra bioavailable and develops its taste. Consider the distinction in style between cornbread and tamales. The masa within the tamales has been nixtamalized; the cornmeal within the cornbread hasn’t.
Masa harina is changing into simpler to search out in grocery shops (in mine, it’s within the baking aisle proper subsequent to the flour), however you can too order it on-line. I like Bob’s Pink Mill and Masienda. Any shade works right here—be at liberty to make use of white, yellow, or blue!
The one different components on this recipe? Heat water and sea salt!
Methods to Make Corn Tortillas
This corn tortilla recipe has three fundamental steps:
1. Make the dough and let it relaxation. Mix the masa harina and salt in a big mixing bowl, and regularly add the water. Combine till a cohesive dough varieties. If the combination is just too dry to return collectively, add extra water as wanted, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Kind the dough right into a ball, then cowl the bowl with a humid towel. Set it apart for 1 hour to hydrate the masa harina.
2. Press one tortilla at a time. After the dough rests, divide it into 8 bigger or 12 smaller items, and roll every one right into a ball. Flatten every ball of dough utilizing a tortilla press lined with parchment paper, or use a rolling pin to roll it right into a 4 to 6-inch circle.
Observe: To maintain the dough moist, I prefer to form, then prepare dinner one tortilla at a time. As you’re employed, hold the remaining dough balls below a humid towel in order that they don’t dry out.
3. Cook dinner one tortilla at a time in a dry cast-iron skillet over medium warmth. Cook dinner for 1 minute on the primary facet, then flip and prepare dinner for an additional minute on the second facet, or till the tortilla puffs up barely and is dry to the contact. Wrap it in a kitchen towel to steam and soften, then repeat with the remaining tortillas!
Discover the entire recipe with measurements under.
Recipe Ideas
- Add water as wanted. The masa dough ought to have a moist and pliable texture, nevertheless it shouldn’t be sticky. If it feels dry as you’re mixing it, add extra water. Be sure so as to add just a bit at a time—about 1 teaspoon—in order that the dough doesn’t get too moist.
- Hold the dough lined. Masa dough can shortly dry out, resulting in crack-y tortillas. To maintain it moist, cowl the dough with a humid towel whereas it rests. You must also hold any unpressed dough balls lined as you form and prepare dinner the tortillas.
- Parchment paper turns out to be useful. The corn tortilla dough can simply keep on with your tortilla press or countertop (belief me, I discovered this the arduous method). To forestall sticking, I prefer to line my tortilla press with parchment or roll out the dough between sheets of parchment paper. After rolling, I exploit the parchment to switch the tortilla to the skillet too.
- Wrap freshly cooked tortillas in a clear kitchen towel. This helps them steam and soften. Left unwrapped, they’ll dry out.
Methods to Use Corn Tortillas
With freshly cooked tortillas, I like to make tacos, enchiladas, and quesadillas. At this level, the tortillas can fold and roll with out cracking, in order that they’re good for these makes use of.
With leftover tortillas, I prefer to make tortilla chips or tostadas. The tortillas get drier and fewer pliable with time. Whereas they’re not pretty much as good for tacos, they’re good for frying! Get pleasure from do-it-yourself tortilla chips with salsa, or use them to make chilaquiles.
How do you want to make use of do-it-yourself corn tortillas? Let me know within the feedback!
Methods to Retailer
I like these corn tortillas finest after they’re freshly cooked, however when you have leftovers, you have got a number of choices for storing and reheating them.
- Within the fridge: Seal the tortillas in an hermetic bag, or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for as much as a day.
- Within the freezer: Seal in a bag or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for as much as 3 months.
- To reheat: If the tortillas are frozen, wrap them in a clear kitchen towel and thaw them within the microwave. Then, reheat them in a dry cast-iron skillet or over a fuel flame till heat and pliable.
Extra Home made Tortilla Recipes
If you happen to love this corn tortilla recipe, strive these do-it-yourself flour tortillas or these corn and flour tortillas subsequent!
Home made Corn Tortillas
Serves 4 to six
Learn to make corn tortillas! This 3-ingredient recipe is straightforward and flavorful. We love utilizing the tortillas to make tacos, enchiladas, and extra! Discover extra serving ideas within the weblog put up above.
- 1 cup masa harina
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup heat water, plus extra as wanted
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In a big bowl, whisk collectively the masa harina and salt. Add the water and blend till a cohesive dough varieties and there’s no dry flour remaining. If the combination is just too dry to return collectively, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, as wanted to moisten it. Kind the dough right into a ball. Cowl the bowl with a humid towel and put aside for 1 hour.
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Divide the dough into 8 to 12 equal items and roll every one right into a ball. Cowl with the damp towel.
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Take away one dough ball from below the towel, leaving the remaining lined. Lower two items of parchment paper concerning the dimension of your tortilla press. Place the dough ball between the parchment sheets and use the tortilla press to flatten it. Alternatively, use a rolling pin to roll out the tortilla between the parchment sheets.
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Preheat a dry cast-iron skillet over medium warmth. When your pan is sizzling, peel one of many parchment sheets off the tortilla. Place it dough facet down into the new skillet and peel off the second sheet of parchment. Cook dinner for 1 minute per facet, or till the tortilla is dry to the contact and cooked by. Scale back the warmth as wanted if the tortilla is browning too quick.
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Wrap in a kitchen towel to maintain heat till able to serve, then repeat the urgent and cooking course of with the remaining tortillas.
Makes 8 (6-inch) or 12 (4-inch) tortillas. I like to make use of the smaller tortillas for tacos and the bigger ones for enchiladas or quesadillas!
