homemade corn tortillas
After seeing how easy it is to make fresh corn tortillas at home, you may never purchase store-bought again; you may also be inclined to extend your Taco Tuesday celebrations to every night of the week!
Inevitably, every time I make a recipe for tacos, enchiladas or burritos I end up disappointed. The filling is usually great and the bubbly cheese is always great, but I just cannot get past the sweet taste and gummy consistency produced by store-bought tortillas. I finally broke down last week and purchased a tortilla press and honestly I don’t know what took me so long because they are so inexpensive and relatively easy to find. After devouring my first batch of homemade tortillas I was sold. I ate tortillas at least twice a day for an entire week straight from avocado and egg burritos for breakfast to black bean and chicken tostadas for dinner. I’m now totally looking forward to remaking all of the failed recipes that had the potential for culinary greatness had I not gotten lazy on the tortilla front.
- 2 cups instant corn masa flour*
- 1¼ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together all ingredients until a soft dough is formed. If dough is too dry or too sticky add water or masa flour, respectively, one tablespoon at a time and mix until desired consistency is reached.
- Pinch off 1-2" diameter balls and roll between hands until smooth. Set aside on a plate covered with a damp paper towel until ready to cook.
- When ready to cook, preheat small cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- Using a tortilla press, flatten each ball of dough between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap.
- To cook tortillas, carefully peel away from both pieces of wax paper and lay flat in center of hot skillet. Cook for 30 seconds per side or until they start to create air bubbles and brown.
- Serve immediately or place in a tortilla warmer to keep warm.
GADGETS
Tortilla Press – model pictured was purchased at Sur la Table
Small Cast Iron Skillet
Tortilla Warmer
How many does it make – approximately ?
At least 12, more if you’re making them smaller.
I’m forever buying tortillas for Mexican dishes, yet have not thought of making my own! Fab idea :)
Oh Dawn, you must! I can honestly say that I haven’t bought a single tortilla since I started making my own. They just don’t compare! I’ll be posting a recipe for flour tortillas next week with some extra tips for saving time. :)