Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part Three: How to Make Tortillas
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This is the third and final post on how to make tortillas from scratch. These are corn tortillas, made from masa. They came out really delicious. We had them with beef tongue (tacos de lengua) one night, and I had cheese quesadillas the next night.
To read the previous entries, click the links below:
Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part One: How to Soak Corn for Masa
Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part Two: How to Make Masa
Homemade Corn Tortillas
Equipment:
Tortilla press (optional; you can use a cutting board)
Plastic freezer bag or other plastic shopping bag
Scissors
Cast iron pan
Ingredients:
Masa (or corn meal dough) – from Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part Two: How to Make Masa
1. Pat the dough into balls about 1.5 ounces each.
2. I made 12 balls, for 12 tortillas. I took the other pound of masa, patted it into a large ball, wrapped it in plastic and froze them for later. If you plan to use the masa in the next couple of days, you can store it in the fridge.
3. Cut two circles from a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag (you could also use a plastic shopping bag). The circles should be the same size as your tortilla press. Put one piece of plastic on the tortilla press, put a ball of masa on the plastic, then a piece of plastic on top of the ball, then press down until flat.
4. If you don’t have a tortilla press (I didn’t when I made these; I’ve since bought one), you can still make tortillas. Use the plastic circles as described above. Then use a cutting board to firmly press down on the balls of masa.
6. Put the flattened masa in a very hot (medium high) cast iron pan. You don’t need any grease in the pan. Heat for 1-3 minutes on each side. You will know when they are done when they bubble or puff up.
7. Keep warm in a basket and/or wrapped in a towel or foil until ready to eat. Eat as soon as possible or store in the fridge. You can also freeze them, or cut into quarters and fry in coconut oil or lard to make tortilla chips.
Other posts in this series:
Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part One: How to Soak Corn for Masa
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10/08/2008 at 6:21 am Permalink
Hey AM:
After you boiled the corn and you were in the fermenting stage, did you allow the corn to ferment for up to 2 weeks? Would 1 week be long enough?
Also, you said you didn’t use any fat in the pan to cook the flattened dough into tortillas. The pan was dry? or did you use coconut oil or lard?
Steven
10/08/2008 at 6:27 am Permalink
No I only let it ferment for 2-3 days. Yes 1 week would be long enough. I think 2 weeks would be ideal but you could ferment as short as overnight.
It was not totally dry — it had a little leftover fat from being seasoned. You know since it’s cast iron. I just did not add any fat to it.
I did add butter when I reheated them the next day.
18/08/2008 at 5:36 am Permalink
I’ve created a link to this post in the “Recipes” section of our newest “Cast Iron Around the Web” entry at http://www.cookingincastiron.com
14/11/2008 at 10:57 am Permalink
Thanks for the Recipie. Would these totillas be flexable enough (after dragging through a lil oil or steaming) to roll into enchiladas?
14/11/2008 at 12:35 pm Permalink
Yes, they are flexible — right out of the pan. You don’t need to steam or fry them.
25/11/2008 at 12:07 pm Permalink
Thanks for these recipes. I live in Sweden and won’t be able to afford getting the corn you’ve used shipped over here. What about organic popcorn? Think that could work? There is hardly any corn in Sweden, and (boo hoo) very very few Mexican restaurants, Mexican food, etc. I really want to try these – my last attempt to get my husband to bring home sprouted corn tortillas on a trip back from the states resulted in tragedy when his luggage took an extra two days to show up.
25/11/2008 at 1:11 pm Permalink
Hi, April,
No, unfortunately popcorn will not work. You need field corn or dent corn.
By the way, do you eat a lot of fil mjolk? That is my favorite! (I had a culture but I accidentally killed it — need to get another one)
26/11/2008 at 8:59 am Permalink
Hi, Cheeseslave:
We are occasional, not dedicated filmjolk eaters – we go back and forth between yoghurt and fil. I have heard that the fil cultures in the U.S. are old, old, old, from some originals brought over with Swedish immigrants eons ago!
O.K. well now I have a big bag of popcorn and no corn tortillas. If I ask my best friend to bring me a bag of field corn he will just laugh, but that’s what I’ll have to do if I want beautiful tortillas like in the pics above!
13/05/2009 at 9:05 am Permalink
Other recipes I have found say you need to remove the hulls after soaking the corn. Can you buy hulled corn? Is there an advantage to buying corn with the hulls still on?
13/05/2009 at 9:16 am Permalink
Also, where can you buy the pickling lime? Only online?
26/05/2009 at 5:28 pm Permalink
Hello,
Can I use this recipe as a base for tamales?
27/05/2009 at 8:50 am Permalink
Yes you can. I just made tamales with it. I will be posting the recipe soon — check back!
30/05/2009 at 3:16 pm Permalink
Just tried your recipe. I could not get the tortillas very thin using the ziplock bags. However, I switched to parchment paper. I smashed them, then rolled out thin with a rolling pin. I peeled off the top piece of parchment paper, and then put the tortilla in the pan, with the bottom piece of parchment paper still attached. After the tortilla had cooked a little, it was easy to peel of the other piece of parchment paper. I got REALLY thin tortillas this way. I just thought I would share this tip in case others are having trouble with the tortillas sticking and not coming off the ziplock bag.
21/08/2009 at 4:33 am Permalink
Excellent series, Anne Marie! I’m from Texas, too, and miss authentic tortillas (but don’t want to consume GM corn).
I will be making these muy pronto…
08/11/2009 at 11:03 am Permalink
Hi!
Thank you so much for this recipe, I am making these tonight. So happy to have found your website, you make the recipes sound so easy. I even ordered tongue from a farmer. I will make them next.
Do you know how could I make grits from this field corn? My husband loves grits and I would like to make our own instead of pre-packaged.
Thanks!
Adriana
02/02/2010 at 5:02 pm Permalink
I’ve made these three times so far. I’m so thankful for this recipe and clear instructions. I found Mrs. Wages near the canning supplies at the largest grocer in my area. The last time I added just a bit too much water to the masa. I have a very large food processor and tried to do too much at a time. The situation was remedied though by adding some chia seeds and processing again. I refrigerated the dough and by the time I was ready to make tortillas, it was just right. By the way, my son’s dog is wild about them–was immediately attracted to the nice corn aroma.
04/03/2010 at 1:28 pm Permalink
Hi,
I was just wondering what kind of food processor you need for this. Mine is not that strong and I’m worried that the corn my be too tough. Any thoughts?
Thanks!