Did you know that with just 3 simple ingredients and a few minutes of time, you can have a homemade batch of soft, pliable, flavorful corn tortillas ready to fill with your favorite taco filling?
Absolutely!
… and they are so good! It’s really amazing what some salt, water and a little masa harina (a finely ground corn flour) can become and these corn tortillas are the proof! Who wants tacos?
Let’s get started…
Begin by gathering 1 3/4 cups of masa harina, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and about 1 1/2 cups of very warm water. This could be my favorite ingredient list ever… so simple and I almost ALWAYS have masa harina in my pantry, so these tortillas are within reach every day, which makes me happy!
Start by whisking 1 3/4 cups of masa harina with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl.
Start by adding 1 cup of very warm water and mix with a silicone spatula or stiff wooden spoon until it is fully combined. Add additional very warm water, a few tablespoons at a time, until you develop a soft, kneadable dough that will hold together easily when squeezed in your palm, but is not sticky.
This is the consistency that you are looking for. Knead the dough in the bowl for a minute or two to bring it all together. If the dough feels sticky, toss in a little bit more masa harina. If the dough feels too dry or crumbles when you squeeze it in your palm, add another tablespoon of water.
Once you are happy with the consistency of the dough, cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rest for 15 minutes at room temperature. This is when I place a flat griddle or wide skillet on my stovetop. When I have a few minutes of resting time left, I turn my stovetop to medium high and let the griddle get really warm.
Let’s talk about shaping tortillas.
So, you have a few options. If you have a tortilla press, this is the easiest way. Simply fold a sheet of parchment paper in half or line both halves with plastic wrap and let the press do the rest of the work! If you are trying to decide on a tortilla press, I highly recommend Victoria Cookware’s cast iron tortilla press. Its heavy duty and I have loved mine for a long time now!
If you do not have a tortilla press, you can simply place the dough between two sheets of parchment or wax paper and roll it out using a rolling pin or even just a heavy skillet.
Once your dough has rested, use an ice cream scoop, cookie dough scoop or big spoon to grab equal amounts of dough, so your tortillas are evenly sized. I gather about 2 tablespoons of dough to create 6 inch taco sized tortillas. You can grab smaller amounts if you’d like to make smaller street taco sized tortillas or larger amounts to create burrito sized tortillas.
Once you grab a portion of dough, re-cover the bowl to keep it soft and prevent it from drying out while you shape and cook that tortilla.
Once your griddle is very warm and your first tortilla has been shaped, place the tortilla on the dry, preheated skillet and cook it for about 60 seconds on the first side. Flip the skillet over and cook it on the other side for 30-60 seconds or until you have some nice char marks on that side.
When you cook the first few tortillas, if you are not getting enough charring, your griddle may not be warm enough. Of course, the tortillas without char marks will still be delicious, but you may need to get your griddle just a little bit warmer for the next ones.
Once each tortilla is cooked, stack them on top of each other and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel. This will help the tortillas to stay warm and gradually soften as they steam together, while you cook the remaining tortillas.
Once all of the tortillas are cooked, I like to start by using the tortillas at the bottom of the stack. These tortillas will be the softest and most pliable… just perfect for filling with something delicious…
These tortillas are great. So simple to make, can be made in virtually any size you need and can be taken in any taco direction… breakfast tacos, al pastor, fish tacos, beans and rice… if you love it, make some tacos with it!
Corn Tortillas
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups of masa harina
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups of water, very warm
Instructions
- Combine 1 3/4 cups of masa harina with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl
- Add 1 cup of water and mix using a stiff wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- Add additional tablespoons of water until a soft, kneadable consistency is achieved
- Knead in the bowl for several minutes
- Add additional masa is the dough is too wet or sticks to your hands and add additional water if the dough is too dry or won’t fully incorporate
- Cover the bowl with a damp towel and rest for 15 minutes
- Divide the dough into golfball sized portions (approximately 2 tablespoons) and roll into round balls
- Press each tortilla between sheets of plastic or parchment paper in a tortilla press or using a rolling pin
- Preheat a flat griddle or wide skillet over medium high heat
- Once hot, cook each tortilla for 45-60 seconds per side
- Transfer cooked tortillas onto a plate wrapped with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm as you cook the other tortillas
- Repeat this process until all of the tortillas have been cooked
- Use immediately or wrap in tin foil and chill until ready to use
- To re-warm, wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 15 seconds
