Hola Mi Gente,
Excuse my absence lately! This summer and early fall have been so full with events that it has been really difficult to balance in-person styling and food jobs, with writing and curating in this space. It’s a good problem to have, but I want to make sure that I’m regularly cooking with you, too.
Our recipe today is SO easy, but we tend to believe that it’s the exact opposite. Homemade corn tortillas have always seemed so intimidating to me. When we would visit Guatemala growing up, there was a tortilla stand one block from my Abuelita’s house. We would go to the market in the morning together, and I remember looking in awe as these women made big piles of homemade tortillas. Their babies in a sling on their backs, they would pat out twenty or thirty in a matter of minutes. The tortillas would cook on this big comal (a large flat griddle over an open fire), while they reached into huge barrels filled with masa to make more.
They were so fast. They were so perfectly round. And I firmly believe that there IS a lot of skill to handmade tortillas. A skill I want to learn someday.
But today we are talking about homemade tortillas. And that makes all the difference. It makes all the difference because we have tools like parchment paper, tortilla presses, and electric griddles to simplify and speed up the at-home process. ALTHOUGH those things are not at all necessary. You can definitely make them with a cut up ziplock bag, a good nonstick pan, and a rolling pin. I’ll explain both processes below.
Option 1
I highly recommend this way if you’re wanting to make fresh tortillas regularly. Using these tools will speed up your process and give you a more uniform result.
- Take a piece of parchment paper ( I HIGHLY recommend parchment paper over wax paper here) and cut it in half, so that you have a piece that covers the top and bottom of your tortilla press, this speeds up the clean-up process, and makes sure your masa doesn’t stick to the press.
- Roll your ball of masa, put it through the press, and place onto your hot griddle. Flip after two minutes, and cook for another two. Place in a tortilla warmer.
Option 2
This is great if you live overseas and have a hard time getting international food supplies like a tortilla press. It’s also great if you have a killer craving for homemade tortillas and just need them NOW (we’ve all been there).
- Take a large ziplock bag and cut the top off, and then down the sides until you have two pieces of the plastic.
- Grab your masa ball, and place it in the middle of the ziplock pieces. Roll with a rolling pin until desired thickness. Cook on a non-stick pan sprayed with oil for two minutes on each side. Wrap in a kitchen towel while you cook the others.
But Mary-Beth, Tortillas are so inexpensive! Why would I make them when I can buy them?
BECAUSE THEY ARE SO MUCH BETTER. Homemade tortillas just taste better. And I’m sorry, but there’s nothing better for your taco tuesday than for your tortilla to be nice and warm, fresh off your griddle.
They are also sturdier than store-bought tortillas. Trust me when I say that Benjamin overloads his tacos. Salsa, cheese, cream, meat, cabbage, rice, beans–those are all going on his tacos, and NONE of them have ever creased or broken under the load.
And they keep well for a few days, too, so you can make fresh tortillas for the week! Use them for tacos, quesadillas, homemade tortilla chips, and general snacking. Simply store in plastic wrap + aluminum in the fridge. To reheat them, wrap them in a moist paper towel and warm up 30 in the microwave 30 seconds at a time.
A Note About Shopping for Tortilla Flour
If you’ve never bought Maseca before, you can find it at most grocery stores in your baking aisle. Quaker makes an okay brand, but I am partial to Maseca Brand. Sometimes it is also kept in the international foods aisle, close to where store-bought tortillas are.
Love, love, love, and the delicious comfort of fresh tortillas,
SAVE ON PINTEREST
Homemade Corn Tortillas
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 C Masa Corn Flour
- 1 TSP Salt
- 1 TSP Oil
- 1.5 C Warm Water
Water-Oil Blend
- 1 C Warm Water
- 2 TBSP Oil
Instructions
- Mix together the Masa corn flour, salt, oil, and warm water until it forms into a dough that sticks to itself. The dough will seem a little dry to you--that's perfectly normal. In a small bowl, mix together water and oil
- Separate the dough into 12 balls, about the size of a ping pong ball. Dip your hands into the water-oil blend and roll the dough balls a second time.
- Heat up your griddle or non-stick pan over medium high heat (if using pan, spray with oil). Take dough ball, and place in between parchment paper and press with tortilla press. Place on griddle or pan and cook for two minutes on each side. Reserve in a kitchen towel or a tortilla warmer.
- Fill or dip and enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
