I love corn tortillas, especially when they are hot off the griddle! If you start making these from scratch, there isn’t a taco leftover that your family won’t eat. Of course, they won’t eat storebought tortillas anymore either. Despite the fact that I use a tortilla press, I wasn’t always so well-equipped so many of my early tortillas simply rolled out with a rolling pin between two layers of plastic wrap. So, don’t fret if you feel you don’t have the right stuff to make this. Making tortillas actually isn’t that difficult nor time consuming. I would guess that, prior to making my own, I would have spent just as much time grilling store bought ones or, worse (but yummy), frying them in oil.
Homemade Corn Tortillas
286 grams of masa
1 1/4 cup room temperature water (filtered if you have poor water quality)
Mix masa and water on low speed for about 3 minutes. Mixture will not hold together but will rather look like crumbs with some pea-sized or larger chunks. Once gathered with your hand and pressed, the dough should hold its shape but not be too moist. The dough should leave no residual moisture on your hands.Make 1 ¼” dough balls. Cut a gallon-sized Ziploc bag on 3 sides, leaving the bottom seam in tact, removing the zipper area as well as both side seams. Use this bag to line a tortilla press.
Meanwhile, preheat griddle to medium heat (on my electric stove 4 is the perfect temperature). Do not grease the griddle. Place a dough ball in the center of the tortilla press which has been lined with the Ziploc. Lower top plate of the tortilla press and use handle to press the dough out. Carefully peel the Ziploc from the tortilla by flipping the plastic over (tortilla resting on the palm of your hand and peeling the Ziploc upward). There should be no dough left on the Ziploc.
Carefully place tortilla on the hot griddle and let cook for 30 seconds. Flip the tortilla over and cook for 20-30 more seconds or until tortilla “puffs” (they don’t always puff). Place the tortilla in a covered container so that the residual steam will render them pliable. Repeat until all tortillas are cooked. Store leftover tortillas in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Troubleshooting:
If your tortilla sticks to plastic, the dough is too moist. Let the dough balls rest in the open air to dry out a little.
If dough is too dry, keep it covered with plastic wrap until ready for use.
If your tortilla is too stiff, once cooked, be sure to keep covered. This creates steam to make the tortilla pliable.
Don’t forget to enter our Cinco de Mayo contest for your chance to win a tortilla press of your very own or a $25 Amazon.com gift card!
Eat Well!
~Trish
Cook Plant Meditate 
Excellent directions. After I lived in Mexico for six months I got so used to fresh tortillas every day that I couldn’t eat the store bought ones for the longest time. One of the first things I bought when I got back was a tortilla press. I did discover, though, that if you’re in a pinch and absolutely have to use the store bought tortillas, wrap them in a wrung-out wet dish towel and microwave for 20 seconds or so (depends on your microwave) and they will be softer and fresher tasting.
Lucky you! We are lucky enough to have a Mexican market nearby that makes tortillas fresh every day. They are really good but homemade is hard to beat. Thanks for the tip!
Trish
Pingback: Cochinita Pibil Tacos « cookplantmeditate
Pingback: Corn Tortilla Quesadilla « cookplantmeditate
Pingback: Coconut Lime Shrimp « cookplantmeditate
Pingback: Campfire Cooking Post #2 – The Middle of the Desert and My Broken Tortilla Press « cookplantmeditate
Pingback: Homemade Tortilla Chips | Cook Plant Meditate