Tortilla lessons

Yes, I'm still here. I've just been trying to avoid bringing you less-than-stellar recipes that you're not going to make anyway. Having said that, you're probably not going to use this recipe. But on my fifth try at making homemade tortillas, having consulted four different recipes, I think I figured some things out, so I'm going to post my recipe here for my own benefit the next time I make tortillas. Use it or not, as you like.

Lesson #1: I've seen some recipes saying to use just masa harina and water and no salt, but I don't get that all. If you skip the salt, your tortillas have no flavor of their own, and who wants that?

Lesson #2: Weigh your ingredients. I'm not even giving a volume measurement for the masa harina  in the recipe below. Most of the recipes I looked at used 2 cups of masa and varying amounts of water. When I weighed 2 cups of masa, it only came to about 200 grams. Then I added the water and had soup instead of dough, until I worked in a lot more masa. I experimented with the weight and found that 280 grams combined with 355 grams (1½ cups) of warm water yielded a workable dough.

Lesson #3: After combining and kneading the masa, salt, and water, let the dough rest for an hour. That lets the dough hydrate evenly, which means that when you press the tortillas they shouldn't crack at the edges (meaning the dough is too dry) or stick to the plastic (the dough is too wet). If my first four tries were a good guide, this will save you a lot of trouble and anyone who's there when you're making the tortillas from having to hear you cussing a blue streak. It's possible some adjustment (working in more masa or water) might still be necessary, but it's a lot less likely if you let the dough rest and hydrate.

 

Lesson #4: Wrapping the cooked tortillas in a clean kitchen towel lets them steam and finish cooking while you're making the rest of the tortillas. Before they steam a bit, the tortillas feel kinda stiff and crumbly, but after steaming they're strong and pliable, so they won't fall apart when you load them with fillings like every store-bought tortilla I've ever had. For the same reason, I also use a little more dough in each tortilla, so they're a little thicker and stronger than your average store-bought tortilla.

 

That's all I got. You can take all of this with a grain or two of salt coming from a gringo, but what the heck, there's lots of non-Italian people spouting off about pasta, and some of them may even know a useful thing or two.

 

Step 1

Step 2

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Corn Tortillas
(using a tortilla press)

<8 minutes to make the dough + 1 hour resting time + cooking time

280 grams masa harina (this is the stuff I buy at Wegmans—I have no idea if it's any good compared to other brands)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
355 grams (1½ cups) warm water (105 to 115℉)
~1 tablespoon oil

    1. In a medium bowl, stir together the masa harina and salt. Add the water. Using a silicone spatula, mix together until fully incorporated, including all the bits of dough stuck to the bowl. Turn out onto a counter and knead for about a minute, until it holds together and feels a little like Play-Doh®. Return to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rest for 1 hour (this is important to let the dough hydrate fully so it will behave well when you make the tortillas)
    2. Using your clean palms, roll the rested dough into twelve ~50-gram balls (about the size of a ping pong ball), which should leave you ~35 grams of dough to make a test tortilla. Return the dough balls to the bowl and re-cover, which you should do in between making each tortilla.
    3. Meanwhile, heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet or a griddle (making the tortillas on a large griddle will speed the process along) over medium heat. Add the oil, then use a paper towel to wipe the oil into or over the surface of the skillet or griddle, leaving nothing more than a film.
    4. Place an 8- to 9-inch round of translucent plastic (cut up a gallon-sized plastic storage bag) on the bottom plate of your tortilla press. Place a ball of dough in the center of the press and cover with a second 8-inch round of plastic (cut from the same plastic bag). Press down lightly with your palm, then close the tortilla press, pushing down until almost flat, then jiggle the handle a little when the press is closed. Open the press, flip the tortilla over, and press down again, jiggling the handle. The full-sized tortillas should be about 6 to 7 inches in diameter, reaching almost to the edges of your press (the tester will be a little smaller).
    5. The tortilla should release easily, without sticking, from the plastic rounds on both sides and not crack around the edges. If so, then congratulations, you’ve made a properly hydrated dough. When you’re ready to cook the tortilla, remove the plastic from one side, transferring that side to your dominant hand, leaving ~3 inches hanging below your pinky. Remove the plastic from the other side, and lay the tortilla gently and carefully into the hot pan or griddle (see the video above for a demo). Cook on the bottom side for 1 minute, then flip and cook on the other side for 1 minute. You can have a few brown spots but nothing too dramatic. Adjust the heat as needed so the tortillas are cooking just right in about 1 minute on each side.
    6. Wrap the tortilla in a folded kitchen towel set on a dinner plate. At this point, the tortilla may seem brittle, but it will finish cooking and become more pliable while it steams inside the kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. The tortillas will stay warm inside the kitchen towel for about 30 minutes. Makes twelve 6- to 7-inch tortillas.