Corn Tortillas Recipe - Isabel Eats (2024)

Isabel

• Masa harina: This is a type of corn flour made from nixtamalized corn that has a unique flavor and texture and is essential for making authentic Mexican corn tortillas. There are many brands of masa harina out there, and the most popular one is Maseca which is what I used to make the tortillas in these photos. Other popular brands include Masienda, Bob’s Red Mill, and King Arthur. Masa harina comes in white, yellow, red, or blue corn varieties and they can all be used to make corn tortillas using this recipe!
• Warm water: You’ll need water to rehydrate the masa harina to form a dough. The amount of water you’ll need will vary depending on the brand of masa harina as well as the overall moisture level in your home. A good starting amount is 1 ½ cups, then adding more as needed.
• Salt: I like adding a little salt to my tortillas. It really brings out the corn flavor and makes you want to eat the tortillas by themselves because they’re just that good! I recommend using fine salt instead of a coarser kosher salt.
• Fat (optional): A little extra-virgin olive oil or lard is added to help keep the tortillas pliable for longer, as well as to add a touch of flavor. Lard is traditionally used, but olive oil also works! Some tortilla purists don’t add fat at all. It’s all personal preference! If you don’t want to add any, you can leave it out.
• Tortilla press (optional): Having a tortilla press makes the process of making homemade corn tortillas so much easier! I highly recommend getting one if you don’t already. They’re relatively inexpensive and you’ll get some good use out of it. If you don’t have one, you can press your tortillas in between pieces of parchment paper using a large glass baking dish. The trick is to press them as evenly as possible so that they’re the same thickness all around.
• Nonstick skillet, comal, or cast-iron pan: Any of these options are great for cooking your tortillas. I’ve tried each option separately and I personally prefer using a good nonstick skillet even though a comal or a cast-iron griddle is traditionally used. If you have all three types of pans, try cooking a few tortillas in each one to see which one you prefer. There’s no wrong answer!
• Parchment paper or plastic: You can use either for pressing your tortillas. For the plastic option, I like using a large plastic storage bag (like a Ziploc) and cutting the side seams off of it so that it makes one large rectangular piece of plastic.
• Tortilla warmer (optional): To keep the tortillas warm while you cook them all up, put them in a tortilla warmer or cover them in a clean kitchen towel and place them in a large plastic storage bag to keep in the heat and moisture. This will keep them pliable and hot for when you’re ready to eat!

• Water content: Getting the moisture level of the dough just right can be a little tricky, especially if it’s your first time making corn tortillas. I recommend starting with 1 ½ cups water and then adding more as needed. You’ll need to knead the dough with your hands to get a feel for how wet the dough is. I like to get the dough to the point where it’s as wet as it can possibly be before it gets difficult to work with, meaning if the dough is really sticking to your hands and isn’t coming together, it’s too wet.
• A quick test to see if your dough needs more water: Take a piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Press down on the middle of the ball with a finger or the palm of your other hand. If the edges of the flattened ball crack, it’s too dry and needs more water. It may feel like it doesn’t need more water, but if it cracks, trust me – just knead in a tablespoon or two of water at a time until it passes this test.
• Getting your corn tortillas to puff: This is the ultimate sign that you’ve got the perfect tortilla cooked under the perfect conditions. It takes some practice, but once you get a feel for the dough and your kitchen stove, you can do it! The main thing that affects whether your tortilla puffs is the moisture level in the dough. The more moisture the better because the steam created when you cook the tortilla on the hot pan is what creates the puff. If you think your moisture level is right, look at how hot your pan is. Are you cooking the tortilla too long on one side so by the time you flip it over it has already dried out? I like to cook the tortilla for 15 seconds on one side, flip, and cook it for 15 seconds on the other side. Then flip it again and cook it about 30 seconds before flipping it one last time. The first two flips create a sort of sear on the tortilla that helps keep in the steam!
• No tortilla press? That’s okay. You can flatten your corn tortillas with a large baking dish. Just place the ball of dough in between two pieces of parchment paper and press down on the baking dish as evenly as possible.

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