Our Best Recipe For Homemade Tortillas Using Masa Harina
Our Best Recipe For Homemade Tortillas Using Masa Harina
December 27, 2022
A bag of our Heirloom Masa Harina (also known as masa flour or nixtamalized corn flour), plus water, a trusty tortilla press and a can-do attitude are all you need to make perfect corn tortillas at home. While a homemade loaf of sourdough takes hours (if not days) to achieve, homemade tortillas can be ready in mere minutes!
Check out the recipe below for perfect homemade heirloom corn tortillas and if you meet any trouble on your road to "puff" perfection, check out these tips to help you find your groove.
Tortilla-Making Tips:
Tortilla-Making Tips:
- Not getting a puff? For additional hydration during the tortilla cooking process, we recommend using a spray bottle/mister to lightly hydrate each side of the tortilla (to prevent dryness and cracking). If you don't have a mister, just fill a little cup with water and use your fingers to flick droplets of water onto your tortilla.
- *Warm water (~100 degrees F, or the hot setting on your faucet) is recommended for mixing your masa, in order to begin blooming the natural flavor of the masa and to fully activate the small bits of pericarp (corn skin) in the masa flour (which help the masa bind, naturally).
- Water can be substituted with other liquids such as stocks, broths, juices etc., depending on the desired flavor. Spices may also be added. Masienda respects tradition while encouraging creativity for all cooks.
- 1 lb of Heirloom Corn Masa Harina yields approximately 2.4 lb of masa (38 tortillas per pound, or 84 tortillas in each 2.2 lb bag of Masienda Heirloom Corn Masa Harina).
All Comments
I read about a taqueria in the mid west somewhere that made burritos using corn tortillas. Do you have any idea how those tortillas would be made? Would there be lots of fat added, like in a flour tortilla, to make them more pliable? Or is there some other trick you might know of to make a large corn tortilla that could be rolled into a burrito? Thank you.
As a child I visited my mom’s relatives in Northern Mexico. I watched intently as an aunt showed me the steps to making her corn tortillas. We rubbed dried kernels off cobs she grew. She had nixtamalized kernels soaking which she then ground on her metate and made tortillas by patting dough in her hands back and forth and cooking them in a comal over an open fire.
What I think is interesting is how, in your website, you explain how to turn the cooking tortillas! Mom’s aunt was careful to ingrain that method in my brain; 1st side, 20 seconds, flip, 30 seconds, flip back 20 seconds, done! Sprinkle coarse salt, roll tightly, eat. Delicious!
Because of your recipe, I am looking forward to trying your masa.
Hi Leslie! Thanks for your question! Because we want to sear both sides of a tortilla fast enough
to trap moisture in the center, we typically recommend at least 400°F [200°C] (medium-high to high heat on your stovetop) to achieve this effect, though higher temperatures won’t hurt when managed effectively. The wood-fired clay comales throughout Oaxaca, for example, average about 650°F [345°C]; tortilla conveyor ovens in tortillerias will cook at an average of about 500°F [260°C]. That said, it’s really a matter of preference; some folks prefer to cook their tortillas a bit lower and slower, eschewing the possibility of a puff but managing the heat a bit more carefully. The hotter the temperature, the less time is needed to cook per side (we find 20-30 seconds does the trick at 400°, but could be as little as 15 seconds for higher temps).
Hello! I absolutely love your products. I am still learning to make the perfect tortilla, experimenting with different pans. Can you comment on the “ideal” surface temperature of the pan? I am finding that just “medium” or. “medium low” is vague and produces wildly different results.
Many, many years ago, there was a taco shop, called Taco King. It was located in Fair Oaks, CA, on the corner of San Juan Blvd and Winding way. It was the best taco shop I’ve ever been too. They made their own tortillas in the back of the shop. One of the things they made was a deep fried bean and cheese burrito – but it was NOT made with a flour tortilla. It was made with CORN TORTILLA (fresh, corn tortilla). I have tried and TRIED and TRIED to re-create their deep fried bean burrito, but to no avail. I have a difficult time getting the beans and cheese into the corn tortilla without the masa cracking (although Masienda’s masa DEFINITELY yields a more flexible raw corn tortilla). And also the masa that they wrapped their burritos in had an extremely rich, corn taste. Does ANYONE out there have any hints or tips? Is anyone else making such a thing? Please advise. It’s been 50 years since I had one of their burritos and I can still remember the taste!