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
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!
Hola Kathy! This recipe works great. To store tortillas, make sure your tortillas have cooled completely. Then place them in an airtight container, or tightly wrapped in plastic, in your refrigerator for up to a week. Storing warm tortillas before they’ve cooled, may cause condensation which can lead to mold. There are two methods we recommend for reheating tortillas. The first is to brush a tiny bit of water on either side of the tortilla and warm them individually (a few seconds on each side) on a medium-high pan. The second method for reheating tortillas is one we learned from our friend Rick Bayless. Wrap a stack of tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave them for a minute or two until they become pliable again. Let us know if you have any additional questions.
Saludos! Is there a method or different recipe to make tortillas and save them for heating and eating later (like packaged tortillas we purchase at the market) ?
Thank you
Hi Lisa! This press is intended for corn tortillas but we’ve had success using it for flour as well! (Some people prefer to roll their flour tortillas by hand to help develop the gluten).