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
Hi Kim! You’ll still want to cook the tortillas on the comal first—don’t skip that step. Cooking sets the masa and gives the tortilla structure. The quick fry in oil comes after and is just to make them more pliable and prevent tearing when dipping in sauce and rolling.
My enchilada recipe says to cook the tortilla in oil and then dip in sauce before filling and rolling. Should I still cook the tortilla on the comal (step 4 here) before doing these steps or should I skip step 4?
Hi Ana! While tortillas made from Heirloom Corn Masa Harina are best enjoyed fresh for tacos, leftover tortillas are great for other applications such as enchiladas, quesadillas, tostadas, and totopos (chips). To store tortillas, make sure they 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.
Hello,
How long do the tortillas last after being made?
Hi Sergio! It sounds like this is going through a sheeter and straight into a conveyor oven. That setup can be a little tricky to dial in. Usually a slightly drier masa works better for the sheeter and helps with sticking.
If the tortillas are coming out dry or breaking, that’s typically more about the oven settings than the masa. Try lowering the heat and/or slowing the belt speed so the tortilla cooks through without drying out.
There isn’t a different masa recipe for electric presses—it’s mostly about fine-tuning the hydration and the oven until you find the sweet spot.