Homemade Corn Tortillas

To be entirely honest, I feel a little silly posting a corn tortilla recipe.   They are super easy and super yummy, but once you've made them at home you will never, ever want to buy them at the store again.  

Best of all?

They're naturally gluten-free. 

We use them for tacos, quesadillas, tostadas and I've even fried strips in coconut oil for chicken-tortilla soup.  They're not usually big enough for enchiladas, but I've sliced them up and layered for an enchilada casserole.

But wait...how easy are they?
The eight year old makes them. 

With almost no help from me.

One note: I suppose it's possible to make corn tortillas without a tortilla press, but the press makes it so easy.  A rolling pin would work just fine, as a tortilla press is one of those uni-tasking tools I generally try to avoid.   I found my press at a Mexican market in my small town.  It was about $25, but it's more than earned it's cost back and then some.    I use mine for corn and flour...when I make flour, which isn't very often anymore since I can't actually eat them. 

Also, if you can't find masa harina check the "ethnic" section of the grocery store or find a Mexican market.  I pay less than $2 for a bag of it, but Bob's Red Mill also makes a great masa harina that's a bit pricier but tends to taste fresher in my opinion.

Homemade Corn Tortillas
makes about a dozen or so, depending on size

1 3/4 c. masa harina
1 t. salt
1 cup plus 2 T. hot water
1 large zipper bag, cut into circles about an inch larger than your tortilla press (you'll see what I mean)

Mix ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.  
I start with a spoon, but usually end up getting my hands in there.  The dough will not be sticky - almost more like playdough.

Let rest for 15 minutes.
I like to cover it with a wet kitchen towel to help it keep from getting dried out.

Heat griddle or cast iron skillet to medium high heat.
It is super important to start with a hot pan!  And I usually have two pans going at once to get it done faster.

Roll dough into balls about the size of a golf ball.
You might need to adjust size depending on the dimensions of your press, but I find golf ball sized to work pretty well.

 

Place zipper bag circle on the tortilla press, place a dough ball in the center and cover with the other zipper bag circle.
If I were going to roll these by hand, I would definitely still roll them between the zipper bag circles.  You could also probably use plastic wrap or maybe even parchment paper, but I've been using the same zipper bag circles for nearly a year and they work for me.

Close the press.  
You might want to open it, turn the now squished dough ball 180 degrees and do it again.  I've noticed my press isn't always even.

  
That's about a 6" tortilla that's about 1/8" thick.

Peel off the top layer of zipper bag circle,  and gently unmold the tortilla onto the hot pan. 
I totally should have taken pictures of this step.  I sort of carefully move the tortilla from the bottom layer of the zipper bag circle to my hand and then slide it or roll it into the pan.  You might have to try it a few times to get the hang of it.  If you uncooked tortilla breaks before you get it in the pan, roll it in a ball and press again.  If the tortilla's already started cooking, you might be able to press it gently back together.  It's a pretty forgiving dough!

Let cook for 30 seconds to a minute and flip.  Cook for another 30 seconds to a minute and remove from the pan.  I just stack them up on a plate and wrapped with a towel until they're all done and ready to eat.
How do you know when they're ready to flip?  They'll start to freckle just a bit. 

One more note:
I usually have two pans heated for cooking (you can see the second pan in the background of the top photo), and it goes fairly quickly.  We press each tortilla and it goes straight into the pan.   I generally make the dough about half an hour before whatever we're eating them with is ready, and start cooking them 10 minutes before we eat.

This recipe is linked to:

• Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
• Tasty Tuesdays at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Comments

[Therese Bradley]

Thanks for the recipe and pictures. How great that your son can make them. I'm going to look for a tortilla press. I'm in a small, rural town so I might have to drive to a bigger city. I've just discovered a blog - julesglutenfree - sorry I don't know how to do the linky thing. She makes a GF flour mix and has made GF flour tortillas with it. Good luck to you and your family with your move and life changes, and welcome to California.

[Samantha Widlund]

I've used Jules mix for cookies, but it didn't even occur to me to make tortillas with it!