Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part Three: How to Make Tortillas

This is the third and final post on how to make tortillas from scratch. These are corn tortillas, made from masa. They came out really delicious. We had them with beef tongue (tacos de lengua) one night, and I had cheese quesadillas the next night.

To read the previous entries, click the links below:
Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part One: How to Soak Corn for Masa
Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part Two: How to Make Masa

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Equipment

Tortilla press (optional; you can use a cutting board)
Plastic freezer bag or other plastic shopping bag
Scissors
Cast iron pan

Ingredients

Masa (or corn meal dough) – from Homemade Corn Tortillas – Part Two: How to Make Masa

Directions

1. Pat the dough into balls about 1.5 ounces each.

2. I made 12 balls, for 12 tortillas. I took the other pound of masa, patted it into a large ball, wrapped it in plastic and froze them for later. If you plan to use the masa in the next couple of days, you can store it in the fridge.

3. Cut two circles from a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag (you could also use a plastic shopping bag). The circles should be the same size as your tortilla press. Put one piece of plastic on the tortilla press, put a ball of masa on the plastic, then a piece of plastic on top of the ball, then press down until flat.

4. If you don’t have a tortilla press (I didn’t when I made these; I’ve since bought one), you can still make tortillas. Use the plastic circles as described above. Then use a cutting board to firmly press down on the balls of masa.

6. Put the flattened masa in a very hot (medium high) cast iron pan. You don’t need any grease in the pan. Heat for 1-3 minutes on each side. You will know when they are done when they bubble or puff up.

7. Keep warm in a basket and/or wrapped in a towel or foil until ready to eat. Eat as soon as possible or store in the fridge. You can also freeze them, or cut into quarters and fry in coconut oil or lard to make tortilla chips.