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Nothing beats homemade tortillas made from scratch! The packaged tortillas you get at big American markets don’t even come close to a good, freshly made corn tortilla.
Making homemade corn tortillas is actually almost ridiculously easy, once you get the hang of it.
All you need is masa harina corn flour, water, a tortilla press (can use a rolling pin, but a tortilla press is helpful), and a hot griddle surface.
What is masa harina?
You’ll need a special corn flour called masa harina for making the tortillas.
Masa harina is corn flour that has been treated with calcium hydroxide or “lime” which makes it more nutritious by releasing the niacin in the corn, and easier to digest.
Where to buy masa harina
Masa flour can be found at Mexican markets or online. Look for masa harina that is only corn and lime (calcium hydroxide) for corn tortilla making.
Maseca brand Masa Harina
You can make the tortillas completely by hand, by forming a thin pancake with the dough between your hands. But unless you are somewhat experienced in this method, you’ll get more consistent results by using a tortilla press.
A tortilla press
These too are available in Mexican markets and come either in wood or cast iron. They are available online.
Traditional Wood Tortilla Press
The wooden tortilla press pictured I purchased at a local Mexican market in town. You can also roll out the masa with a rolling pin, between pieces of plastic wrap or freezer bag plastic.
How to Make Corn Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups very warm water
Method
Make the Masa Dough
1 Mix masa flour with warm water: To make 16-18 tortillas, start with putting 2 cups of masa flour in a large bowl.
Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of very warm water to the masa flour (according to the directions on the package, some brands may call for different amounts of water).
Mix in and let sit for 5 minutes or so.
2 Knead the dough: Begin working the masa with your hands to make the dough. Work the dough for several minutes.
Press the dough with your fingers and the palms of your hands as if you were kneading bread dough.
The dough will be a little gritty at first, but should become more pliable as you kneed it.
If at any point through the tortilla making process the dough seems too dry or too wet, add a little more water or masa to the dough.
3 Form balls of dough: Pinch off a piece of the masa dough and rub it between your hands to shape it into a ball the size of a plum, or slightly large golf ball.
Make about 16-18 balls from the dough.
Pressing the Tortillas
4 Prepare the press with two sheets of plastic: Cut two pieces of plastic from a plastic freezer bag into the shape of the surface of the tortilla press.
5 Place ball of dough between the plastic sheets and press: Open the tortilla press and lay one piece of plastic on the press. Place the masa ball in the center.
Place another piece of plastic over the masa ball.
Gently close the press and press down, until the dough has spread to a diameter of 4 to 5 inches.
Cooking the Tortillas
6 Heat a griddle or a large skillet on high heat. A well seasoned cast iron griddle or large cast iron pan works well for this.
7 Remove the raw tortilla from the plastic: Working one at a time, hold a tortilla in your hand, carefully removing the plastic on each side.
8 Lay the tortilla down on the hot pan: Allow the tortilla to rest half on your hand, and half hanging down, and gently lay the tortilla down on to the skillet. Start working on pressing the next tortilla.
9 Cook the tortilla on one side, then flip: Cook the tortilla on the hot pan for 30 seconds to a minute on each side. The tortilla should be lightly toasted and little air pockets forming.
10 Keep the tortillas warm, covered: Remove the tortillas to a tortilla warmer
Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
How to Make Corn Tortillas
Delicious but at least for me VERY challenging to get them out of the plastic wrap without tearing. I guess … practice!
xxxxxyyyyy
Hi Liz,
Try using a heavy-duty ziplock plastic bag that’s cut into squares. It’s way less fussy than plastic wrap. Good luck!
I think maybe you’re not kneading the dough enough. I kneaded it for a little over five minutes and wet my hand once after the first three minutes. The dough was fairly pliable before I started shaping the balls. I shaped each piece of dough into a tight ball and pressed them, one at a time (versus making all of the balls first). I kept the dough covered. When I placed the dough onto the plastic, I pressed it down a bit with the palm of my hand before laying the plastic wrap on top. After pressing, I picked up the plastic wrap and peeled off the top layer. I carefully flipped the tortilla over and peeled the bottom layer of plastic wrap off, then laid the tortillas onto a plate and kept it covered with a lightly damp towel. I was able to easily lift each on off of the plate and into the skillet. It worked out beautifully! I hope this helps!
I want to make a larger Corn Tortilla than the standard 5 inch ones as I want to make burritos. In our stores you can only buy wheat large Tortillas. Why? Is not just a case of making a larger dough ball? I have an 8inch cast iron press.
Hi Eric,
Flour tortilla dough is more pliable and not as delicate as corn tortilla dough, so unless you are a Mexican grandmother (or grandfather!) who’s been banging our batches of these at home for years, it’s a lot easier to make small tortillas. In fact, I’ve not seen large diameter commercial tortillas, so perhaps that’s why. They tend to crumble when folded burrito-style, but you should try making a few larger diameter ones see what happens. It’s only masa dough and salt, after all! If any of you readers have direct experience to share on this matter, please do!
I live in Portugal. No tortilla presses here. Is there a trick to shaping them by hand?
Hi Nat,
You can also roll out the masa with a rolling pin, between pieces of plastic wrap or freezer bag plastic (cutting open a freezer bag works a lot better). The tortillas will likely not be as round, but they will have a handmade look for sure!
ANOTHER METHOD TO PRESS TORTILLAS
What You’ll Need
• A cleaned, empty countertop
• 1-2 cutting boards
• Plastic wrap (enough to cover the dough ball on both sides)
• Rolling pin(optional)
Tear enough plastic wrap* to give your tortilla room to expand (the plastic should be on the top and bottom as seen in the recipe above)
Lay the dough ball on your countertop, then place the cutting board above and press down.
Note: If you want them thinner feel free to use a rolling pin to finish them off.
Finally you’ll need to slowly remove the tortilla from the counter and peel back the plastic before transfring to a hot pan.
* Please be aware of the dough texture. If you can strike the surface gently without it sticking it should be safe for plastic wrap. Also in place of plastic wrap you can use a plastic freezer bag cut in half, reusable baking paper, silicone baking mats, etc.
*For added security you may use two cutting boards (one on the counter and one over to press)
This is the method I am using tonight as I am also without a tortilla press. It worked very well, for large tortillas I used apple 150g dough per ball.
This is great, Lisa! Thank you for sharing.
Can we make Tostadas from this recipe, by frying
instead of baking?
Hi Mima, to make tostadas with this recipe, you still need to make the tortillas first, by cooking them as directed in this recipe. Then, I would let them dry out a bit before frying them in a little hot oil to make tostada shells.
After a couple of tries, I figured out a few tricks. Salt is needed! I just sprinkled some kosher salt into the dry flour. Also if your tortillas are sticking to plastic wrap your dough is too wet and you need to add more flour.
xxxxxyyyyy
Yes! You nailed it!