- 6
Ingredients
- Corn:
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp water
- pinch salt (optional)
- Flour:
- 2 1/2 c. flour
- 1 c. very hot water
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/4 c. shortening
- yield will vary depending on size of tortilla.
Preparation
Step 1
Corn Tortillas:
1-Combine masa and water in a large bowl.
2-Mix until a smooth dough forms. You may need to add a bit more water or a bit more masa.
3-Break dough into golf ball-sized pieces (1 1/2-2 inch balls) and cover it with plastic wrap.
4-Use a tortilla press or a rolling pin. Use two sheets of wax paper with either method.
5-Stack them up between pieces of wax paper.
6-Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place tortilla on the skillet and cook for 30-60 seconds on each side. The surface of the tortilla will look slightly dry.
7-Place cooked tortillas between two clean dish towels to keep them moist until ready to eat.
Flour Tortillas:
In a heavy-duty mixer, combine flour and salt. Add in shortening and mix until well combined (it will resemble coarse bread crumbs). Add hot water. The water hotness is the key to these being easy to make--it needs to be hot enough to melt the shortening, but not SO hot that the dough turns into an ooey-gooey mess. After you add the water, the dough will start to come together. When it is fully combined, remove from mixer and divide into portions. Now...the recipe yield really depends on how many tortillas you want. If you want small tortillas (like for fajitas), then you'll probably get around 10-12. If you want medium tortillas (burritos), then you'll probably get 8 or so. For large tortillas (like for salad wraps), you'll get around 6. Shape portions into round balls.
Preheat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet to medium-low heat. If necessary, spray your work surface with non-stick cooking spray; you may not need to because the dough isn't particularly sticky, but it may be and you also don't want to add any more flour to your dough. Press your palm against the surface of the dough ball, trying to maintain as much of a round shape as possible. Place rolling pin in middle of flattened dough ball and roll to desired thickness, shaping in a circle as you go.
Place raw tortilla on preheated skillet. You're going to be watching for bubbles. If you get little blistery bubbles, your skillet is too hot and you need to reduce the heat. You're looking for big, fat, slow-bubbling bubbles.
When you start to see them, flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30-45 seconds or so.
If you're cooking these quickly, you can just stack them on top of each other and they'll stay warm.