Homemade Corn Tortillas are hands down the easiest (and most worth your time) recipe on Eat Up! Kitchen. There’s just two ingredients – masa and water.
What else do you need for (probably) the best corn tortillas you’ve ever had in your life?? I’m glad you asked! One of the most important and often overlooked ingredients is time. I’m just sayin’ – every recipe has it so I didn’t want to leave it out. All-in-all though, you could have fresh homemade corn tortillas in under thirty minutes (if you’re only making like 3 or have a huge flat top to cook them all at the same time). The answer I’m sure you’re really looking for is a cast iron tortilla press. I picked mine up from webstaurantstore.com for under $19. You’ll also need a cast iron skillet to cook the tortillas.
Here’s the recipe – are you ready??
– Combine 2 cups of masa harina + 1 1/4 cup warm water with a wooden spoon and knead in to a ball.
– Wrap in plastic and rest for at least 10 minutes.
– Divide in to 12 equal portions and knead in to smaller balls.
– Place each small ball in to a tortilla press lined with plastic and press.
– Heat in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until the edges turn up – about 2-3 minutes, flip and heat for another minute. Transfer to and cover with a barely damp towel to steam.
Your homemade corn tortillas are ready for taco time! Just be sure that any time you reheat your corn tortillas that you repeat that last part. If you neglect to rest your warm tortillas in a barely damp towel you’ll risk them getting hard and crunchy. These tacos should be soft and pillowy.
To store your homemade corn tortillas, place a pice of parchment paper between each one before you wrap them in plastic wrap. Then place them in a zip top bag and squeeze out all the air. Refrigerate for up to a week. I like to reheat mine right on the open stove top flame just under they’re warmed through. Then I let them rest in a barely damp kitchen towel for about a minute to relax.
Homemade corn tortillas are 100% one of those foods that make more sense to make at home. Comparing these to the big machine made tortillas by brands like Mission is like comparing a really good craft beer to Miller High Life. Seriously.
Soooo… fun side note! Evidently I used corn meal for these tortillas! I’m pretty sure that means I shouldn’t even publish this recipe. I swear that I stood in whole foods for a solid 3 minutes looking at their baking section looking for masa harina. I also just looked on instacart. They clearly do not have masa harina. The bag I bought says harina de maiz on it but apparently it’s just white corn meal. Welp, I guess this just means that if you’re stuck in a pinch, or Whole Foods, you can go with corn meal instead. And its really, really good. Oh well. Happy Taco Tuesday!
I make corn tortillas all the time and you need more water than the recipe calls for and that is why they look like that on the edges I also add some salt , oil and corn starch to the dough it makes them softer and light.