How to Make Corn Tortillas

There's no tortilla quite as yummy as a tortilla made from scratch and cooked fresh just moments before it enters your mouth. Here's how you can make delicious tortillas right in your own home...

Fresh homemade tortillas are healthier than store-bought, and can be made more inexpensively as well. You'll be surprised at how easy they are, too!

Corn tortillas are made from a special kind of corn meal called 'masa'. Masa is corn meal that has been treated with calcium hydroxide. The calcium hydroxide makes the corn meal more nutritious because it releases the niacin in the corn. It also makes the corn meal easier to digest. You can always find masa flour at Mexican markets or through online stores, (like THIS one). You may also find it at your local grocery store, especially if your store has an ethnic specialty section. Be sure to look for masa that is only corn and calcium hydroxide (which may also be listed as 'lime') for your corn tortilla making.

Making Tortilla Dough from the Masa ~
Start by putting 2 cups of masa in a large bowl. Sift in about a quarter-teaspoon of baking powder (this helps keep them nice and light). Then add one-and a-half to two cups of very water water and mix well. (double check your masa package for water amounts; some brands differ a little bit.) After it's mixed, let it sit for about five minutes, and then you can begin working the dough.

The masa dough should be worked by hand, and feels similar to kneading bread dough. If at any point it seems too wet, add a bit more masa flour. If it seems too dry, you can add a bit more water.

Divide the masa dough into about 16-18 pieces, and shape those pieces into balls. Each ball of masa dough will be slightly larger than a golf ball.

Pressing the Masa Dough into Tortillas ~
You can press our tortillas completely by hand, or you can use an tortilla press tool. If you're doing it by hand, just flatten each of your masa balls into a thin pancake shape. It make take you a while to get the hang of this. It's okay if your first few don't come out perfectly round. It won't affect the taste!