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Warm homemade tortillas are the best!
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4 from 1 vote

Handmade Corn Tortillas

Adapted from a Sur La Table recipe.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
tortilla dough resting time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Appetizer, Lunch or Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: corn tortilla
Servings: 12 5 to 6-inch tortillas
Author: Kyle

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups masa harina, and more for dusting
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 Tablespoons melted lard, butter, or vegetable oil
  • 1 cup hot water and more if needed

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, mix the masa, salt and melted lard, butter or vegetable oil together with your fingers or a whisk.
  • Slowly pour the water into the masa mix while stirring with a wooden spoon until the dough becomes a ball.
  • Turn the dough out onto your work surface that is lightly floured with some masa harina.
  • Knead the dough for about 1 minute until smooth and no longer sticky. If the dough is too dry, add a bit of water to moisten. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more masa until the dough is easy enough to form a ball in your hand.
  • Divide the dough into 12 (1 ounce) portions and hand form each into a smooth ball. Make the balls smaller if you want small tortillas.
  • Place them on a baking sheet, cover with plastic and let them rest for thirty minutes. (If you are in a hurry, you can skip this step. Letting it rest gives the dough an opportunity to absorb the water.)
  • After the dough has rested, preheat a cast iron skillet or any high heat tolerant skillet over medium-high for five minutes, then reduce heat to medium.
  • Place dough ball between two pieces of plastic wrap and press in a tortilla press. I don’t have a press so I laid the the dough in the plastic wrap between two small wooden cutting boards and pressed down as evenly as I could. Press until the tortilla is about ⅛″ thick.
  • Peel away the plastic carefully while holding the tortilla flat in your palm and transfer into the hot skillet.
  • Cook the tortillas until you see brown spots appear (about 1 minute) and then flip with a thin metal spatula, and do the same on the other side.
  • Transfer the cooked tortillas to a baking sheet and cover with a damp kitchen towel to trap the heat and moisture.
  • Serve immediately or let cool and store according to the Gr8 Tip below.

Notes

Gr8 Do-Ahead Tip:

The tortillas can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator. When time to serve, wrap in foil and reheat the tortillas in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes or wrap in a slightly dampened kitchen towel or paper towel and reheat in the microwave in 30 second increments until warm.
 
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