I tried to make the dough balls in different sizes and tortillas diameter less or more than 6 inches were not tasty (or like rubber sole or thin crunch scone).

I agree that homemade tortillas can really make the meal--and your step-by-step photographs are fabulous, by the way. But since I don't own a tortilla press (and have very limited storage space in my kitchen), I use the bottom of a skillet to flatten the dough (which is covered with a piece of waxed paper). It's super easy and works well. --Sarah

Growing up in Texas with many Mexican friends, homemade corn and flour tortillas were a staple in our home. Being transplanted to West Virginia, we miss our Tex-Mex food. My next meal will include these beautiful corn tortillas. How about adding a recipe for homemade flour tortillas? Thanks for ALL the great recipes. I check the web-site daily and I am never disappointed!

Hey, you might find that the plastic cut from a sandwich bag is much easier to use for tortilla-making than wax paper.

Before frying, cut into wedges and deep fry for corn tortilla chips. These are far better than the store bought as well.

Hi Elise- these look easier than I expected! I tracked down some masa in order to make shaped-by-hand arapas, and have used it as well for a tastier-than-cornbread casserole topping. It's a great thing to have on hand, for sure!

I have an electric tortilla press that forms the dough ball and cooks it all in one. It's like a large waffle maker only the plates are totally flat. No oil or frying, so your tortilla is on a somewhat healthier level. We always make homemade flour tortillas for burrito night.

Thank you so much for posting about corn torillas. I love corn torilla, the flavor and especially the smell. I'm used to making flour torillas so when I tried making corn, it was so hard to do. I had heard about torilla presses but wasn't sure if they worked or were they just another gadget. Now I know... I have to find myself a torilla press. Thank you

When I was a kid out in California, a Mexican woman who lived on our ranch taught me to make tortillas. She showed me how to get that wonderful toasted appearance that traditional handmade tortillas have. Here's her simple technique:

1. Test the griddle (she insisted on well seasoned cast iron) for temperature by shaking a drop of water off your finger; it should roll around rather than sizzle. Still, you don't want it so hot that the tortillas burn before they're done.

In any case, when you've got a good hot griddle, lay the freshly pressed tortilla on the pan. The disk of dough should slide around on the pan without sticking. Keep moving it while you let it bake on the first side for only about 10 seconds (important!).

2. Pick the tortilla up (I usually slide it up the side of the pan a little bit so I don't burn my fingers) and flip it. The top side will now be slightly dry, with no stickiness.

Now comes the fun part:

3. Take a paper towel and wad it into a loose ball. Use it to press the tortilla gently in different spots. Press each spot for about 1 second, then lift straight up with a quick motion. The tortilla will start to bubble up where you just pressed. The goal is to have a nice big bubble form so that the tortilla is baked all the way through. Meanwhile, the spots where you pressed down will brown slightly, giving that traditional mottled appearance and ensuring a nutty, but not burned, flavor.

4. Once the bottom side is starting to look done and toasted, you can flip one more time, and finish baking the first side.

Ah, this brings back nice warm memories!

Oh, one more comment!

A tortilla press can be used for other things, too. Try it with balls of pie crust to get a very quick, perfect circle of pastry to use for apple dumplings or turnovers. ...perfect both for when I'm cooking for one and want to make a single serving pie, or mass producing pastry for a crowd.

I am an ace at flour tortillas (grew up on the border in TX), but corn ones have always escaped me. For some reason mine are always sticky no matter what I use between them and the press. They stuck to wax paper and saranwrap, I've sprayed oil on the press even, still sticky. What in my recipe (from the masa bag) is wrong do you suppose? I'll try this one, wish me luck!

Gorgeous blog! I'll be spending a lot of time here, I can tell. Thanks for the info on tortillas. I spent some time in New Mexico on vacation, and after returning, I really missed fresh tortillas. I've been wanting to make my own.

Great info on corn tortillas! Can you post some directions on making flour tortillas also? Every Sunday I make enough breakfast taco filling for the week and would love have homemade flour tortillas to go with them. Mine always turn out deformed and thick . . .

I am so doing this this weekend. Muchas gracias!

Great post, Elise - as usual. I tried them last night, and discovered that getting the dough just right is harder than it looks to make the perfect tortilla. I'm still going to have to experiment - of about a dozen pressed out of various dough consistencies (from dry, like pie dough, to wetter) only 2 came out "perfect." I think the dough has to be wetter but not sticky. The added moisture probably steams them better during cooking, and it's also far easier to get them very thin. The trick is so they don't tear when coming off the press. Muchas gracias, amiga - muy sabrosa!

Where I live there is no masa harina available. How do I do it starting from corn?

Anonymous wrote: "Where I live there is no masa harina available. How do I do it starting from corn?"

Making masa from corn kernels looks like a straightforward, but difficult process. The ingredients are simply dried corn (field corn, not sweet corn), calcium oxide, and water. Diana Kennedy has a recipe in her most recent book, From My Mexican Kitchen, which includes steps to let the corn soak overnight, and to take the corn to a mill to grind between stones. That last step is a little tricky, because there are so many local stone-grinding mills, I don't know which one to choose...

Masa harina derives from masa, the initial product of the corn processing, which is then dried to make the harina. If you can find fresh masa, the tortillas you make will be more fragrant and tastier. The same tortilla forming and baking techniques apply, the difference is in the dough preparation (something I have yet to figure out). Fresh masa is hard to find (and, thanks to big corn interests, is becoming scarce even in Mexico. It seems to appear in Mexican groceries on the weekend, usually at the checkout counter, but sometimes in the tortilla aisle. Fresh masa freezes well, so when I see it, I buy a bag (3 pounds, typically), and freeze most of it.

I grew up making flour not corn tortillas. My husband likes his corn tortillas alittle thicker - so they puff just little more... mas gorditas. How do you adjust the masa so that they get alittle thicker? pls help so that I keep my marriage... :)

I can't get my tortillas to puff. help!

Success!

Here's what I did to make them puffy. First - the Maseca gives a slightly different recipe, alittle less water. I used the 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups water.. after reading in another article that the water content is what helps with the puffing.

Also - actually thin pressed, and I cooked it alot... by that I mean that I had the pan on medium high and I kept flipping them every 5 - 10 counts == to make sure they cooked well.. and to make sure they puffed and whala... they puffed...

Now I won't get a divorce!!!!

Hi Elise,

I just came across your blog on the weekend when searching for a recipe for enchiladas, and now here I find myself again when searching for a corn tortilla recipe! Wonderful.

I made your chicken enchiladas and they were yum, but here in Australia it cost me over $5 for the tortillas, which is a little steep I think. I lived in California for a year and miss my Mexican food, so thought it's time I start experimenting with more than burritos and quesadillas. Don't know how I'll go finding masa here, but I'm going to give it a go.

Thanks!

Well, I just gave these a shot. I couldn't get the tortilla "dough" to stay together for the life of me. Should I be adding more water, or am I just doing something wrong?

Instead, I lined a pie tin with it and filled it with the pomegranate jelly recipe on this site and folded the dough back over on top. Not a bad little pastry.

Can an electric (cooking) press be used on the corn tortilla? All my searching for electric presses talks about flour tortillas...

Wondering...can you freeze tortilla dough? I don't like freezing once cooked.

Loved Rockwren's advice on the actual cooking method. I knew they were doing something I wasn't but didn't know what. I do know an easy way to get them in the pan. I press them between plastic (sometimes using a cut up bag from the produce dept of the market...I know I know..) anyway I then peel off the top plastic and put a piece of waxed paper on the top, then turn the tortilla over and peel off the plastic that is now on top. The waxed paper will now be in my palm. I then slap the tortilla into the pan and the wax paper releases immediatly. You can make them really thin and have no trouble getting them in the pan. Hope it doesn't sound too complicated..it's not

Hi. I live in Argentina, more precisely in Patagonia. I have a tea house (plus other things offered) and I'm wainting to include tacos, but the tortilla recipe I have and which I tried last week ended up being stiff, therefore breaking when I try to fill them up and fold them Where's the trick?

Thanks

I found 'masa de harina enriquecida' at my grocery store. The list of ingredients says that niacin has been added. Is this the same as masa harina or should I be looking for something else?

Sounds like masa harina that has been enriched or fortified with niacin. ~Elise

Oops, that was a mistype. I meant to say that it was 'harina de maiz enriquecida'. Would that be the same as or similar to masa harina?

Thanks for your patience.

Sounds like the same to me, anyone else know for sure? ~Elise