Homemade Corn Tortillas

Making Homemade Corn Tortillas from scratch is easier than you might think and with just 4 ingredients and a tortilla press you’ll be in business!

One of my favorite holidays is coming up next week… any guess what it is? It’s Cinco de Mayo of course. The day where us Americans stuff our face on all things Mexican food! No matter if I’m entertaining for a crowd or if I’m just cooking for my immediate family I always put on a huge feast for Cinco de Mayo! I know I’m definitely adding these homemade corn tortillas to my menu next week. They are easier to make then you might think and all you needs is a tortilla press. I picked mine up during my last visit to World Market. For once I took, step-by-step pictures… so here we go. In picture form you can see just how easy it is to make homemade corn tortillas at home!

First, you’ll need to mix the dough. I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. After the dough was mixed, I let it sit for 30 minutes with a damp towel on top. Once the dough is done resting, I rolled out golf-ball size dough balls. I had 18, you might have less or more depending on what your golf ball shape looks like! A good tip to practice whenever your working with fresh dough: when your not working with the dough, you’ll want to place a damp kitchen towel over the dough so that it doesn’t dry out.

First, you’ll want to place plastic wrap on each side of the tortilla press. You’ll see that this is key to being able to pick up your flattened dough. Place the dough ball in the center of the tortilla press.

Press down on the press to flatten the dough.

Open up the press, and there you have it… a nice and even flattened tortilla!

I just placed the flattened dough on to a damp paper towel and then covered it with another damp paper towel when I wasn’t working with it.

You’ll want to maximize time and cook the tortillas while your flattening the other dough balls. Depending on the size of your pan will depend if you can cook a few at a time. No need to add oil to the pan–just use a non-stick pan and it will cook in the pan!

If you have a tortilla warmer you’ll want to place the cooked tortilla in the tortilla warmer. However, I don’t have one and I just stacked them on a plate and then placed a damp towel on top. It helped keep them warm and steamed the tortillas making them soft and not hard.

Seriously, that’s it. Super easy and oh my gosh, it’s delicious. I’ll be honest, not a big fan of store-bought corn tortillas. But make them fresh and I’ll eat a dozen or so! It’s so good and bad all at the same time! So if your ready to up your tortilla game I challenge you to buy a tortilla press and make this recipe for Homemade Corn Tortillas!

And because I’m cool like that… I made a quick little video so you can see how easy it is to make!

Print Recipe

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Yield: 18

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 27 minutes

Total Time: 67 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups masa harina (corn flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1-1/4 cups hot water

Directions:

1. Using a KitchenAid Stand Mixer fitted with the paddle attachment place the masa harina, salt, and sugar in the bowl. Set the mixer to speed 2 and begin to mix. Slowly pour in the hot water and up the speed gradually (in 10 second incraments) to 4, 6, and then speed 8 for 5 seconds. Mix for 30 seconds until the mixture i sdough like and mostly sticking together.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead to form a ball. *see notes about texture consistancy. Place the dough on parchment paper or a plate and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. Once the dough is done resting, begin rolling out golf-ball size dough balls. You should have 18. **When not working with the dough, place the damp kitchen towel over the dough so that it doesn't dry out.
4. Preheat a non-stick pan on medium heat. While the pan pre-heats, place plastic wrap on both sides of the tortilla press. Place one ball of dough in the middle of the press, flatten the dough, and carefully remove. Set the flattened tortilla on a parchment or damp towel lined surface. You'll want to beging placing one tortilla in the pan and cook for 45 seconds to 1 minute until the edges start to curl up. Flip with a spatulla and cook an additional 45 seconds. ***(Every heating element is different so yours may need less or more time. Just monitor it. You will want a golden brown color on each side.) You will want to flatten tortillas and cook them all at the same time, so repeat the flattening step until all the dough is formed into tortillas. And cook until all the tortillas are cooked.
5. As tortillas are done cooking, remove them and placem in a tortilla warmer or on a plate with a kitchen towel on top. The moisiture will allow them to soften. Use immediately once done cooking or store for 1-2 days in an airtight container. Reheat in foil in the oven for 5 minutes to soften.

*If the dough is too sticky add more masa harina. If it's too dry or crumbly and not sticking toegther add 1 tablespoon of hot water at a time to get the correct dough-like consistancy.

**When not working with the dough, place the damp kitchen towel over the dough so that it doesn't dry out.

Adapted from World Market Tortilla Press

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