Finished product, after correcting a few common mistakes making tortillas at home.
What’s your definition of a fun project? Perhaps failing miserably through common mistakes in making tortillas on your first try, then succeeding gloriously on your second? That’s what happened when I finally made tortillas using the Masienda masa I got for Christmas.
Prepping masa dough.
To begin with, preparing masa dough is literally a tactile experience because you mix it with your hands. The mix is roughly 1:1 masa to water by volume and you add the water a little at a time. You want dough that easily holds its shape when rolled into golf ball size pieces but is not at all sticky. I felt pretty confident about my results then took a piece, placed it in the tortilla press* between two sheets of wax paper and pushed down hard.
Result? I got myself a handsome raw tortilla that fell apart as soon as I peeled off the top sheet. Turns out wax paper is a terrible medium for making tortillas. I turned to the internet and found this video which advises using parchment paper or plastic (I got some nice tortilla press liners in my Masienda gift but wanted to try something already available in most kitchens) and also demonstrates a press-just-hard-enough technique that reminded me of the delicate touch required when rolling baguettes. Apply gentle pressure on the first press, then flip the tortilla over and apply even gentler pressure on a second.
My assembly line. Note proximity of press to open flame. Yes, the parchment paper did catch fire at one point…
These tortillas peeled off nicely from the top layer, then I peeled off the bottom layer and flipped it into a preheated nonstick skillet. The instructions on the Masienda package said to turn it after 20 seconds but I found this was too soon: the dough wasn’t set and a flap would get stuck on the top or a section would break off. I learned to leave the tortilla un-flipped until the surface changed to the fine pebbly texture you expect in a tortilla. This took maybe a minute. I flipped it without problems, cooked the other side 30 seconds or so, flipped it again and decided I was done when the tortilla showed a bit of browning.
So those are some common mistakes in tortilla making and how I corrected them: make sure the dough is the proper texture. Line the press with plastic or parchment paper, not wax paper. Don’t press too hard when pressing with the press. Wait till the dough has set in the skillet before flipping the tortilla.
After this learning process, I ended up with perhaps the best tortillas I have ever tasted and served them for dinner with carnitas and some chopped onion, cilantro, jalapeño and cotija cheese for garnish with a squeeze of lime juice. Now that’s my idea of fun.
*affiliate alert! This is the best selling cast iron tortilla press on Amazon and it’s just 20 bucks.
Carnitas tacos with home made tortillas.
