Corn Tortillas (Perfect Puff, Masa Harina Brands, Skillet types)

00:00 Intro
00:52 Masa Harina Brands
02:49 Making the Dough with Maseca (and the basic recipe)
05:42 Making the Dough with Bob’s Red Mill
06:33 Pressing Tortillas
08:01 Troubleshooting the Pressing step
08:54 Cooking Tortillas
13:02 Pan Materials
14:17 Low to High Flip Variation
14:39 Troubleshooting the Puff
15:35 How to Prevent Sogginess and Storage Instructions
16:44 Toasting Tortillas to Serve
17:36 Practice Suggestion and Scaling the Recipe

Affiliate Links (commission earned):
Tortilla Press https://amzn.to/3M53SO9 (mine is 8 inches in diameter)
Bob’s Red Mill Masa Harina https://amzn.to/3SmIzvB

The tortilla press is generally cheaper to buy online, but masa harina is cheaper to buy in your local store.

For about 16 tortillas:

200g masa harina
2.8g salt (1 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher or 1/2 tsp Table salt)
300g water for Maseca and White Masienda / 275g water for Bob’s Red Mill

In a medium bowl, mix masa harina and salt with a big spoon or spatula. Heat the water to 140F (60C) and add to the bowl. Mix with a spoon until all the water is absorbed. Knead by hand for 2 minutes and check the texture. When you press a clean, dry finger into the dough, the finger should come away with only a faint residue. Add more water or masa harina as necessary.

Rest the dough for 30 minutes covered with a damp, and thoroughly wrung out paper towel. Resting longer is fine as long as you use it the same day and keep the paper towel damp at all times. Divide into 28 gram portions and roll into balls. Portioning into balls and resting can be done in any order.

Set a small teflon pan on medium-low heat and another pan on medium-high heat (this pan can be made out of any material, but ideally not teflon. Cast iron or carbon steel are the best.) Prepare a small bowl or pot with a lid and two pieces of paper towels to steam the tortillas after cooking. Cut 2 rectangular pieces of plastic from a gallon zip lock bag to fit your press. Work with 1 ball of dough at a time.
1) press the ball of dough to the thickness of a quarter
2) cook for 20 seconds on each side in the low heat pan (no color should develop)
3) flip the tortilla into the high heat pan for 30-60 seconds on each side or just until it puffs and starts to color
4) put it in a pot between towels and cover with a lid leaving a bit of a crack

Let the tortillas rest in the covered pot for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, but keep them covered with paper towels. Crisp up in some fat (ideally lard) before serving. Use the same day and if storing for many hours, wrap them up after they cool completely.

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