Does anyone make homemade tortillas?

[LizStreithorst]

I lived in Mexico for 4 years. Every afternoon I would go to the tortiarila and buy a half lb of freshly made tortillas. They were delicious. Nothing like the crap I find here in the supermarket. I have 'bout given up on Mexican food because I can't get decent tortillas.

I was told once it was because the corn was different. I'm quite sure it was the same corn that was grown to feed animals. It was most certainly not highly refined corn flour.

I would like to try to make my own. I have found a tortilla press on line that has good reviews. Bob's Red Mill has Masa Harina. I don't think that's what I'm looking for. I want something rustic.

I'd appreciate it if someone here could help me find the texture and full bodied flavor I'm yearning for.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Masa Harina is indeed what you want to use to make corn Tortillas. Maseca brand is good and can be found in most grocery stores. I did like the flavor of Quaker brand Masa Harina better. It was more like the wonderful flavor of the fresh tortillas that I could get in San Diego at the tortilla factory in Old Town. Both brands made very good tamales as well, and are cheaper than Bob's Red Mill products.

Good presses are hard to come by. I hope you find one that works really well.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[tenspeed]

Cook's Illustrated tortilla press review

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/1410-tortilla-presses

 

[GotGarlic]

Chief is correct - you want masa harina. I have Maseca.

I made them once. The most difficult part is getting them the right thickness. It's really easy to press them too thin. However, since corn has no gluten, you can roll them into a ball and press them again. I have the same press shown in the video. It was $20 or so on Amazon.

This page has directions and a video showing how to do it: http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/corn-tortillas/

 

[CraigC]

I lived in Mexico for 4 years. Every afternoon I would go to the tortiarila and buy a half lb of freshly made tortillas. They were delicious. Nothing like the crap I find here in the supermarket. I have 'bout given up on Mexican food because I can't get decent tortillas.

I was told once it was because the corn was different. I'm quite sure it was the same corn that was grown to feed animals. It was most certainly not highly refined corn flour.

I would like to try to make my own. I have found a tortilla press on line that has good reviews. Bob's Red Mill has Masa Harina. I don't think that's what I'm looking for. I want something rustic.

I'd appreciate it if someone here could help me find the texture and full bodied flavor I'm yearning for.

What you may have been used to in Mexico may have been masa made from scratch starting with the dried corn.

Mexico in my Kitchen: How to Make Corn Masa / Cómo Hacer Tu Propia Masa de Maíz|Authentic Mexican Food Recipes Traditional Blog

 

[LizStreithorst]

I'm sure you are right. I've watched a couple of videos. It's a lot of work to make them from scratch. One would think with the large Mexican community in my area there would be a tortilleria but there is not.

 

[powerplantop]

Tortillas made on a large scare are a lot cheaper than the ones made from scratch on a small scale with quality products.

 

[powerplantop]

The flour tortillas here in Sonora are also a lot better than the ones in the US.

 

[GotGarlic]

I came across this article today - all about making tortillas from scratch including nixtamalizing the corn: http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/04/how-to-make-fresh-nixtamalized-corn-tortillas-from-scratch.html

 

[LizStreithorst]

This is the third time I have tried to thank you on this tread. If I post and it tells me that my token has expired I'll have to PM you my thanks.

This I can do. I am going to wait until I get my new stove but I will do it and report back. I also found out that I can freeze what I will not be using right away.

Thank you very much. A new world had opened to me.

 

[GotGarlic]

You're welcome I look forward to hearing about your results.

 

[The Rugged Dude]

Chief is correct - you want masa harina. I have Maseca.

I made them once. The most difficult part is getting them the right thickness. It's really easy to press them too thin. However, since corn has no gluten, you can roll them into a ball and press them again. I have the same press shown in the video. It was $20 or so on Amazon.

This page has directions and a video showing how to do it: Rick Bayless | Corn Tortillas

Thanks for posting this video... Rick Bayless is a good teacher and obviously knows his Mexican cooking.

I was hoping I could make my own tortillas (for my food truck where I'll be serving fish tacos) but I know now that there is no way I'd be able to keep up. Looks like a slow process... bummer, because imagine the look on people's faces when I told them that we made them here... IN THIS TRUCK!

RD

 

[GotGarlic]

He lived in several places in Mexico for many years studying the food and culture. He originally trained as an anthropologist.

You can make corn tortillas in advance, freeze uncooked and cook them from frozen. Are you going to be running the food truck by yourself or will you have help? Cooking them would be a good job for a helper.

 

[LazyEngineer]

Chief is correct - you want masa harina. I have Maseca.

I made them once. The most difficult part is getting them the right thickness. It's really easy to press them too thin. However, since corn has no gluten, you can roll them into a ball and press them again. I have the same press shown in the video. It was $20 or so on Amazon.

This page has directions and a video showing how to do it: Rick Bayless | Corn Tortillas

Just a passing thought. To get around the thickness consistency problem, could you roll the dough through a pasta machine? You would lose some of the perfect roundness. But then you don't have to buy an extra tool (if you already have a pasta roller), and you get the exact same thickness every time.

 

[Wobblybob]

I do make them. I have a very nice cast iron tortilla press. They're really easy to make so it's no trouble to quickly make some. I have to say that I haven't ever been 100 percent happy with them but they do taste good.

 

[roadfix]

I was so hung over from a wedding we attended the night before so we headed over to this nearby Mexican Cafe in Old Town San Diego Saturday morning and had a large bowl of menudo. We sat at a booth next to a small team of women making corn and flour tortillas over this huge comal. That teppan must have been at least a five by five feet hunk of steel plate. The tortillas were just awesome...

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

My neighborhood is mostly Latino, so there are a number of tortilla bakeries where I can shop, which makes it impossible to justify buying a tortilla press.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I found these corn tortillas in the dairy case at a local grocery store. All I had to do was grill them in my CI pan and we had decent, fresh ones for tonight's tortillas. The package of 14 was around $3.50, so a little over 20 cents each. Way better than the shelf-stable variety!

 

[GotGarlic]

I found these corn tortillas in the dairy case at a local grocery store. All I had to do was grill them in my CI pan and we had decent, fresh ones for tonight's tortillas. The package of 14 was around $3.50, so a little over 20 cents each. Way better than the shelf-stable variety!

I'm going to have to look for those.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Check Kroger's. It looks like they might have them there. Tortillaland

When I started making them, the first one or two were a pain. I swore I'd never buy them again. They told you to put it on the hot pan for 10 seconds, flip and cook another 30 seconds, then flip back to the first side for 20 seconds. My pan was hot, maybe too hot? Anyway, after I played with the heat and cooled the pan with the cool tortilla, I found it worked best to flop them on the CI, wait about 25-30 seconds, then flip. Right away it would start to puff up in places. Cool beans! As soon as the puffing seemed to stop (maybe 15-20 seconds?) I flipped again for just a little bit longer. Basically, I cooked them until the darker "raw" parts were gone and there was a little smattering of brown spots on the torilla.

By the time I was done after frying six of them, I had gotten the hang of it. They were so good even Himself noticed! I would buy them again, but I'll still cheat with the ones off the grocery shelves when I want something quick and ready.