Corn Tortillas

Serving: 10 tortillas (~12cm in size)

Ingredients


• 1 cup 'masa-harina' (flour made from dried ground corn)
• 1 cup of warm water (split ½ boiling; ½ hot)
• ½ tsp salt

Method

1. Prep tortilla liners for the prensa: a clear thin transparent non-stick bag such as freezer bags or food storage bags work well here. Cut one rectangle from a plastic bag big enough to line both insides of the tortilla press. Place the sheet of plastic inside the tortilla press covering both the top and bottom surfaces.
   
   
2. Make the masa dough: in a large bowl combine the flour with the salt. Then add ½ cup boiling water – mix this in well until the water is evenly absorbed (using a spoon here if the mix is too hot). Then add the other ½ of (tepid) water, mix well and shape the mix into a large ball. Leave the mixture to rest for 5-10 minutes, covering it with cling film.
   
   
3. Form dough balls for tortillas: once the dough has rested, create approx. 10-11 small golf-sized balls. Flatten each ball very slightly with two fingers
   
   
4. Preheat a ‘comal’: (or cast-iron skillet or heavy pan) on a medium flame. The comal must be hot before adding the tortillas
   
   
5. Press dough balls into tortillas: open your plastic-lined tortilla press and place one ball on the centre of the bottom side. Very gently press the ball to flatten it into a 12cm wide tortilla (do not push down too hard on the press - otherwise you will end up with very thin extra wide tortillas!)*. After pressing, open the tortilla press and carefully un-peel the tortilla (from the plastic) onto the palm of your hand, holding it from the bottom part. Now place each tortilla directly on the grill – see next step.
   
   
6. Cook the tortillas: carefully place the tortillas onto the centre - the hottest part - of the grill / comal and sear the first side for about ~30 seconds until the tortilla easily releases and you can slide the tortilla easily on the grill (i.e. it doesn’t stick). Repeat on the reverse side for ~30 seconds. Flip once more – then press lightly down on the tortilla edges with a spatula until you see small bubbles form in the tortilla - it’s ready! Now immediately take it off the heat and keep warm in a pouch. Note: If you leave the tortilla too long on heat, it will dry out. You can also cook the tortillas this way in advance - and re-heat them later when you are ready to eat. Re-heated they will need about 10 seconds on each side. 
   
   
7. Serve straight away: in a ‘tortillero’ (tortilla pouch) or towel to keep warm

* Testing dough consistency: if the dough does not distribute/'spread' well when pressed, you may well need to add a touch more water to the dough mix. On the other hand, if the dough is sticking to the plastic, you may have too much water and need to correct now with adding a touch more flour