Corn Tortilla Recipe from Lois Ellen Frank

Lois Ellen Frank had a great class last month to teach us how to make tacos.  Here is the recipe that she used for corn tortillas.

Corn Tortillas

From the Taco Table Cookbook

© Lois Ellen Frank

Corn tortillas are available in all supermarkets today and are certainly an option when making taco dishes, but I would really encourage all of you to make your own homemade corn tortillas, even if only once.

I can almost guarantee, however, that once you’ve held the dough in your hands, and placed it onto a cooking comal or skillet and made into fresh warm, moist, corn tortillas you are sure to be a convert.  I didn’t grow up making corn tortillas on a daily basis so when I started to make them from scratch it seemed a little bit foreign to me.  But once I realized how easy it was to do, how delicious the tortillas were to eat, and how much I enjoyed the process, I now make corn tortillas all of the time.

Both Alma Aguirre-Loya and Noe Cano grew up with mothers that made tortillas every day.  Alma, who is from Northern Mexico, had either corn or flour tortillas on a daily basis, while Noe always only had corn tortillas.  Alma continues today to make tortillas every day for her children, while Noe teaches how to make tortillas at the Santa Fe School of Cooking in Santa Fe, New Mexico in their cooking classes.

Below is the recipe as I was taught how to make corn tortillas from both Alma and Noe.

2 cups Fresh Corn Masa Flour or Maseca brand corn masa flour

1-teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups water

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the corn flour and water and mix together until you have formed a dough.  You can do this with a spoon, but I always use my hands.

After the corn flour and water is completely mixed, using your hands form balls just smaller than a gold ball and set aside.

Preheat your comal or cast iron skillet so that it is hot.

In a tortilla press, place one ball in the center of the tortilla press and press together to make one corn tortilla.  I use a plastic bag that I cut in half leaving a seam on one side so that I can place the corn masa ball inside the plastic so that it doesn’t stick to the tortilla press.

Remove the tortilla and place on the comal and cook the first side of the tortilla for 10 to 15 seconds, then turn over and cook for approximately 30to 40 seconds, then turn over again and cook until it puffs and the tortilla is done.

Place the cooked tortilla in a kitchen towel inside a basket or bowl and prepare the next tortilla following the same steps.  Stack the tortilla on top of each other to keep them warm inside the towel.

Serve warm with your favorite taco recipe.

Makes 16 corn tortillas.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *