Corn Tortillas

Every time I see a tortilla press somewhere (Mexican grocery stores, thrift stores, etc...), I want to buy it.  I am normally not a fan of one-use kitchen gadgets, but for some reason the tortilla press always calls my name.

At some point, I decided that if I ever started making corn tortillas regularly, I could justify having a press.  That was many years ago, and I never once made any tortillas.

Until now.

Connie, one of our interns this year, wanted to make some enchiladas for lunch.  She put corn tortillas on the grocery list, but I decided that the time had come for me to make them!

Instead of the tortillas, I bought this:

The recipe on the bag said 2 c. of the masa, 1/8 tsp. salt, and 1 1/4 c. water.  Mix together, divide it into 16 little balls.  Cover the yet unused balls with a damp cloth while you roll them out.

Normally you would use a tortilla press (http://www.amazon.com/IMUSA-VICTORIA-85008-Tortilla-Pre-Cured-8-Inch/dp/B00164T384/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361195884&sr=8-1&keywords=tortilla+press) and press the little balls into tortillas (between two sheets of plastic wrap).  I expiremented with a few different ways of properly flattening them, and decided this way worked the best for me:

 

Put the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatten evenly with something heavy and flat-bottomed.  I used a frying pan.  This is how it ended up:

Too thick.  I then used a rolling pin to slowly press it out further.  I thought that starting with a rolling pin might also work, but it didn't.  The combination of the two pressing methods definitely worked the best for me.

You need to be gentle with this dough.  Unlike a wheat flour dough that stretches as you roll it out, this dough will just flatten into nothingness if you press to hard.  And if you roll too quickly, the edges of the dough ended up really ragged.  Slowly and gently, roll out the dough from all angles until the dough is very thin, somewhere between the thickness of a dime and a penny:

Next, cook them in a medium-hot, ungreased skillet.  It took about a minute on each side for me.  They turn a more opaque white when cooked.

They tasted soooo good.  And were simple enough that I might actually start making them regularly and will then be able to buy a press!

Note: I made three batches of dough.  The first batch was too dry, and the edges of the tortillas cracked a lot when I rolled them out.  The next to batches had more like 1 1/2 cups of water in them and worked a lot better.  Start with the 1 1/4 c. and try rolling out one ball.  If it seems too dry, a bit of water to the rest of the batch and try again.