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The flat rounds of unleavened, unseasoned (gluten-free and fat-free) dough are cooked on an ungreased pan or griddle, called a comal in Mexico. The following techniques and recommendations come from cookbooks by both Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless, two prominent authorities on Mexican cuisine. Let’s get started!
The equipment
Most current-day tortilla makers use a tortilla press to flatten balls of dough into thin rounds. Presses can be made of cast iron, wood, or aluminum, but cast iron is your best bet because it’s heavy, sturdy, and easy to keep clean. (Find them online priced from $25 to $60.) If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can flatten the dough with a heavy wood board or two-handled pot and exert a little upper body strength.
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Whatever pressing method you use, it’s imperative that you surround the dough, top and bottom, with thick plastic or parchment paper. An easy and reusable solution is to take a gallon-size zipper-top plastic freezer bag and cut off the zipper top and along the sides and bottom to create two sturdy plastic sheets.
To cook tortillas, you can use a stove-top griddle, comal, cast-iron skillet, or simply a nonstick skillet. You’ll also need a tortilla basket or other container, lined with a clean cloth or dish towel, to stack the cooked tortillas and keep them warm.
The dough
Corn tortilla dough couldn’t be easier. Place 2 cups of masa harina, such as Maseca, Masabrosa, or Bob’s Red Mill, in a large bowl. Have 1¼ to 1½ cups of warm water handy. Add 1¼ cups of water to the flour and use your fingers to mix in the water until it’s absorbed. Add another 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and keep working the dough with your hands, kneading, squeezing, and turning it over in the bowl for about 2 minutes, until it’s smooth, soft, and feels like new Play-Doh. If the dough feels dry or there is any unabsorbed flour, add a little more water, one spoonful at a time. If the dough feels moist or sticky, work in a sprinkling of masa harina. Cover the dough with a dish towel and let sit for 15 minutes.
The process
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Heat the pan: Heat a dry, ungreased pan or griddle over medium-high heat. The dough should sizzle just slightly as it hits the hot surface.
Make dough balls: Break off clumps of dough and roll them between your hands to form smooth balls the size of a golf ball (about 1½ inches in diameter). This amount of dough will give you about 14 balls, yielding 14 tortillas, each about 5 inches in diameter. Cover the balls with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.
The plan: It’s recommended that you get into a good rhythm cooking a tortilla right after you press it. When your pan is hot, press the dough, cook, then repeat. When you get the hang of it, you can have two pans going on the stove-top.
Pressing: Place a square sheet of plastic or parchment on the base plate of the tortilla press. Set a ball of dough on the sheet, in the center of the press, and flatten the ball slightly with your fingers. Cover with a second plastic sheet. Close the top plate and press down firmly with the lever, but not too hard. The round should be ⅛-inch thick or slightly thinner and about 5 inches in diameter. If you don’t have a press, use a board or heavy pot to press down evenly on the dough ball between two plastic sheets.
Cooking the tortillas
Gently pull off the top plastic from the pressed round. Lift up the bottom plastic with one hand and place it dough side down onto the fingers of your other hand. Carefully peel the plastic off the dough. Holding your hand flat, lay the tortilla onto the hot pan. (If the tortilla sticks to the plastic it might mean it’s too thin or the dough too moist. Work a little bit of masa harina into the remaining dough balls.)
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Following the expert advice of authors Kennedy and Bayless, after you lay the tortilla on the hot pan, leave it for 15 seconds to slightly dry the bottom side. Flip it over using your fingers or a thin spatula (a fish spatula works great) and cook for 30 to 60 seconds or until the underside is lightly speckled with brown spots. Flip the tortilla back onto the first side and cook for 30 to 50 seconds or until the dough is cooked through and the underside is golden in spots. The tortilla should puff up as this side cooks, but if it doesn’t, don’t worry, it will still be good. (Adjust your heat accordingly so the tortillas cook in the indicated times.) The tortilla should not be too firm or crisp; it needs to be soft and pliable to wrap around fillings. Transfer the cooked tortillas to a cloth-lined basket. Stack them and keep the pile covered so they stay warm and pliable.
The eating is easy
Cookbooks are filled with traditional and creative ideas for using corn tortillas. Make tacos, of course, with all kinds of tasty fillings, including chunks of fish, chicken, pork, steak, and cooked vegetables. Use them to scoop up saucy egg dishes (like huevos rancheros), stews, and chili; roll up fillings for enchiladas; and make cheesy quesadillas. Layer them for lasagna-like casseroles and fry them whole (tostadas) or in wedges to make chips for a hearty brunch dish of chilaquiles.
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How to reheat leftover tortillas
Leftover tortillas will never be as good as freshly made. If you don’t need the full amount the recipe makes, reserve a portion of the dough, wrapped securely, and refrigerate it for up to a few days. Make another batch of tortillas when you want them. But you can sufficiently refresh tortillas as follows: First, wrap leftover tortillas in a few layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate them for no more than a few days. Heat an oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle a little water on each tortilla, stack, and wrap them up in foil. Bake for 10 minutes so the tortillas are steaming hot and softened. Or sprinkle the tortillas with a little water and reheat them one-by-one on a dry pan, flipping them a few times until they’re softened and hot. Keep them warm in a cloth-lined basket.
Lisa Zwirn can be reached at lisa@lisazwirn.com
The Link LonkMarch 02, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Make your own corn tortillas from (almost) scratch - The Boston Globe
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