Home-made Tortillas

So I've been looking at this bag of Masa flour that my mom bought for a while now. She got it to use a tablespoon for a chili recipe forever ago and we haven't really used it since. One thing you can do is add water and make tortillas with it.

So I started experimenting last night. It's really easy, the dough feels like play-dough. This recipe doesn't add anything flavor-wise to the dough but I would definitely add some salt and black pepper next time. Some people add lime juice. I was thinking it might be fun to add a little cayenne pepper or something. There are a lot of possible flavor combinations.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups masa harina
1 1/8 cups water

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. I followed the above proportions exactly and had to add a bit more water because the mixture was too dry.

Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high.

Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. I divided into 16 because it is an even number, when I rolled the individual balls they rolled out very thin and brittle, when I combined 2 balls and rolled it out it made a thicker and bigger tortilla. Using a rolling pin, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of parchment paper. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.

These guys are best eaten immediately, they get dry and more brittle as they sit. You can make them bigger or smaller, thicker or thinner, careful as thinner ones will rip easier.

My mom just happened to be making a white bean and grilled kale salad so she turned that into a taco sort of dish by wrapping it in a tortilla!! These things are so versatile, she ended up taking one for lunch the next day too.