Homemade Tortillas
Makes 12-14 tortilla’s approx 6” diameter
Ingredients:
2 cups golden masa harina
1-1½ cups hot water
½ tsp salt (optional)
Directions:
• In a mixing bowl, add masa harina and slowly pour in the water. Knead the dough with your hands for
a minute or two. The dough is ready when its no longer sticky and ball forms easily in your hand.
• The dough should be springy, not dry not sticky. Adjustments maybe necessary. If too wet, paste-like
add more masa 1 tbl at a time. If too dry or crumbly add water 1 tbl at a time.
• Ideally, its best to rest the dough 15 - 30 minutes.
• Prepare tortilla press: Cut open a sandwich zip-top bag on two sides. One side of the bag remains
attached. Open the tortilla press and lay the opened bag on top. (The plastic can be reused
indefinitely; just wipe it clean of any dough after each use.)
• Preheat a cast iron pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Make sure your pan is hot, by dropping a
few drops of water over the surface should sizzle immediately.
• Pinch off a few tablespoons of dough and roll it between your hands to form a 2” ball (roughly the size
of a golf ball). Place the ball of dough on the plastic-covered tortilla press in the middle of the press.
Fold the other side of the plastic bag over the top of the dough. Bring the top of the press down over
the dough, then press with the handle to flatten the dough to about 1/8” thick.
• Transfer tortilla to cast iron pan or griddle, cook for 1-2 minutes until the edges start to curl up, then flip
and cook another 1-2 minutes. Both sides should be dry to the touch and I like making sure there are
some brown spots along the edges.
• Place each cooked tortilla inside a clean folded kitchen towel, stacking them up on top of each
other. Best to eat immediately, any leftovers need to cool completely and stored in an airtight
container for several days.
Variations from: Heidi Swenson,101 Cookbooks
Turmeric & Hempseed Tortillas: Add 2 tbl hemp seeds, 1 tsp turmeric, and a pinch of crumbled saffron to
the masa harina.
All Green Tortillas: Add 1 tbl green powder (spirulina, wheatgrass, crushed kale chips, etc.), ½ tsp chia seeds, 3 tbl chopped chives to the masa harina.
Mushroom Paprika Tortillas: 1 tbl mushroom powder (I use porcini), 3 garlic cloves (smashed & chopped into paste), 1 tbl smoked paprika, ½ tbl ground flax seed.
Blue Corn & Black Pepper Tortillas: Use blue corn masa harina, and add ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, and 2 tbl mixed sesame seeds.
Dragonfruit Cayenne: Use 3 tbl Dragonfruit puree in place of some of the water, alternately, you can use beet juice. Counter the sweetness of both with 1/4 tsp ground cayenne.