Making Homemade Tortillas

Corn tortillas are a "must-have" on a gluten-free diet. Not only are they great with traditional Mexican cuisine but they are a great substitution for bread in many cases. Tortillas are quite simple and fun to make and require very few ingredients.

Essential Equipment

All that is needed to get started making your own tortillas is a tortilla press (either manual or electric) or a heavy flat-bottomed skillet. You will also need two heavy skillets for cooking the tortillas to perfection. Should you find that you are missing something please visit the Glutenfreeda shopping mall. You will find all the items available through our affiliate Cooking.com.

Making the Tortilla Dough

The only ingredient you need to have on hand to make fresh tortillas is Masa Harina. Masa is readily available at most well-stocked grocery stores. Since tortillas often accompany well-seasoned Mexican foods, it is not necessary to add salt to the dough. However, if you are going to be eating your tortillas as a bread substitute you may want to consider adding a dash of salt to the dough to give it a nice flavor all on its own. Below are the appropriate measurements for different quantities of tortillas:

Place the masa in a large bowl. Pour the warm water over the masa. Mix with your hands until it comes together into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut a heavy zip lock bag in two — small enough so that it will fit nicely between your tortilla press. When you are ready to make the tortillas, place one heavy skillet over medium low heat and another heavy skillet over medium high heat.

Pinch of a piece of dough and roll into a ball about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Lay one sheet of the heavy plastic wrap on the press. Place the tortilla ball in the center and flatten slightly with your hand. Cover with remaining sheet of prepared plastic and lay the press over the top. After your first press, open and rotate the tortilla in the plastic 45 degrees. Continue to press and rotate until the tortilla is about the size of the press and about 1/16" thick. Peel the top layer of plastic off and invert onto your hand. If your tortilla does not come away from the plastic without tearing, then it is too wet and you will need to add a small amount of masa to the dough. If the tortilla crumbles then you need to add a little water to the dough. You do not need to let the dough rest after making your adjustments.

Peel the remaining sheet of plastic off and place in the skillet over medium-low heat. Cook for about 30 seconds or until the tortilla releases from the skillet. Invert onto the hotter skillet and cook for about 30 seconds — 1 minute or until lightly browned. Invert and cook until remaining side is nicely browned in spots.

Making Sopes

When I was in college, one of my roommates (who happened to be Spanish), decided to make an authentic Mexican dinner for us. She happened to make Sopes (thick, hand-formed tortillas accompanied by a delicious sauce, chicken, shredded cabbage and cheese). They were absolutely delicious. In an effort to share that delicious experience you, I recreated the recipe with great results. In order to make the Sopes, all you need is masa and water as described above. Make the dough according to the above ratios and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Note: Since the sopes are thicker than tortillas, the yeild of sopes will be half of that for the tortillas listed above in the table. Pour enough vegetable oil in a skillet so that it is about a 1/4 inch deep. Heat over medium-high heat. Pinch off a chunk of dough and form with your hand so that it is about 3 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick. Pinch the sides so that there is a small lip around the outer edge of the sope. Fry in the hot oil on both sides, until slightly crisp and lightly browned (about 20 seconds per side). Drain on paper towels. Repeat process for remaining sopes. For the complete recipe for sopes please visit this month’s recipe book.

Tortilla chips

You can easily make home-made corn tortilla chips with leftover tortillas. Cut the tortillas in quarters and heat a 1/4 inch layer of vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Fry the tortilla quarters for about 20 seconds per side, or until crisp and lightly browned. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and enjoy!

Storing Tortillas

To store your tortillas, stack and place in a freezer bag. Freeze until ready to use. To defrost, simply unseal the freezer bag and defrost in the microwave. Cook on a dry skillet to warm thoroughly.

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