Homemade corn tortillas are a perfect toddler food! They can be ripped, dipped or rolled up, and they don’t have 5 wacky-looking extra ingredients and don’t suspiciously last forever in the fridge. I decided to make corn tortillas myself, because whenever I would look at the store tortilla ingredients, I would usually get a feeling of doom, put them back and walk away. At the same time, if you don’t know, I am in LOVE with Mexican food and could eat it every day. So Amazon prime 2-day shipping later I got a bag of organic blue corn masa harina (the corn flour used to make tortillas) and a tortilla press.
The dough comes together simply with just 3 ingredients (+ salt, optional). For best results, rest the dough for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough into ~1 inch little balls.
Line tortilla press with a plastic sheet. I cut up a gallon sized plastic bag into two squares (which I wash and reuse). I like to place the ball of dough a little off center, closer to the top cover, as it tends to spread a little away from that side. 
Top with other piece of plastic and smash the ball slightly with your hand.
Close the press lid and the lever. Press firmly, but don’t worry about squeezing it all the way down, or the tortilla can get too thin/uneven/stick to the plastic. 
Slowly peel away the top layer of plastic. Then flip the tortilla into your hand and peel away the other side. If the tortilla is sticking to the plastic, scrape off. The dough might be too wet or the press was squeezed to hard. You can retry, or add more masa to the dough and re-knead before trying again.
Heat a skillet to medium high heat and add a little oil. Lay the tortilla in and when it starts bubbling press it down with a spatula. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until it is no longer sticking, then flip and cook the other side for 1 -2 minutes pressing down bubbles. 
Do not overcook the tortillas or they will get hard/crunchy. Don’t forget to wrap the tortillas in a small towel once they are cooked so they get and stay soft. Enjoy fresh and warm with some avocado or cashew crema!
- 1 cup masa harina
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¾- 1 cup warm water (start with ¾ cup)
- ½ tsp salt (optional)
- extra oil for cooking (optional)
- gallon size plastic bag cut into two sheets (reuasable)
- Mix together masa and salt (optional) and then mix in olive oil with your hands
- Pour in ¾ cup of water and mix, slowly adding extra water as needed until a ball forms. You should not need the entire cup of water. The dough should feel kind of like play dough. Not too sticky but not crumbly.
- Cover and rest dough for 15 minutes
- Heat a cast iron or non stick skillet on medium high heat
- Pinch off and roll ~12-15 balls of dough
- Lay down one plastic sheet on the tortilla press, flatten a ball of dough and place slightly off center towards where the press opens up (it will squeeze away from the crease a bit)
- Lay the other plastic sheet over and press firmly
- Gently peel off the top sheet and flip over into your open palm. Gently peel off the the other sheet.
- Add some oil to heated skillet (optional) and lay tortilla in with a flip of your hand. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side pressing bubbles down with a spatula. Do not overcook!
- Place into a towel lined dish or bowl and keep covered with the towel and a lid
- Continue pressing, cooking and keeping tortillas covered
- Enjoy plain or with beans, avocado, as tacos, as enchiladas, or as roll-ups!
*If the tortillas are very thin and falling apart, you may need to press down a little less on the tortilla press.
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