Corn Tortilla Recipe – Nicky’s Kitchen Sanctuary

I love making corn tortillas at home for that authentic taste. If you have a tortilla press then GREAT (I’ve got a link for mine below), but don’t worry if not, you can roll them out by hand too.
Only 3 ingredients and about 1 hour needed (including 20 mins resting time).

A tall shot of corn tortillas. The image shows 9 tortillas stacked on top of each other. Beneath the stack of tortillas, there is a white and blue stripy napkin. This is all set on a wooden surface.

Slightly smoky, subtly sweet and with a slight chew, these tortillas are bound to upgrade your Mexican dishes tenfold!

I’ve always used store-bought tortillas, as they’re so convenient, and never really thought about making my own until I had proper homemade tacos at an amazing Mexican restaurant. And WOW! I can’t believe how much the flavour popped. Needless to say, I bought a tortilla press as soon as we left! 😆

🥣Equipment

Tortilla Press – I highly recommend that you use a tortilla press for this. I use a cast iron tortilla press (<– Affiliate link – mine is a Helm & Som one, but the link may take you to a different one if that one isn’t available in your country. It’s a cast iron 8 inch tortilla press), which is relatively inexpensive if you plan to make a few batches of tortillas. If you don’t want to buy one you can roll the tortillas out by hand using the 2 sheets of greaseproof paper and a rolling pin.

📋 Ingredients

Masa Harina flour – this is a gluten-free flour made from finely ground corn or maize (this is different to regular UK cornflour). It’s a must for homemade tortillas. I use Maseca (<– affiliate link) which is the most popular Mexican brand of white corn flour used for tortillas.

How to make it:

***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***

First, mix together the flour and salt in a bowl. Then slowly pour in the water whilst stirring until it forms a smooth dough.
Then, cover and leave to develop.
After around 20 minutes, divide and roll the dough into small balls.

A wide shot of the prep for corn tortillas. On the left of the image, you can see the black tortilla press, next to it you can a person's arms and hands holding one of the balls of tortilla dough, seemingly rolling it in their hands. On the right of the image, there are more tortilla dough balls, placed on the wooden cutting board. This is all set on a wooden cutting board in a kitchen.

One at a time, place the balls between two sheets of greaseproof paper in the tortilla press. Then press the top of the tortilla press down until you get those disc shapes. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

A square collage of four images, each labelled in the top left corner with a white circle with the numbers 1 - 4 in order. The top left image (labelled one) shows a ball of tortilla dough being placed between two sheets of white greaseproof paper, on top of a black tortilla press. The top right image (labelled two) shows a tortilla press being closed by a hand, with seemingly two sheets of greaseproof paper and tortilla dough in between it. It is also on top of a wooden cutting board. The bottom left image (labelled three) shows the black tortilla press being opened to reveal a flat disc of dough in between two sheets of greaseproof paper. The final image (labelled four) shows the top layer of greaseproof paper being peeled off the disc of dough, which is on top of a tortilla press, on top of a wooden cutting board.

Once you have all your tortilla disks, heat a cast iron skillet over a medium to high heat. Then, place one tortilla at a time to cook on the skillet, flipping twice until you get those lovely charred edges.

A wide prep shot of corn tortillas. The image shows one tortilla in the centre of a black, cast iron skillet with a wooden handle. The skillet is on top of a hob burner in the centre of the image.

Keep the cooked tortillas warm in some tin foil and serve with your favourite dish!

Pro Tip

You NEED to place these in some foil to keep warm as they’re best served fresh and warm. This additional warming allows them to become nice and pliable, perfect to be loaded up with your favourite filling.

I love the extra flavour the charred edges add to the dish.

A square shot of corn tortillas. The image shows 8 tortillas stacked on top of each other. In the foreground of the image, there is a hand coming out of the right side of the frame, holding a tortilla and folding it in half. Beneath the stack of tortillas, there is a white and blue stripy napkin. This is all set on a wooden surface.

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🍽️ What to serve it with

While this does require a little more effort than store-bought tortillas, trust me, it’s so worth it!

A tall, overhead shot of corn tortillas. The image shows 9 tortillas stacked on top of each other. Beneath the stack of tortillas, there is a white and blue stripy napkin. This is all set on a wooden surface.

🍲 More fantastic breads

How to scale up and down this recipe:

Since we’re already working in batches, it’s very easy to increase or decrease the amount of tortillas you want to make. Just make sure you stick to the same ingredient ratios when making up the dough.

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Mix together the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.

250 g Masa Harina, 3/4 tsp salt
Slowly pour the water into the bowl whilst continually mixing until the dough comes together then knead it for a couple of minutes.

375 ml warm water
Cover and leave the dough to develop for 15-20 minutes. (SEE NOTE 1)
Divide the mixture into golf ball sized balls. You should get around 16 balls all about 38 grams each.
Place one of the balls in between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper on a tortilla press and press firmly but not too hard until you have a disk that’s about 2mm thick and 12cm across. (SEE NOTE 2)
Repeat with the remaining balls of dough until you’ve got 16 raw tortillas.
Heat a heavy based cast iron fying pan (skillet) over a medium to high heat. You want the pan to be hot but not smoking.
Add one of the raw tortillas to the dry hot pan and cook for 15 seconds, turn and cook for another minute, then turn them for a final time and cook for a final minute.
Place the tortilla in a tortilla warmer or wrap it in foil to keep warm whilst you make the rest (SEE NOTE 3).

Note 1: Develop the dough

We’re leaving the dough to rest and develop to allow the moisture to evenly distribute with the flour. This together with the couple of minutes of kneading will ensure you get nice even tortillas that aren’t dry.

Note 2: Press the Tortillas

I highly recommend that you use a tortilla press for this. I use a cast iron tortilla press (<– Affiliate link – mine is a Helm & Som one, but the link may take you to a different one if that one isn’t available in your country. It’s a cast iron 8 inch tortilla press), which is relatively inexpensive if you plan to make a few batches of tortillas. If you don’t want to you can roll these out by hand using the 2 sheets of greaseproof paper and a rolling pin.

Note 3: Keeping the tortillas warm

You NEED to place these in some foil to keep warm as they’re best serve fresh and warm. This additional warming allows them to become nice and pliable, perfect to be loaded up with your favourite filling.

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

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