The Ultimate Tortilla Press' Corn Tortilla Know-How
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Grab a copy of The Ultimate Tortilla Press Cookbook and never buy supermarket corn tortillas again. It's a definitive guide to pressing and baking your way to homemade tortillas, and will ruin you for all others, forever. We're ready for that, are you? Grab some masa and get rolling!Reprinted with permission from The Ultimate Tortilla Press Cookbook
Pressing and Baking Corn Tortillas
Prepare the masa for corn tortillas. Divide the masa into orbs the size of golf balls for 6-inch tortillas or thereabout. Smaller balls of masa produce smaller corn tortillas about four inches in diameter (for street tacos, for example). Six inches is about the maximum diameter for making corn tortillas. Press each ball of masa to form tortillas. Cook each immediately.
Using a Manual Tortilla Press
Cut two pieces (square or round) of durable plastic from a food storage bag or clean shopping bag. Pieces should be one inch larger than the diameter of the tortilla press. Parchment paper also works. You will use these pieces of plastic or parchment paper to line the surfaces of the top and bottom plates of the press. For good measure, make two or three pairs in case the first pair tears or gets sticky.
When ready to press a corn tortilla:
Using an Electric Tortilla Press
Electric presses flatten the tortillas between two plates and toast them on the bottom plate. The presses look like waffle machines with smooth plates (instead of patterned plates). These combination press/cookers have two handles. One is known as the "shaping" mechanism — the first step for making flour tortillas. The other is a lever for "pressing" a tortilla. This mechanism is applied to corn and flour tortillas to flatten them before cooking. You cook the tortillas on the bottom plate and must flip the tortilla to cook both sides. Do not cook in a closed press.
When ready to press a corn tortilla:
Note: These steps are not intended to replace the manufacturer's directions. Please refer to the owner's manual.
When cooking corn tortillas on a comal:
Step By Step
When using a manual press for corn tortillas, follow the steps in this order:
Step By Step
When using an electric press for corn tortillas, follow the steps in this order: