If you’ve never even thought about making your own tortillas before, let us be the ones to tell you that it’s much easier than you think and they’ll taste WAY better than what you’re used to buying at the store. All you need is a standing mixer (or hand mixer), a tortilla press, and a stove. Of course, if you have neither a tortilla press nor a stand mixer you could always make mix and roll them out by hand, but why give yourself the unnecessary work?

The truth of the matter is that the Mexican tortillas that are sold here in the US (and anywhere, really, that’s not Mexico) are not like the real thing. Usually, they’re made with GMO corn and have other things like gums, acids, parabens, and preservatives to elongate their shelf-life. It’s a sad fact that the combination of all of these things doesn’t leave the tortillas tasting very much like corn in the end.

That’s why we encourage you to make your own so that you can know what’s going in your tortillas. But apart from that and the fact that it’s super fun (and a great thing to cook with kids), the best part about making your own tortillas is that you can customize them! You can play around with different colors, flavors, and even patterns on your tortillas. Let’s dive right in.

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mexican tortillas + NIXTAMALIZATION

A lot of corn products in Mexico, including tortillas, are made with nixtamalized corn. Nixtamalization is a process done to the corn that helps soften the kernels, which makes it easier to remove the skin of the kernel and grind it into masa. It also makes the proteins in the corn more digestible and brings out the natural niacin from the grain. The corn is in water with limestone and then it sits for 14-24 hours. It’s then washed and blended into masa. From there, it goes on to become so many of the corn products that we know and love.

But even in Mexico, bulk tortillas are made with cornflour (although they have been nixtamalized). Only in small towns and villages do they make they do their own nixtamalization process and make their own fresh corn masa.

There are only a few tortilla companies in the US who process their corn in this way and keep their ingredients simple. Usually, their tortillas will just contain corn and limestone. They’re out go-tos when we don’t make our own tortillas at home. Of course, they don’t last as long in the fridge, but in our house tortillas never last long at all!

The importance of organic, non-GMO corn

Unfortunately, most of the corn that’s grown here in the US has been extremely industrialized to the point that almost all of it is now GMO, which stands for Genetically Modified Organism). What’s more, the soil on which it’s grown has most often been stripped of nutrients due to all the pesticides and chemicals used on the corn. Needless to say, corn is not what it used to be in the US. That’s why it’s so important to buy organic, non-GMO corn products, regardless of whether it’s flour for your tortillas, your cornbread, or your corn on the cob. Try to get non-GMO versions of any corn product you buy if possible.

If you’re wondering what we use for our tortillas, we found this organic corn flour on Amazon and it’s worked really well for us so far. As for the tortilla press, you can also find many on Amazon. We use this standard cast-iron one that works perfectly.

Colors

Here we’re showing you how to make yellow/orange carrot tortillas, purple beet tortillas, and green tortillas, in addition to the basic non-colored tortilla recipe. Of course, these are not the only colors of tortillas you can make however; the possibilities are endless when it comes to color customization!

We use juices and puree for color in these tortillas that we add to our masa dough so that the color remains stunning and vibrant. It does get tricky with what you add to your masa because different juices and purees will cause the dough to react in different ways to the dough. It’s not like you can have a base recipe for tortillas and substitute the juice amounts. Beet juice, for example, requires more water to be added to the masa than carrot juice. And for the green tortillas, we made a green puree using blanched greens so that 1) we didn’t have to juice several bunches of greens to get a small amount of juice and 2) the juice wouldn’t oxidize and lose its beautiful green color.

The other thing that’s really fun to do when you’re playing around with colors is marbling. It creates an awesome effect that’s unique to every tortilla, and you can have so much fun with the different color combinations. To create this marbling effect, all you need to do is gather however many different colors you want in your tortilla, but weigh them to make sure they add up to 50g all together, since each tortilla uses 50g of masa in total. Press the colors together to form a single 50g ball and press using the tortilla press as usual. Watch how the colors blend together and have fun experimenting!

Extra add-ons

Lastly, you can make beautiful patterns on your tortillas by pressing fresh herbs into your tortillas. This is a super simple but beautiful way to customize and give your tortillas that extra luxurious look. Play around with it and see what kinds of gorgeous patterns and shapes you can make.

To press herbs into your tortillas, just make sure your herbs(s) are cut smaller than the size of a tortilla. Press the tortilla as usual and, before you press it again, place the herb(s) on top of the tortilla where you want them and press to seal them in.

Basic Tortillas

Yields about 13 tortillas

2 1/4 cups | 292g organic white corn masa

1 1/2 tsp | 7g sea salt

3 tbsp | 20ml Extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups + 3 tbsp | 332ml water

Optional Extras

A few sprigs of fresh herbs

1. Add all ingredients to a standing mixer or large bowl. If using a standing mixer, use a paddle attachment and begin mixing on low speed. If mixing by hand, start combining ingredients until they come together, then tip out onto a flat surface and start kneading. Bring up to medium speed and mix for 15 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and homogenous. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

2. Uncover the dough and separate into 50g balls. Set up your tortilla press by cutting a rectangular piece of thin plastic (we use one side of a plastic produce bag) or plastic wrap about 2 times the size of your tortilla press, folding it in half, and putting it in the tortilla press. This will ensure that the tortillas don’t stick to the press and that you can take them out easily. One by one, place each ball into the plastic “book” and covering with the other side of the plastic cover, keeping the other balls covered when not using to stop them from drying out. Press down once with the tortilla press to flatten. Open the tortilla press, rotate the tortilla 90º clockwise and press down again (at this point, you can add herbs if using. Open the plastic ”book,” add your herb(s) on top of the tortilla, close it again and press down with the tortilla press). Continue doing this until it’s been rotated a total of 4 times and it’s facing the same way as when you started, adding a little bit of pressure each time until the dough is about 1/8”-thick. Be careful not to flatten the tortilla too much, otherwise, it’ll become too delicate and break when you peel it off the plastic.

3. Heat a cast-iron or stainless steel pan on medium flame. Open the plastic “book” from one side. With the tortilla still stuck to the other side of the plastic, flip it on to your hand so that it’s face down and the plastic layer is on top. Carefully peel the plastic off the tortilla, being careful not to break the tortilla.

4. Carefully transfer the tortilla to the pre-heated pan. If you’re planning on eating it right away, cook the tortilla for 1 minute on each side. If you’re planning on storing it, cook for only 30 seconds on each side. Remove from heat and set aside. Repeat process with the rest of the corn dough balls. Store tortillas in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Carrot Tortillas

Yields about 9 tortillas

1 1/3 cups | 170g organic white corn masa

3 pinches | 2g sea salt

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp | 107ml carrot juice (about 6 large carrots)

2 tbsp | 20ml water

Please follow the Basic Tortilla method (above).

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Beet Tortillas

Yields about 7 50g tortillas

1 1/3 cups | 170g organic white corn masa

3 pinches | 2g sea salt

3/4 cup | 140ml beet juice (About 2 large beets)

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp | 75ml water

Please follow the Basic Tortilla method (above).

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Green Tortillas

Yields about 7 tortillas

GREEN PURÉE

Yields 106g

cold water and ice for ice bath

3 packed cups | 200g raw kale or spinach leaves

1/2 cup | 100ml water

1. Prepare an ice bath by adding some ice and water into a large bowl.

2. In a steamer or large pot of boiling water, blanch the greens for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer them to the ice bath, using your hands stir them around the cold water for a few seconds until all the greens are submerged in the water and have cooled down. Let sit for 5 minutes.

3. Drain the water and squeeze the greens with your hands to remove any excess water they may contain.

4. Roughly chop the leaves and place them in a blender with the water.

5. Blend for 3 minutes on high speed or until you get a fine purée consistency. You might have to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times to get all the greens to blend.

6. Pass the purée through a fine sieve over a small bowl to remove any leftover chunks of leaves.

TORTILLAS

1 1/3 cups | 170g organic white corn masa

3 pinches | 2g sea salt

1/4 cup + 3 tbsp | 80g Green puree (see below)

1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp | 121ml water

Please follow the Basic Tortilla method (above).

 

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