Fresh homemade tortillas are the best. And, making tortillas at home is easier than you might think, especially if you have the right equipment—namely a tortilla press and Maseca Masa Flour.

Masa is a staple ingredient in a variety of Mexican recipes. This corn flour is used for making the dough for tortillas, tamales, pupusas, and gorditas. It is simple to use and rehydrates easily so you can mold it as you wish. And, because masa is made of corn, it is gluten-free.

To use masa, water needs to be added to moisten the corn flour to create a dough. This dough can then be patted thin for tortillas and is left thicker when making pupusas and gorditas so they can be sliced and stuffed with savory ingredients. The dough for tamales calls for more water, making for a moister texture. This mixture can then be patted around cooked pork, chicken, vegetables, and/or cheese, and then wrapped in a corn husk for easy steaming.

Cooking mas by steaming, heating on the griddle, or frying brings out the nutty, tangy nuances of the corn and makes the corn flour more palatable. Because of masa’s neutral taste, spices and other ingredients like beer, ground chile peppers, and paprika can be added to enhance the eating experience.

Maseca is the leading global brand of corn flour, bringing the flavor of Mexico to the entire world. Maseca Masa has been available in the United States for more than 40 years.

Homemade Masa Tortilla Recipe
Yields 12 tortillas

Ingredients
2 cups corn flour—we use Maseca Masa Flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups water

Directions
Make the dough
Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the water and mix to incorporate thoroughly. The dough should feel slightly wet. Form the dough into a smooth ball, cover with a towel and allow it to rest at room temperature for half an hour.

Form the tortillas
Divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Place a little water on the hands and form the dough into golfball-size balls. Take 2 pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap from a plastic bag and cut them to the shape of the surface of the tortilla press. Open the tortilla press and lay one piece of waxed paper on the press. Place the masa ball in the center. Place another piece of waxed paper over the masa ball. Gently close the press and press down, until the dough has spread to 6-inches in diameter.

If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can roll them out by hand using wax paper and a rolling pin (or even a bottle).

Cook the tortillas
Heat a cast-iron griddle or a large nonstick skillet on high heat.

Work with one tortilla at a time and carefully remove the wax paper on each side. Hold the tortilla so that half of it is draping off your hand. Gently lay the tortilla down onto the hot skillet. Cook the tortilla on the hot pan for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. The tortilla should be lightly toasted with little air pockets forming.

While the first tortilla is cooking, begin pressing the next tortilla and repeat until you have cooked all the tortillas. Once cooked, the tortillas can be stacked. Keep the tortillas warm and moist by covering them with a towel before serving.