Fresh corn tortillas are absolutely delicious; warm and soft with that distinctly corny-flavour. They are perfect for tacos, tostadas and taquitos. They are also really easy to make, even without a tortilla press!
Nixtamalization and Fermentation
Traditional corn tortillas use masa flour, which is corn that has been fully nixtamalize. This is a process that involves soaking and cooking the dried corn in an alkaline solution to break it down. It improves the nutritional content of the corn and is necessary for soft tortillas. However, it is not technically a form of fermentation.
Despite the alkaline nature of masa flour, it is still readily fermentable by lacto-bacteria. Fermented corn tortillas have a tang of sourness that nicely compliments a spicy Mexican meal. Fermenting also ensures a nice smooth dough that is easier to work with.
How to form tortillas
Probably the easiest way to make tortillas is with a tortilla press (affiliate link.) Unfortunately, I don’t have room in my kitchen for anything extra, including a tortilla press. Here are two ways to form tortillas by hand:
- Homemade press: Use a heavy, flat-bottomed pot as a tortilla press. My cast-iron dutch oven
is perfect. Just flatten a ball of dough, then use the pot to press it flat.
- Roll by hand: Most of the time I roll out each tortilla individually on a pastry mat (affiliate link.) The pastry mat makes it easily to peel off the soft tortilla.
- Usually I’m not fussy, and I leave the tortillas with uneven edges. However, when I’m serving tortillas to guests (or photographing my tortillas), I use a 6″ diameter pot lid to cut out a perfect circle after rolling.
is perfect. Just flatten a ball of dough, then use the pot to press it flat.
Fermented Corn Tortillas
Homemade corn tortillas are easy and way more delicious than store-bought. Here’s how to make them without a tortilla press or special tools. Fermenting isn’t necessary, however, it ensures a nice and soft dough.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup water (non-chlorinated)
- 2 tbsp probiotic culture (optional, see notes)
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt and water in a glass bowl. If fermenting, replace 2 tbsp of the water with 2 tbsp of lactic culture (see notes.)
- Leave the dough to hydrate at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into tortillas. See section above for different methods of forming a tortilla.
- Heat a griddle to medium heat. Working quickly, toast the tortilla for a minute on each side. Wrap freshly cooked tortillas in a tea towel to keep warm and serve immediately.
Notes
- To ferment the masa flour, add 2 tbsp of: yogurt, sauerkraut juice, kombucha or milk kefir.
- Corn ferments really fast so don’t leave it out for more than 8 hours. Even 2 hours should be enough, as the masa will quickly become sour.
- I use a hot cast iron griddle
to cook my tortillas, but a non-stick pan
would work as well. Either way, don’t use oil because these are toasted not fried.
- The corn tortillas can be frozen after toasting. Just stack them in a zip-top bag and save for future uses. Reheat from frozen by toasting for 2 minutes on each side.
- We love curtido and homemade sour cream for delicious and probiotic additions to our tacos.
to cook my tortillas, but a non-stick pan
would work as well. Either way, don’t use oil because these are toasted not fried.Keywords: South American, taco, fajita, gluten free, vegan, egg free, dairy free, lard free, summer, fall, 3 ingredient or less
A trick for you: Roll the tortillas into a ball and then put it between two pieces of plastic (like a gallon ziploc bag split in half) and then use a plate to press it down. Makes even thinness and perfect round shape! Love the idea of fermenting them a bit. Thanks 🙂
What a great idea! I will definitely try that the next time. Thanks!
Could you use sourdough starter as your fermenting culture?
Yes! Just start with a really active starter, and maybe give it a bit longer to ferment.
Cool! I plan on giving it a shot this weekend! Thanks for the response.
Worked out great. I had to knead the dough a bit more than I thought to when I started out in order to incorporate it all together; so accustomed to wheat dough with its different moisture levels.
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Glad it worked out. It is different from bread dough. Quite firm and dry in comparison.
Hi Emilie,
Can you go into detail about types of cornmeal that would be suitable for fermentation? Is Maseca Cornmeal okay to use? Thanks!
I have only used masa flour, not cornmeal, as cornmeal is too coarse to make tortillas. I believe that Maseca is a particular brand of masa flour, so it should be fine!
Hey, just a question.
Can I ferment the flour with just salt and water?
Thanks!
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You could ferment with just flour and water, like sourdough. Then add the salt afterwards. However, it will take around 3 to 5 days to ferment masa flour that way. Enjoy!
Many thanks for this recipe – and all the others!
Have been wondering if co use Masa Harina this way since is it one of my dietary staples.. recently got back to making Kefir and this sounds pretty tasty. Right now I have some Organic BLUE Corn Masa Harina on hand so will start with that. AND, will begin working my way thru all your other recipes too.
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Wow! I’ve never seen blue corn masa flour… that sounds delish!