Corn Tortillas (Perfect Puff, Masa Harina Brands, Skillet types)

Mexican home cook here. Your video is excellent and explains everything very well. Rick Bayless is the best English speaking resource for this. Here are some tips I have gathered in my tortilla making practice that hopefully are helpful 1. I highly recommend resting the dough first and then portioning. That allows you to make any adjustments to water to the whole batch after resting. I always end up having to add at least some after the rest. It also allows me to test one tortilla in my press to ensure it doesn't stick to the plastic. Once I know the dough is good, I can portion the rest while the pan/grill is preheating. 2. It is easier to leave the plastic as one sheet connected at one end like a book. That way you can peel one end off, lift everything up off of the press, invert the tortilla onto the palm of your other hand, and then peel the plastic off of the tortilla leaving it in your open palm. Plastic grocery bags also work great. You may have to test a few different kinds before you find the right one that won't stick 3. Traditionally, a cast iron pan called a comal is used for tortillas. They have always produced superior tortillas for me but that may be all in my head as no one in my family would think of using anything else. 4. Another Rick Bayless corn tortilla video skips the step where you flip the tortilla and cook the second side on the low heat pan - you simply lift the tortilla off of the low heat pan and flip it raw side down onto the hot pan. This technique works just as well in my opinion and saves time. 5. You can simply press the entire tortilla flat with the bottom of the spatula once to get the puff. If you follow my step 4, you only need to press when flipping the low-heat cooked side of the tortilla (the side that was up as the raw side was cooking on the hot pan) over. (This technique is also from Rick Bayless) 6. You will typically find two different grinds of masa harina: one that is for tamales which is labelled as such and one for tortillas which often isn't labelled as anything but "masa harina." The only difference is the coarseness of the grind. If you like your tortillas to be smoother, use the masa for tortillas. If you like them with a little more grit, use masa for tamales. They will taste the same. The difference will be in mouthfeel 7. Most tortillas I have had do not have salt in them. The dough doesn't need it really. I sometimes make it with salt and sometimes without and I have a hard time telling the difference. The filling for the tortilla is often plenty salted enough that you don't notice anyway Also, a minor nitpick: the letter 'h' is silent in Spanish so it is pronounced 'ah-REE-na' not "HA-REE-na" Again, you do outstanding work. This video is wonderful. I am very happy to see my culture's food getting the analysis and explanation that you so thoughtfully give to every video you make

I grew up on the Mexican border and i still didn't know any of this. I always thought i was just no good at making tortillas. You've both inspired and motivated me to try again-- the right way.

Don’t worry if you made too many tortillas. You can use the leftovers to make totopos for nachos, or strips for a sopa de tortilla, where you also need some stale tortillas for the soup, too. You can also make chilaquiles or pastel azteca with your leftover tortillas, or even use some to make tostadas or as one of your ingredients for a delicious mole.

I feel so lucky to live in the timeline where this lady is doing her thing.

Awww thank you Helen for saying hello!!! I’m honored! I’ve never used the two pan method, but I will definitely try it!! As always, your explanation was thorough and clear. It’s amazing to see indigenous women in Guatemala making tortillas by clapping their hands and cooking them in a big comal, but, for the rest of us, we need a little bit of help with the methods you take the time to research and practice! I don’t know if you tried freezing them but, after they’re cooled down, I put them in a freezer bag. They don’t stick to each other and we can get as many as we need out of the bag when we want. We warm them up a little bit in the microwave and finish them in a toaster over. Thank you for making this wonderful video (in time for Hispanic Heritage Month!) I can’t wait for the carnitas video! I’m sure they will be deliciosas!!!!

Sometimes we also put lard in tortillas, when I used lard I just use a little bit less water to make up for it. You put it in at room temperature, soft but not melted.

I really appreciate the level of detail Helen provides in all her videos and this one is no exception

This must be one of the most comprehensive guides on making tortillas. Showing the making of tortillas and illustrating very clearly with the different types of corn flours and trouble shooting help. It also shows how to well maintain the finish tortillas. It’s a treasure video on tortillas. This is very helpful indeed. Thank you 😊❤

This is the most comprehensive tutorial I have seen on YouTube. I have spent a lot of time looking for techniques and instructions and this is the best one so far. This video addresses a lot of the issues I suspected I was running into but didn't understand why I was messing it up.

Great video. One huge trick to help take tortilla out of plastic after pressing: 1. While still on the press, slowly pull top plastic off and then put plastic layer back on loosely; 2. Flip tortilla still with plastic on both sides and remove the second layer of plastic "slowly"; 3. Place tortilla (plastic free side) in hand and remove already loosened plastic side. Also another tip: I like plastic with print on it because it is a little firmer - the writing side is usually the last side I take off in this process.

I mostly use tortillas, both flour and corn, instead of bread and have been using Bob's for years. A Mexican friend's grandmother swears that I am part Mexican. There are several very helpful hints in this video, but I really like the idea of using two pans! I have been using a very well seasoned cast iron skillet, but I also have carbon steel Thank you for this video and I will not tell my Mexican friend that my best hints came from my favorite Russian cook!

Tortillas are the best part of any meal. Fill with eggs and bacon for breakfast, chicken and your favorite style coleslaw for lunch.

Excellent tutorial. I love making corn tortillas and watching them puff up. Way better than storebought ones imho. At first, I had concerns about Teflon outgassing then I found an article saying "Until 2013, Teflon was made with perfluorooctanoic acid (or PFOA), which was a cause for concern. Today’s Teflon coatings are free of PFOA. "

I'm assuming you did not grow up eating or making tortillas, but the technicality of your video it's spot on, very good job!

I’m sure every single person who follows Helen and closely knows this is exactly why we all love you so much, your attention to detail surpasses pretty much any other YouTube channel in terms of cooking. I learned so much as you explain why and not just how.

Hello Helen, if using a dish towel to cover the already made tortillas be aware of the soap you used to wash those dish towels, since the perfumes can transfer to the tortilla itself.... It is been said that if you make a tortilla and it puffs you are ready to marry lol... Mexican saying... bty eating a tortilla recently made with a piece of queso fresco and salsa on top makes the best experience while seating in front of a comal waiting for your taco... my grandmother used to give us the first tortillas of the batch just with salt and rollled up like a thin taco... best memories of abuela... Glad you did a video on tortillas, best regards Helen

just like mom and grandma used to make... tip for for those of you with young kids, or kids at heart. take a soft cooked tortilla rub some butter (or your favorite fat) on one side, then sprinkle some salt, then roll the tortilla squeezing it tight in your hand so the tortilla shows your finger marks, then promptly give to your kid nice and warm. they will love it. !!

❤I can't believe how well this method works. I have tried and tried to make tortillas time after time with nothing but failure! It was very easy, and I had them all cooked in no time. Every single one puffed up like a pillow. THERE WASN'T EVEN ONE TORTILLA LEFT! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!❤

Nixtamalized corn is made with lime, not limestone. Limestone is made of calcium carbonate, and if you burn it above 900°C you get a very caustic “unslaked lime” (calcium oxide), and if you add that to water you get a less caustic “slaked lime” (calcium hydroxide), which is what you use to make masa. So it’s sort of made with limestone, but not really. It would be like saying soap is made with wood when it’s really made with ashes. It’s a chemically different material.

This was so well thought out and put together. You really broke the process down in a way that I feel like I really understand how to make better tortillas. For starters, mine always came out too dry, I never thought to let my dough rest and didn’t think to try cooking them on different heat settings and could never get mine to puff up. Thank you so much, I’m definitely gonna try this next time.