The first corn plants believed to have been grown in the Americas were grown in modern-day Mexico and Central America. Today, corn is grown in over 85% of the countries of the world. Thousands of varieties of corn are available and their relative ease of growing in nearly all climates makes corn a staple crop in the world, particularly in developing countries.
Corn is included in a family of plants known as grain plants, which also includes rice, oats and wheat. Corn is eaten on-the-cob, cut off the cob, as well as ground down to make corn meal and corn flour. The key difference between corn meal and corn flour is how finely it is ground, corn meal being more coarse than corn flour.
It’s super easy to make your own corn tortillas!
What you will need:
- 2 cups Maseca corn flour
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- waxed paper
- tortilla press or rolling pin
Mix corn flour with water and salt.
Knead together for 2 minutes or until you form a soft dough. Add teaspoons of water if dough feels too dry.
Divide dough into 16 equal balls. Cover with a damp cloth to keep dough soft and moist. Line a tortilla press with 2 sheets of waxed paper. Place dough ball between the waxed paper and press. Tortilla should measure approximately 5-6 inches in diameter. Dough should be rolled thin, but not so paper-thin that it tears when you’re removing the waxed paper. If you don’t have a tortilla press, a rolling pin works fine.
Heat skillet or griddle to medium high heat (an electric skillet also works fine, just won’t brown as well). Carefully peel off tortilla from waxed paper by peeling off one piece of the paper, inverting into hand, and then removing the other piece of waxed paper. Place in skillet or on griddle.
Cook each tortilla for 50 seconds on each side.
Repeat process of pressing/rolling and cooking with remaining dough balls. Once cooked, cover tortillas with cloth napkin until ready to serve.
Add a pat of butter and a few shakes of sea salt! Enjoy these authentic tasting corn tortillas!