What is the secret to making corn tortillas to get them to puff on the 2nd flip like every single person I've watched on Youtube. How can I be defeated by cornmeal and water? I'm using the instant Maseca brand. Getting my cast-iron pan nice and hot. Giving the mix 30 minutes covered to fully hydrate. What is wrong with me?
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Being cursed at is just so deflating.
On a more serious note, I'll be watching this carefully because mine don't puff much, either. -
If you look at the photos of corn tortillas at the Maseca web site, there isn't a puffy one in the bunch. https://www.mimaseca.com/recipes-wit...our-tradition/
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They don't stay puffed up. It's just temporary while cooking and apparently is an indicator that you've got the heat about right. Once done, the tortillas are nice and flat ... just the way you'd expect them to be.Comment
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Not sure this will be helpful ... but from the FWIW files, here's the method I've pulled together from several sources:
INGREDIENTS
To Make 252.5 g total:
93 g (1 cup) masa harina ( KAF )
1.5 g (1/4 teaspoon) fine salt, e.g. pickling or table ( MexicanPlease )
150 g (5 fluid ounces) warm water, about 100oF ( KAF ), plus more as needed
8 g (2 teaspoons) vegetable oil, for the dough ( ATK ), plus more for frying, as needed
Servings: 4 to 6 tortillas (7-inch/60 g; 6-inch/50 g; 5-inch/40 g each)
Source: MBM modifed after ATK, KAF, MexicanPlease, and Pati Janich
DESCRIPTION
MBM Modified Using Recipes and Advice From: America's Test Kitchen ( ATK ), King Arthur Flour ( KAF ), MexicanPlease, and with hints from Pati Jinich
Equipment Needed:
Tortilla Press: And there are makeshift alternatives that will do in a pinch
Griddle: A lefse griddle works best. Alternatively, you can use either a non-stick skillet or griddle/steel on the cooktop, or on an appropriate outdoor cooker. The griddle must be dry (or at least wiped to remove all excess oil) and the cooking will be done at 400F (200C).
Spatula: Large enough to support most of the delicate tortilla. It might help to prevent sticking by lightly oiling the spatula.
Approximate Amount of Dough Needed vs Tortilla Size:
5" - 40 g
6" - 50 g
7" - 60 g
DIRECTIONS
[Note: See "Ingredients" for the exact amounts of masa harina, salt, water, and oil.]
Whisk masa harina and salt together in a bowl. Stir in warm water and vegetable oil with rubber spatula until combined. Using your hands, knead dough in bowl until it is soft and tacky and has texture of Play-Doh. If necessary, add more warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until proper texture is achieved. (You can test for proper hydration by gently flattening a golf ball–size piece of dough with your hands. If many large cracks form around edges, it is too dry.)
Divide dough into the calculated number of equal portions (see "Servings"), about a scant 3 tablespoons (40-42 g) each. Roll each portion into smooth ball between your hands.
Note: It helps to cover the dough balls with plastic at this point and chill for at least 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator before proceeding.
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Transfer dough balls to plate and keep covered with damp paper towel. Cut open seams along sides of 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, leaving bottom seam intact. Spray inside of bag lightly with vegetable oil spray; wipe excess oil spray from bag with paper towel.
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Heat remaining oil on the griddle or in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (400oF) until just smoking. Using tongs, wipe the cooking surface with paper towels. Place 1 dough ball in center of prepared bag and flatten slightly. Fold top layer of plastic over the flattened ball. Press dough flat into a relatively thin 5-inch circle. WARNING: Don't make it too thin or it'll either stick hopelessly to the plastic or collapse into an equally hopeless wrinkled mess in the pan.
Notes:
>>> Once the dough is cooking, DO NOT TOUCH THE RAW SIDE OF THE TORTILLA WITH ANYTHING THAT MIGHT STICK ... including the spatula.
>>> You'll know if the griddle is hot enough if the tortilla "floats" frictionlessly on the steam that it's releasing.
>>> Once the surface of the dough has started to set, pressing occasionally with the spatula will help encourage the tortilla to puff up a bit and to brown more evenly.
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SEE "REMOVING THE DOUGH ..." IN THE NOTES SECTION BELOW FOR DETAILS ON THIS STEP
Peel top layer of plastic away from tortilla. Using plastic to lift tortilla from bottom, place exposed side of tortilla in palm of your hand and invert tortilla. Peel away plastic. Carefully flip tortilla into skillet and cook until bottom begins to brown at edges, about 1 minute.
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Using a thin spatula, flip the tortilla and cook until the second side is browned at edges, about 45 seconds. Flip tortilla again and press center and edges firmly with spatula so tortilla puffs, about 15 seconds.
Transfer cooked tortilla to tortilla warmer or wrap in damp dish towel. Repeat with remaining dough balls, lightly spraying bag with oil spray and wiping off excess as needed to keep tortillas from sticking. Serve. (If storing tortillas in damp dish towel, microwave for 2 minutes to rewarm before serving.)
NOTES
REMOVING THE DOUGH FROM THE PLASTIC USED FOR PRESSING:
>>> You must peel the plastic off the dough ... you do NOT peel the dough off the plastic.
>>> You must peel the plastic slowly ... parallel to the surface of the dough.
>>> You must NEVER try to lift the plastic away from the dough ... or the dough away from the plastic; it's got to be peeled.
To make it happen:
1. First you peel the top piece of plastic off the dough, then replace it (the dough won't be stuck firmly to the top piece of plastic).
2. Then you turn the dough over (still between two pieces of plastic) and peel the (former) bottom piece of plastic off. 3. Leave it off and pick up the dough (still on a single piece of plastic) in the palm of one hand and transfer it to the palm of your other hand while gently removing the plastic.
4. Finally, ease the dough into the pan ... being careful to keep it from folding or tearing.
>>>>> SEE TIPS FROM PATI JANICH <<<<<
RESCUING A SLOPPY MESS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE:
If the tortilla folds over and collapses into the pan as a big mess, you can quickly remove it before it starts to cook, re- roll it into a ball, put it back into the plastic, and run it through the press again. If you're quick enough, it can be rescued and no one will ever notice the difference.
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I’m certainly no expert but I had the same problem until I bought real corn masa. I haven’t gone back to Maseca to test my theory but the real masa is CONSIDERABLY more wet than what the recipes I was following on line. So much so that I had to mix some Maseca in so that it wasn’t a sticky mess. Sooo, I think possibly more water and/or letting it sit longer so it hydrates more. 🤷♂️Comment
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you need that $200 titanium fish spatula! 😁Comment
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My experience is two fold, temperature of the pan likely is a big factor, so is hydration, and when I say hydration, yes, total amount of water, but also, giving your tortilla dough given enough time to hydrate throughout and the rest time to allow it to relax. These are jut my theories though. Others likely have more scientific proven theories.Comment
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I use maseca, and have never had a tortilla puff. I’ve also been told my dough may be too dry still, buy looking at the edges of the tortilla. Someone on here, perhaps mnavarre said the edges should be pretty smooth and what I had were a little rough. Once I get through this bag of maseca I’m going to try masienda - which still may not give me the puff but I wanted to try that brand and blue and red corn.
But….it doesn’t really matter in the end…because you are eating TACOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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