Recipe(tried): Blue Corn Tortillas

Blue Corn Tortillas

I don't know how to make commercial tortillas, just good homemade ones. My family thinks the homemade version taste so much better than the store-bought version. Anyway, blue corn is the hardest to make tortillas with. The dough must be more moist than if you used white or yellow corn, otherwise they fall apart. Here's the recipe I use. Jane Butel, a southwestern chef, taught me to make them. The recipe is in her cookbooks.
The masa needed for this recipe, if you can't find it, can be mail-ordered from www.pecosvalley.com.

2 1/2 cups masa (NOT cornmeal) from white, yellow, or blue corn
1 tsp salt
approximately 1 1/4 cups hot water

Combine masa and salt and make a well in the center. Mix in 1/2 cup water. Continue adding water a little at a time, mixing well,until a firm dough is formed. Finish mixing with your hands. The dough should be firm and springy, not dry, crumbly, or sticky. To test, roll a small ball of dough and flatten it between your hands. If cracks form, add more water. If the dough sticks to your hands, add more masa. Preheat a skillet until it is very hot. Pull off an egg-sized piece of dough, place between two sheets of wax paper, and flatten into a 5 inch circle. To flatten, you can use a tortilla press, rolling pin, or cast iron skillet. Cook the tortillas 1 or 2 minutes per side in the ungreased skillet. The tortillas should be dry and have brown specks. Hints for blue corn: make the dough moister or add 1/2 to 1 cup white or yellow masa and more water to make the dough easier to handle.