Go to the Article: Masa Magic: What We Learned in Pursuit of the Ultimate Tortilla
I’d be interested in seeing your take on Sonoran style tortillas like those from Caramelo Tortillas out of Lawrence, KS. They’re incredibly thin yet elastic and chewy.
Hi Chris. Sonoran style tortillas are a Mexican flour tortilla, I would recommend checking out our new activity; The mission: leveled up flour tortillas. They are perfect examples of that style, and can get nice and thin. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/flour-corn-hybrid-tortilla
I’m excited to make these. Been thinking about home nixtimalization since cooking issues did a thing on their blog a long time ago.
Curious though: I’ve heard people say that you MIGHT be able to grind the corn with a meat grinder (pass through multiple times). Did y’all ever try that? I’ve been scared to out of fear of messing up my kitchen aid.
Also, would it work to grind the corn first (while dry) and then sous vide with cal and water? I have a Mockmill attachment for my kitchenaid as well, and use it for grinding my bread flour.
Thanks, and will report with results!
The trick with those is really getting the right kind of flour. Sonoran white wheat flour is necessary. The technique is the same as any other flour tortilla after that: flour, lard, water, salt. Fwiw, I bought some of that wheat, ground it, sifted it, and it was AMAZING
Well.. we are going to have to order some now and check it out. Thank you Wes!
1st. The corn will go through your meat grinder no problem after nixtamalization, however it will only ever be as fine as the smallest grinder die you have, which would be pretty chunky.
2nd. If you do the pre grind, your Nixtamal will most likely over cook, and become more of a grit, polenta texture. If you want you can make your own home made masa flour thought.. go through the Nixtamal process with the whole corn, then strain, rinse, and dry! Then you can put it through your Mockmill and have your own home made dried masa flour.
let us know how that works out for you.
I ground mine fine, and passed through #60 strainer, FYI. This is a good source: https://mockmill.us/product/organic-white-sonora-wheat-berries/
Hey btw, did you guys ever try growing koji on the steak (a follow up to your steak of the future post) ? We do it all the time and love it.
Is there any info on getting the tortillas to puff up? I have tried making tortillas many times in the past with a press and masa and I have only got them to puff up on rare occasion and see tons of different techniques online with none that I can seem to get to work for me consistently. I don't know if my tortillas are too thick either even with the press.
Our friends over at Masienda have a really good tutorial in their YouTube chanel, check it out. It will be more comprehensive then having me type it all out here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1NhXclNh1s
could you guys make other grain tortillas that you nixtamalize? Like a rye tortilla or a farro tortilla?
Is it possible to nixtamalize corn meal?
No. Sorry. With ground corn meal you are going to end up with polenta that you will not be able strain away the CAL.
Does it make any sense to use the Fast Slow Pro (pressure cooker) for the pre-cooking and soaking? Seems like it would hold the temperature and be more efficient than cooking in the oven or stovetop, and then I don't have to worry about finding a suitable sous-vide container for 205°F water.
I tried that... it quickly over cooked the corn, and specifically in the fast slow pro the cal did a little damage to the coating of the pot.
Is there still a partnership with Massienda allowing for a 15% discount for studio pass members? I can’t find a code, or any studio pass partnerships for that matter. Thank you.
I ground my hominy with a Chef's Choice meat grinder on my 6qt Kitchen Aid using the finest plate. I ran it through twice. Worked great, but it went a little slow.
