Corn Tortillas

Method

1. mix3 min
   hot water, by hand
   masa harina + salt + hot water poured in at once, worked until it comes together as one mass — hot water swells the pre-cooked corn starch faster and further than cold, and dough mixed cold never stops feeling gritty
2. rest25 min
   covered, room temperature
   dough under a damp cloth or wrap. The flour is still absorbing; a dough pressed immediately looks fine and then cracks around the whole rim because the outer edge is the driest part. Afterwards it should feel like soft modeling clay and take a fingerprint without splitting — if it cracks, add water a teaspoon at a time; if it smears on your palm, dust in more masa
3. prep6 min
   between two sheets of plastic
   divide into 8 balls about the size of a golf ball, keep them covered, and press each to roughly 15 cm and 2 mm thick. Plastic on both sides, never bare metal — masa has no gluten and no fat to release it, so it welds to the press and tears when you lift it
4. cook2 min
   dry comal or cast iron, medium-high
   one tortilla, 20 seconds on the first side until it releases and turns opaque, 50 seconds on the second until pale brown freckles appear, then back to the first side. That last turn is the one that puffs it: the second side has sealed, so the trapped water flashes to steam and lifts the top skin away, splitting the tortilla into two layers and cooking the middle through. A griddle too cool dries the tortilla before steam can build and it stays flat and stiff
5. store5 min
   stacked in a cloth-lined basket
   stack them as they come off and wrap tight. The steam they give off is reabsorbed by the ones below, which is what turns a just-cooked tortilla from firm to foldable — an uncovered stack goes brittle within minutes