Table Tortilla Masa by Jorge Gaviria

Perhaps because table tortillas are the most common masa application—always in seemingly ample, ready supply—the fresh masa used to make them is also used as a building block for several other dishes.

Photo: Graydon Herriott

Excerpted with permission from Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple by Jorge Gaviria:

Perhaps because table tortillas are the most common masa application—always in seemingly ample, ready supply—the fresh masa used to make them is also used as a building block for several other dishes that we’ll explore in this chapter, from memelas to tlayudas, and from sopes to certain kinds of tamales. (See Masa, page 88 for sifted wood ash preparation notes.) This main recipe shows you how to make masa from kernels, but you can skip directly to “Preparing Table Tortilla Masa Using Masa Harina” if you’re starting with masa harina.