Homemade corn tortillas

Stir masa flour with warm tap water in a bowl and let sit about 20 minutes until the flour absorbs all the liquid.

Knead in a little more water until the dough is the consistency of soft cookie dough, almost sticky enough to stick to the fingers but not quite.

Line a tortilla press with two sheets of plastic cut from food storage bags.

Roll a ball of dough about the size of a golf ball, flatten it on the bottom sheet, cover with the top sheet and press gently; turn it and press gently again to even it.

Peel off the plastic, lay the tortilla on the griddle so it catches and roll the hand out from under it.

Heat one end of the griddle to medium-low and the other to medium-high; cook the tortilla on the cooler end 20 to 30 seconds, until it dries a little around the edges.

Flip onto the hot side for 20 to 30 seconds until dark splotches show underneath; flip again and cook 20 or 30 seconds more as it puffs.

Tear open the first one to check: doughy means the masa is too soft; a cracked edge means too dry, so knead in a little more water.

Stack the tortillas in a cloth-lined tortilla basket as they come off the griddle; they steam together and are ready in about 10 minutes.