Tortillas are all about the taste of the maiz. They consist of water, nixtamalized corn and sometimes a flavoring in the masa. But taste for me is also about texture and with tortillas, this is key.

A proper tortilla puffs into a fluffy pillow after the cooking on the 2nd side. When you rip a tortilla in half, it should be two separate layers. You know when you go to an authentic taqueria for totopos (tortilla chips) and guacamole and the chips are so crispy and crunchy? Those tortillas have two layers - look closer next time you dive into some bomb guacamole!

If you’ve spent the time soaking the corn in nixtamal, grinding the masa, mixing the dough, rolling out the tortillas and then cooking them, you might as well get your cooking process down as well. You want to have this same texture there’s a couple of crucial steps that you need to take:

Savoir-faire: The art of making tortillas is a repeated process and just a learned know-how. The more you understand the various elements at play, the easier the process becomes - this is true for all skills. Similar to bread, tortilla masa can vary on how dry it is. If it’s raining outside, use less water as there’s more humidity in the air and vice versa.
Proper tools are essential. A comal de barro or clay comal will help tremendously in ensuring that tortillas puff. See this last blog post on heat distribution here. Another essential tool is a tortilla press. Cast iron works fine but I much prefer wood as it’s softer on my hands.
Heat: The most tricky element here is the amount of heat. Each burner is different but I like to imagine my comal over an open pit fire, where the coals are a deep red and glowing hot - and then match the heat to that temperature (usually just past medium on the larger burner. I even marked mine with a Sharpie.) This level of flame will ensure that the heat doesn’t burn the tortilla nor cook it too fast.
Flips: When you have your dough pressed and ready for the hot comal, place it gently and allow it to cook until the edges start to curl up (about 45 seconds - 1 minute.) Then flip and allow the other side to cook for about a minute, then flip it one last time.
The Poke: After that last flip, use your finger to poke the center of the tortilla. The steam in the tortilla will release from the air pockets in the dough and start to rise. This is the most exciting part. Ideally the tortilla becomes a little pillow. Once inflated, gently place it in the tortillero for that final steam.

¡Buena suerte and feel free to reach out with questions!

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How to Get Corn Tortillas to Puff