What Can You Do With Masa Harina Beside Tortilla?

freal · Jun 22, 2014

I dont know what can be done with this stuff??

Tortillas give me the same feeling as eating al dente pasta. Empty feeling together with slightly bad feeling. I thinks thats the endotoxin problems right there. There is no way to cook a starch well enough on a dry skillet in just 2-4 minutes. Also you get this leathery tortilla which cannot compare in any way to bread.

What else is there? Cakes were mentiones, what are those?

Blossom · Jun 23, 2014

I've made cornbread using masa harina flour instead of cornmeal. I used a recipe from www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com called Old Fashioned Corn Bread. I have to use extra milk because the masa flour seems to absorb a lot of liquid. I also added some extra fructose this last time to help balance the starch somewhat. Topping it liberally with honey is quite delicious.

Stilgar · Jun 23, 2014

Wow, that corn bread sounds incredible.
I make arepas, which are just masa, water and salt mixed and shaped into a small flat bread/cake.

They are awesome. I have them all the time. Sweet with maple syrup or honey, or savoury with cheese, eggs, carrot salad etc, fried in coconut oil. They are easier to make than tortillas!

freal · Jun 23, 2014

Stilgar said:
Wow, that corn bread sounds incredible.
I make arepas, which are just masa, water and salt mixed and shaped into a small flat bread/cake.

They are awesome. I have them all the time. Sweet with maple syrup or honey, or savoury with cheese, eggs, carrot salad etc, fried in coconut oil. They are easier to make than tortillas!

Hmmm. I thought that you cant make arepas from masa harina, that you have to have harina P.A.N. So you do shallow frying or deep frying?

Both wheat and corn tortilla taste floury to me in the inside, rawish. Even when properly done.

freal · Jun 27, 2014

I tried making pancakes, those thin ones, crepes and they would not hold together. That stuff fell apart on the skillet.

Any idea how to make tortillas that dont taste raw inside. Why does it taste raw if its already cooked. I think I am kind of done with this masa harina.

4peatssake · Jun 27, 2014

I've deep fried it in coconut oil and made chips. They were good. Like you I didn't have much luck with the tortilla's on the skillet. Didn't much care for that at all. But the chips were good, a bit of work though as I recall. I don't remember the recipe but will see if I can find it.

4peatssake · Jun 27, 2014

I think I got the idea from frying from HDD in this thread. Seems deep frying coconut oil is the key.

Mix masa with water or milk and deep fry. Add lots of salt to chips. Maybe worth one last shot, especially if you like tortilla chips!

Masa recipe thread

freal · Jun 27, 2014

I already tried deep frying, i thought first that they will remain soft but when you try to deep fry the tortillas they immediatly harden into chips. But good corn tortilla chips is easily available in store and cheap, also all of it is fried in palm oil. But I dont know if those are from masa?

Now baking it as bread came to my mind, what happens if you bake it in an oven?? But after the failure trying it ever different way I doubt they will turn out like a soft tortilla.

I want something to wrap or fill with meat and sauce. Maybe I would "compromise" on eating the "rawish" tortillas if the company convinced me that they cooked the kernels for masa all they way through.
Its seems that floury-rawish texture is just how tortillas are, kind of an acquired taste to rawish food.

tara · Jun 28, 2014

freal said:
I tried making pancakes, those thin ones, crepes and they would not hold together. That stuff fell apart on the skillet.

I've made pancakes (thin ones) out of various grains in the past, but not tried masa harina yet. I find if I make the batter pretty thin - pourable) and include enough eggs, they usually hold together reasonably.

Stilgar · Jun 28, 2014

freal said:
Hmmm. I thought that you cant make arepas from masa harina, that you have to have harina P.A.N. So you do shallow frying or deep frying?

Both wheat and corn tortilla taste floury to me in the inside, rawish. Even when properly done.

I think this is technically true, but I made them with both and they tasted the same (?). Not sure how.

Only thing is I sort of like the less-than-cooked taste in the middle! :roll:

freal · Jun 28, 2014

Stilgar said:
Only thing is I sort of like the less-than-cooked taste in the middle!

But undercooked starch causes endotoxin problems and it if it gets into your bloodstream you ve go serious problem? Plus you feel the difference between a well cooked and undercooked starch, since the undercooked one simply does not fill you up. Isnt that the fundamental of Ray Peat teaching.

I suspect the manufacturers have shortened the process of nixtamalization to increase profit. Maybe I will write to Ray Peat what he thinks about it.

jyb · Jun 28, 2014

Masa can do chips easily - it becomes crispy after frying in any pan, unlike potatoes. After mixing masa and water, I flatten small bits onto my palm one at a time before dropping them in the coconut oil for frying.

nwo2012 · Jun 28, 2014

The Mrs cooks up some good stuff with Masa.

Pizza, cookies of various types, lemon tart, muffins, cup cakes, pancakes. Also more things that just don't come to mind right now.

Stilgar · Jun 28, 2014

freal said:
But undercooked starch causes endotoxin problems and it if it gets into your bloodstream you ve go serious problem? Plus you feel the difference between a well cooked and undercooked starch, since the undercooked one simply does not fill you up. Isnt that the fundamental of Ray Peat teaching.

I suspect the manufacturers have shortened the process of nixtamalization to increase profit. Maybe I will write to Ray Peat what he thinks about it.

Yeah, you are probably right. Except, I don't think the corn has to be dry (tortilla style) in order for it to be cooked. I cook the 'arepas' for a good 15 mins or so usually in plenty of coconut oil. I think just because they are thick and because masa has a certain starchy consistency, it can seem undercooked, or just quite stodgy. You could avoid this by adding eggs, bicarbonate of soda, milk, cheese etc, to change the consistency a bit. So long as you don't rush the cooking process? Starch is something to tread lightly with anyway, and experiment accordingly.

I would be interested about the shortening of the pre-cook process too.

pboy · Jun 29, 2014

you can make paper mache or wall paste

4peatssake · Jun 29, 2014

pboy said:
you can make paper mache or wall paste

BingDing · Jun 29, 2014

pboy said:
you can make paper mache or wall paste

freal · Jul 1, 2014

It seems Ray Peat doesnt really recommend the dry commercial masa harina for tortillas??? He think its best to make your own masa. He says it is essential for the starch to be cooked well all the way through.

But I didnt get a straight answer from Ray Peat, weird, I never get a straight answer from him when emailing him.

pboy · Jul 1, 2014

if you set yourself up for feeling guilty about giving a specific recommendation and then later realizing it wasn't perfect or later finding out new information that would have changed the recommendation, it sets you up for feeling bad, having something on your conscious, and is a kind of stress that needs to be released. Im sure in all his years of lecturing and talking and having his perspective grow and change through the years, he's learned not to set himself up for this. So he gives broader recommendations with the shell of a theme to follow based on your individual circumstances the best he can without getting too specific...I think its done intelligently. He doesn't think he is nor set himself up for others thinking he is all knowing and has perfect advice and information

freal · Jul 1, 2014

He did say you can make tamales by cooking it in parchment paper. Never thought about the parchment paper, that would be a good alternative to corn husks, everything else like a cloth would probably stick to it. If somebody wants to try.

On the other hand tamale is really not a bad idea, so you can fill it with anything, chili con carne (without the beans) or chicken with enchilada sauce?

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What Can You Do With Masa Harina Beside Tortilla?

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