And yes, all you need for perfect corn tortillas is a bag of high-quality masa harina (or 'masa flour') and water. Is it really worth buying a bag just to make tortillas?
PER SERVING % DAILY VALUE Combine masa harina with water. Mix with hands until dough is moist but holds its shape. Add more water if needed. Let dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide dough into 12 balls. Dampen dough slightly with water. Using a tortilla press or a flat baking dish, press dough between two pieces of waxed paper to a 6 inch round.
Producers will take this masa dough and dehydrate it, resulting in Masa Harina, sometimes referred to as corn flour. It’s a powdered version of masa dough and all you need to do is rehydrate the Masa Harina and you’ve got a quick batch of masa dough on your hands that you can use to make corn tortillas, tamales, gorditas, etc.
Because the grains used to make corn flour and cornmeal haven't been soaked in lime solution, these products, though made from corn, are not substitutions for the classic masa harina. The soft flour is then reconstituted with water to make all sorts of doughy preparations, from tortillas to arepas, gorditas to tamales.