DIY Masa Harina

My understanding is that masa harina is the flour. I think the literal translation is "dough flour." This is typically sold in markets in a bag. One mixes in water and forms the masa, which is used to make tortillas or other (typically Mexican) products. It's made by dehydrating nixtamalized corn, usually on an industrial scale. You can do this at home, but it will require you to make masa, then dehydrate it.

To make masa you use the nixtamalization process, which is not difficult, but it does take some time and the right ingredients...dried corn and cal (calcium hydroxide). If tortillas is the end result you desire, the challenge will be grinding the the nixtamalized corn fine enough. This is difficult to achieve with typical home equipment. For example, using a food processor to grind nixtamalized corn results in a dough that is too wet. One hack is to add commercially made masa harina back into this to create a workable dough for tortillas.

So, to make masa harina, you would have to go through the process above, then dehydrate, then further grind or blitz in a blender, then store. In my opinion, if you are going to nixtamalize, you are better off just using the freshly made masa.

Freshly nixtamalized corn is delicious. I have had the most success using a corona grinder. It does not grind fine enough for tortillas, but, with a double grind works well for tamales.