What's the difference between masa for tortillas and for tamales?

I found a link that will provide the explanation you are looking for:

http://www.mymexicanrecipes.com/ingredients/masa-harina.html

Here is a direct quote from the site:

Masa is dried corn that has been cooked in limewater (cal), soaked overnight, and then ground up while still wet. Sold in this form, it's called fresh masa, and it makes the lightest, fluffiest tamales. In Mexico, it can be purchased at tortilla factories in two ways: with smooth consistency for making tortillas and, upon request (if you are lucky), with a coarser consistency for making tamales. (Be careful to differentiate between masa para tamales and masa preparada para tamales; the latter, available at some tortilla factories and large Mexican groceries, is the coarse-textured masa mixed with lard and flavorings.

This might be an old question but I still stumbled on it and figured others would too, so it's still worth answering.

Difference: The grind makes all the difference.

Pre-made masa for tortillas doesn't have lard mixed into it. It's just finely ground and mixed with water to make the dough. Great for tortillas.

Pre-made masa for tamales is very light and fluffy because whipped lard is added to a coarse ground masa. It may also have spices added to it, depending on who made it. I get it from a mexican market and they each have their own recipe.

If you make a tamale with masa for tortillas, it will be much denser/heavier, and not in a good way. The taste will be off because lard gives a lot of flavour.

The other trick is adding broth or some of the sauce you'll use to stuff the tamale to the masa dough and mix it in well. It just gives that extra oomph. You don't have to.

How to altar it if you buy the wrong one: I just ask the employees if the unmarked bag is "masa preparada para tamales", and I never have to alter. If you end up with the wrong type, it may be the wrong coarseness but the taste may be greatly improved if you add about 1 cup of heavily whipped pork lard to 1 1/2 lbs of prepared masa plain masa dough. Add in your spices and other flavourings if you like but the basic is just adding the lard. You have to whip it until it turns lighter in colour, then mix it into the dough. Normally, you don't mix lard into dough, but this is the only thing I can think of to get that ingredient back in.

Tamales and tortillas could be made using the same ingredients: Maseca flour and water.

Tamales are always made with Maseca flour, but there are four types of tortillas:

Flour tortillas are whiter, bigger and more flexible. This is why burritos are made with flour tortillas. Flour tortillas are used for tacos, quesadillas, ...

Corn tortillas are yellowish, smaller and less flexible. They are usually used for little tacos, tostadas, nachos, ...

You should try to buy Maseca flour and just add water. It will be cheaper and fresher, you can do it the moment you want to start cooking because it is a masa with no rising time.

Fresh masa the type you buy at your local molino is basicalltly the same. The masa for tamales spreads easier on the cor chuck than the masa fo tortillas. Same holds true with maseca for tortilla or for tamales. Maseca is dried corn flour. Fresh masa is made in a molino (tortilla factory).

Many Mexicans when referring to fresh corn masa for tamale are referring to masa that is made from fresh white corn that has been stripped from the cob and processed into masa. Most will take the fresh corn that has been removed from the cob to a tortilla factory and let them process the corn, as the skin on the kernels of corn need to be mechanically separated. This "fresh" corn masa is DELICIOUS, My ex-wife is Hispanic and is from Tucson Arizona and this type of tamale is traditional with her family. sll they put in them is a strip if green Chili and a piece of cheese. They and I make the other type of tamales with the dried corn masa but the fresh ( they call them green corn)tamales are extra special.

Masa para tamales is simply a coarser grind. In some markets it is referred to as masa quebradita. Masa para tortillas is a finer grind. Neither is made from dry powder and neither is made from fresh corn. Both are made from dried corn cooked in cal and ground when wet. If you see only one kind, it is likely the finer masa for tortillas. It will work in tamales if that’s all you can get.

When you are reading the labels on the fresh masa: one has the slated lime soaked corn coarsely ground plus lard or shortening, salt, and baking powder. The other has the ground corn without the other ingredients.

One way of making a tortilla is to use the the masa without lard etc. and add just enough masa harina (ground corn flour)until the wet masa is stiffer. Dry fry it in a hot skillet until it is lightly colored and not dry. Note: the tortillas have a nutty, corn texture to them. Roll into a ball and put between a pieces of a heavy plastic bag or use tortilla press.

Hope this helps.