Title: Masa - Wikipedia
Headings: Masa
Masa
Masa
Preparation
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Content: Spanish pronunciation: [ ˈmasa]) is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn. It is used for making corn tortillas, gorditas, tamales, pupusas, and many other Latin American dishes. Its dried and powdered form is called masa harina, masa de harina, and sometimes Maseca, the name of one commercial brand. The flour is reconstituted with water to make a dough before it is used in cooking. In Spanish, masa harina translates to "dough flour", which can refer to many other types of dough. Preparation
The process of making masa from maize
Field corn grain is dried and then treated by cooking the mature, hard grain in a diluted solution of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) or wood ash, and then letting it soak for many hours. The soaked maize is then rinsed thoroughly to remove the unpalatable flavor of the alkali themselves. This process is nixtamalization, and it produces hominy, which is ground into a relatively dry dough to create fresh masa. The fresh masa can be sold or used directly, or can be dehydrated and blended into a powder to create masa harina, or masa flour.