Mix masa harina and salt.Add margarine. Add warm water all at onceand use fingers to work mixture into a soft dough. Knead dough untilno longer sticky. Divide dough into 12-16 balls; cover and let doughrest 20 minutes at room temperature.Place a small square of wax paperon the bottom part of open tortilla press. Place a ball almost on thecenter of the wax paper (a little more towares the hinge of the pressthan the handle). Place a second wax paper square, well flattened, ontop of the ball. Close the press down firmly until the torillameasures about six inches in diameter. Peel the top wax paper off thedough. Pick up the second wax paper square and place the flatteneddough onto the palm of your hand. Then peel off the wax paper andplace the tortilla onto a moderately hot griddle. In a few secondsthe edges of the tortilla will begin to dry out. At this point, turnthe tortilla. Allow the second side to cook for a slightly longerperiod until it is slightly browned. Flip it back onto the first sideand let it finish cooking. Allow 2 minutes cooking time per tortilla.Delicious served with any Mexican dish.Serves 6-8.Notes:A tortilla press is a cast iron press for pressing corn tortillas andtamales into flat thin circles.[One could probably use a (cold)round waffle iron, assuming that it has a flat (pancake) side inaddition to the bumpy (waffle) side.]Masa is freshly ground daily at tortilla factories.Corn is soakedin lime water and then cooked and rinsed before grinding.Lime aidsas a preservative and adds color.Fresh masa is best for tamales andcorn tortillas, but instant masa is also available.From Lucy M. Garza's _South Texas Mexican Cookbook_, Eakin Press,1982. ISBN 0-89015-344-2.From: Laura Ann Wallace acc.iit.edu>
