Basic Tamal Dough

Name: Basic Tamal Dough
Yield: Yield varies according to the proportions used, but a general guideline is that ⅓ pound of lard and 1 pound of masa will produce 1⅓ pounds of masa filling, enough for 15 average-size to large corn-husk tamales or 8 average-size banana-leaf tamales
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Additional water or chicken stock (optional, depending on consistency of masa); Masa, coarse-ground fresh if possible, or reconstituted masa made by mixing masa harina with warm water or homemade chicken stock to form a paste; Salt; Lard (preferably home-rendered)

Preparation info

Yield varies according to the proportions used, but a general guideline is that ⅓ pound of lard and 1 pound of masa will produce 1⅓ pounds of filling, enough for
15
average-size to large corn-husk tamales

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Life of Oaxaca

By Zarela Martínez

Published 1997

About

Perhaps this is a misnomer. There is no such thing as a basic tamal dough used by all Oaxacan cooks for all sorts of tamales. The proportion of fat—always lard, with no substitutes—to prepared corn dough varies so enormously that no one formula will do. However, the general procedure almost always follows the same routine.

Those of you who have used my first book, Food From My Heart, will not

Ingredients

Americas
Mexico
Pastry
Gluten-free
Bread
Oaxaca
Pie

Ingredients

Method