Basic Tamal Dough

As I explain elsewhere, there are dozens of dishes called tamales with nothing in common except that they are folded before being cooked in a wrapping, usually corn husks or banana leaves (see Tamales). This particular formula, in which masa is beaten very light with lard and chicken (or sometimes pork) stock, makes probably the most versatile tamal dough. The important things to bear in mind are that no matter what quantity you make, you wi