The Best Breakfast Taco

Serves 4

Nothing beats simple dishes utilizing the best ingredients available and our friends at Masienda have perfected corn masa for fantastic fresh tortillas. Well, the truth is that we've always had love for both corn and wheat flour tortillas. They are the perfect partner to our spicy 'nduja spread for tacos...especially breakfast tacos.

We will start with the 50/50 tortilla.

As far as history goes, the 50/50 tortilla is more of a modern, commercial development, born out of a need to innovate the otherwise limited retail category of store-bought tortillas. Grocery store retailers are always trying to get brands to come up with new, "fresh" ideas for each and every aisle within the store, which can lead to the best (cold-brew coffee) and worst (Cheetos lip balm--yes it was a thing) of what "innovation" has to offer. And, for a hot second within the tortilla category, the 50/50 corn and wheat tortilla was somewhat of a lighting-in-a-bottle kinda moment.

In addition to a need for category creativity, legend has it that the 50/50 tortilla was developed to solve a problem that some consumers, especially those of the wheat tortilla persuasion, apparently had with store-bought corn tortillas. Corn tortillas, as we know, are not made of gluten, the protein that gives wheat dough its stretch, hold and structure. Instead, corn tortillas rely on the nixtamalization process of corn, where the natural gums within the corn's skin, or pericarp, are activated to create a binding, emulsifying quality that allows the masa that it becomes, once ground, to hold together. That said, unless you know how to properly reheat a store-boug ht corn tortilla, especially one that does not have any gums or stabilizers in i t, these naturally-occurring gums are strongest when fresh and properly hydrated. When left to dry on a grocery shelf, even in a refrigerated environment, chances are that it might fall apart during your taco experience. Our friends in the industry suggest that it was the corn tortilla's reputation for cracking and/or breaking that led some tortillerias to develop a corn tortilla with an extra dose of gluten in it. Cue the 50/50 tortilla.

Masienda's 50/50 Tortilla Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Masienda chef-grade masa harina
1 cup all purpose flour (King Arthur was used for this recipe)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup warm water

DIRECTIONS

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and add (solid, not tempered) coconut oil.

Mix dry ingredients with oil until well-combined and pea-sized crumbles begin to form. Add warm water and mix well. The dough should be oily and not stick to your hands. Knead for 2-4 minutes.

Shape the dough into 8 (large) or 16 (small) balls, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat a comal on med-high heat. Press dough ball using a tortilla press.

Reduce heat to medium and lay tortilla down. Let cook ~20-25 seconds until brown and releasing from comal. Flip and cook other the side for about 20 seconds. Flip a third time and there should be some puff.

For this recipe, we love pairing the finished tortilla with shredded cheese, eggs and 'nduja spread for a unique spin on the breakfast taco.

For the eggs, we are partial to a soft scramble, which is achieved through constant stirring of the eggs over low heat.