A type of dough or flour produced from ground up corn that has undergone the process of soaking and cooking, masa harina is primarily used in Latin American cuisine as a base ingredient for such things like bread products and beverages.
This is due to the fact that masa harina presents a rather robust physical structure that holds up quite well to heat and other cooking processes, making it an excellent scaffolding or base for a variety of baked goods and liquid dishes.
The best harina-based tortillas are wheat flour tortillas, white flour tortillas, or hopi maize tortillas. The best flavor substitutes for masa harina are cornstarch or flour. The best baking substitutes for masa harina are buckwheat flour, breadcrumbs, or oat flour.
What is the Flavor Profile and Function of Masa Harina?
Being a form of dehydrated and ground up corn flour, masa harina is known for possessing a slightly nutty body of flavor alongside distinct undercurrents of corn, lending a mild sweetness to whatever product it is baked or incorporated into.
When subjected to direct dry heat, masa harina as a dough or similar product develops a slightly caramelized-sweet flavor due to the presence of saccharides and starches in its chemical matrix, of which undergo the Maillard reaction as the heat alters their structures.
This is directly related to the function of masa harina in the culinary arts, wherein it is used as a basic ingredient in Latin American cuisine for the purposes of such food products like corn tortillas, empanadas, cornbread, tamales and various other corn product based Latin American dishes.
Tortilla Substitutes for Masa Harina Tortillas
Perhaps the most common of uses when concerning masa harina is that of its incorporation into corn tortillas, wherein its flour-like consistency and functional capacity allows it to be one of the few ingredients needed to produce the Mexican bread product.
Certain substitute tortillas made of alternative ingredients do exist – the majority of which are likely available in much the same grocery store aisles that one would find masa harina tortillas, making finding these substitute tortillas relatively simple and convenient.
Wheat Flour Tortillas
Considered the primary competitor to masa harina based tortilla products, wheat flour tortillas are the unbleached and less finely ground form of flour tortillas, with the primary ingredient behind its recipe being the hulled and pounded wheat plants that function in much the same way as masa harina.
In terms of flavor substitution, wheat flour tortillas are seen as somewhat more earthy and savory, with less noticeable notes of sweetness and as such do not usually impart the same authentic Latin American flavor profile that is expected in certain dishes normally containing masa harina tortillas.
Additionally, despite the fact that wheat flour tortillas are capable of fulfilling practically the exact same role as corn tortillas, its less finely ground base form can occasionally equate to a denser and slightly chewier tortilla, of which may or may not be a bonus, depending on the particular needs of the recipe.
White Flour Tortillas
The further processed form of wheat flour tortillas, white flour tortillas are the most common variant of tortilla found in most of the western hemisphere, owing to the ease in acquiring its base ingredients and the low cost of its production in mass amounts.
As a masa harina tortilla substitute, the fact that the majority of the wheat plant’s fiber has been chemically or physically removed equates to a distinctly less earthy and more neutral flavored tortilla, with a thin and rather light texture that is quite similar to that of masa harina tortillas.
In terms of direct substitution without the presence of any sort of corn product, there is no doubt that white flour tortillas present the best possible alternative.
Hopi Maize Tortillas
Otherwise known as blue corn tortillas, hopi maize tortillas are rather similar to standard masa harina tortillas and other corn based tortillas save for the fact that they possess a distinctly purple to azure hue, with the flavor profile and texture being practically the same in a general sense.
Hopi maize tortillas are best used in the event that masa harina tortillas are simply not available for purchase, allowing the recipe to proceed exactly as directed save for the addition of a splash of color to the dish.
Flavor Substitutes for Masa Harina
Though its flavor profile is considered relatively minor, especially when used as a tortilla or empanada ingredient, masa harina nonetheless presents its own taste notes of nuttiness with an undercurrent of sweetness, the majority of which it takes from the corn it is produced from.
However, this flavor profile is not unique to masa harina, and may be replicated with certain other kinds of corn sourced products, or even with the use of other ingredients entirely unrelated in any way to masa harina, save for their similarity in taste.
Cornstarch
Fittingly named, cornstarch is yet another product also produced from the kernels of corn, though the primary difference between cornstarch and masa harina lies in the process that corn kernels undergo prior to arriving in their final form.
As such, cornstarch is distinctly more fine in texture and slightly less intense in flavor, making it an excellent substitute to masa harina in certain types of recipes that require a less powerful flavor profile with much the same thickening or caking functionality.
Cornstarch may be used in slightly smaller quantities of volume than masa harina would be, due to the fact that it more readily absorbs moisture owing to its smaller granule size.
Flour
Considered to be quite neutral in flavor, flour may act as a taste substitute to masa harina in such dishes like fried foods or other recipes where the flour may absorb the flavors of whatever oil or sauce it is suffused in.
However, in instances where the flour itself is the primary ingredient, it is best to choose another flavor substitute due to the rather mild and practically unnoticeable flavor profile of this ground wheat food product.
Baking Substitutes for Masa Harina
For the purposes of substituting masa harina in baked goods such as tortillas or certain other types of bread, it is entirely possible to use similarly tasting powdered products that function in much the same capacity that masa harina would in the recipe.
It is important to keep in mind, however, that these baking substitutes for masa harina may have different temperature tolerances, gluten levels and other characteristics that alter the end product somewhat.
As such, it is best to proceed with caution when substituting masa harina with the following products, especially if one is inexperienced in handling said ingredients.
Buckwheat Flour
Unrelated to wheat plants save in name, buckwheat kernels are ground and processed into a fine powder and thereby separated into light or heavy flours wherein the presence of fibrous seed hulls are either filtered out or left in so as to improve the buckwheat flour’s nutritive value.
As a masa harina baking substitute, buckwheat’s relatively higher level of gluten presence equates to a thicker and denser crumb when baked, as well as a clingier coating when used as a batter or similar food additive.
This means that buckwheat flour will often require a slightly larger volume of moisture be incorporated into any recipe meant for the purposes of baking or cooking, as well as a lower ratio of buckwheat flour in comparison to other ingredients so as to prevent the dough or batter from becoming too thick.
Breadcrumbs
Highly dependent on the sort of recipe that is being baked, breadcrumbs can make an excellent substitute for masa harina in the sort of dishes that require some sort of textural additive to be added to its ingredient mixture.
As a batter or coating ingredient, breadcrumbs can also act as an excellent replacement ingredient owing to the sort of texture that they acquire when cooked for the second time, perhaps acting as an even better coating than masa harina itself normally would.
However, due to the fact that breadcrumbs are in fact crumbs and not flour or a similarly dry and powdered ingredient, their use in producing certain goods like tamales and corn tortillas is quite limited, and is best used in combination with other masa harina substitutes in order to add a certain structural integrity to the foodstuff.
Oat Flour
An excellent gluten free alternative baking ingredient to masa harina, oat flour is fittingly produced from whole grain oats, of which provide a similarly nutty yet mild flavor profile to what would be found in masa harina and its subsequent baked products.
However, due to the chemical nature of oat flour and its slightly less fine form in most oat flour products, it may produce a fluffier and more absorbent baked product that masa harina, requiring the addition of such things like cornstarch or flour so as to create a more dense dough or coating.
This, of course, does not apply to tamales or corn tortillas, wherein this fluffier and lighter oat flour can actually act as a benefit to the experience of consuming said baked product.
References
1. Harold McGee (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York, New York (USA): Scribner. p. 478. ISBN 978-0-684-80001-1. Retrieved December 29 2021
2. Orjuela MA, Mejia-Rodriguez F, Quezada AD, et al. Fortification of bakery and corn masa-based foods in Mexico Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;110(6):1434-1448. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqz224
3. Kimberly Boyce. (2011) “Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole Grain flours” Published by Abrams, 2011. Retrieved via Google Books Rice and Grains section
4. Collar C, Conte P, Fadda C, Piga A. Gluten-free dough-making of specialty breads: Significance of blended starches, flours and additives on dough behaviour. Food Sci Technol Int. 2015 Oct;21(7):523-36. doi: 10.1177/1082013214552862. Epub 2014 Sep 17. PMID: 25231269.
