Gorditas Recipe

Place the masa, salt, baking soda and flour in prosessor bowl with metal blade. With the machine running, pour the warm water through the feed tube until a ball of dough forms. The ball should be neither wet nor dry and crumbly. Add a bit more masa or water to obtain the right consistency. Place the dough in a plastic bag and let rest 20 minutes.

Pinch off 6 rounds of dough about the size of a golf ball and use your hands to flatten each to a 2 1/2-inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. Keep unused portions of dough covered so it will not dry out. If there is extra masa mixture, refrigerate for other uses.
Heat about 2 inches of oil in a deep saucepan to 365 degrees. Fry the gorditas, spooning hot oil over the top to encourage puffing, until golden brown. This should take less than a minute if oil is at proper temperature. Drain on paper towels, then use a sharp knife to split each in half horizontally. to assemble, place the thicker portion of each gordita on a large cookie sheet. Fill each with 1/3 cup of filling, then put the tops on and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 15 - 20 minutes. If desired, top with a sauce