Preparation
To cook the beans, place them in a 2 1/2- or 3-quart pot along with 8 cups of water. Bring the beans to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer, then cover and cook for about 2 hours, adding water as needed if the water level falls below the top of the beans.
Cooking time will vary depending on the freshness and type of bean used, so if they are not tender after 2 hours, continue to cook and taste every 15 to 30 minutes until they are creamy all the way through. When the beans are tender and creamy, remove from heat and set aside.
(Beans may be prepared the night before and stored in the refrigerator overnight if desired. Just reheat the beans and broth to a simmer before preparing the bean bread.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine the masa harina and salt. Stir until evenly mixed.
Strain the cooked beans from their cooking liquid, reserving the broth. Add the beans to the mixing bowl with the masa and salt; using a sturdy spoon or spatula, gently stir the beans until they are evenly distributed with the masa mixture.
Start by adding 2 1/2 cups of the reserved hot bean broth to the bowl. Fold the mixture together until all the dry flour is incorporated and a uniform, sticky dough forms. If needed, add extra bean broth a few tablespoons at a time until the desired texture is achieved. The goal is a texture like chocolate chip cookie dough.
Fill a large pot or Dutch oven (at least 7–8 quarts) about 3/4 of the way full of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat while you form the bean bread dumplings. Use your hands to scoop 3-ounce portions of dough. (Use caution: the dough may still be hot from the bean cooking liquid. Allow it to cool a bit if it is too hot to handle.) Shape the dough into a ball and flatten slightly into a 1-inch-thick oval. Wrap the bean bread in a corn husk, folding the husk around the dough on all sides to completely enclose it.
Pull a thin strip from another corn husk and use it to tie around the bean bread to secure the wrapper. You can also use kitchen twine if the strips of corn husk prove to be difficult!
Repeat with the remaining dough, which should result in about 15 individually wrapped bean breads.
Carefully place the bean breads directly in the large pot of boiling water. Allow the water to come back to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer the bean breads, uncovered, for about 45 minutes.
The best way to check for doneness is to remove bread from the water and carefully pull back the wrapper; if the husk pulls away from the dough easily, they are done! If the wrapper sticks to the dough, they need a little more time.
When the bean breads are cooked, drain the cooking water through a colander or sieve. Allow the bean breads to drain and cool a bit before serving.
Bean bread can be stored—in the individual wrappers to prevent them from sticking together—in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week. They can also be stored in the freezer, in a Ziploc bag with as much air pressed out as possible, for up to three months.
