Vegetarian tamales. Need help with masa recipe.?!

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Hi, I have a recipe for vegan tamales written down somewhere and I watched them make it last month, so I'll try to answer your masa question... The tamale dough recipe should be on the masa bag, usually on the side or back. I think you should just slowly add vegetable broth in with the 5 lbs and yes, you'll need shortening too. I would do way more broth than vegetable shortening, however. The masa mix should be spreadable like paste for the husks and you can find the exact measurements through the correct consistency of the masa. Masa can get dry toward the end of spreading it on all the tamales, so toward the end you may have to make some more vegetable broth to add.
When I watched them, they also put chili powder, not only in the "meat", but in the masa as well. This is what makes a tamale taste like a tamale, is what they said.
The hardest part I gathered from the experience was boiling the husks (Or soaking them in hot water) to get them clean. You have to soak them in there and unroll them one by one which seems like a real pain. I think making the masa and winging the exact measurements would be much easier than that part.
Anyway after you spread the masa on the husks (completely covered so that no part of the husk shows through (about 1/4 an inch), you fill each one with whatever meat substitute or beans you want. This filling also has the vegetable broth in it, but also like I say, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper sprinkles. You roll the sides up and then close the ends, use masa to "glue" the ends together so that they don't fall apart while you are boiling the tamales. There are two ways to cook the tamales (which is the last step). Either boiling them, kinda like a giant ravioli... OR simply baking them for about 1 hour @ 350°.
well Good Luck!

Vegan