I'll admit that at first I was a bit frustrated with making my tortillas. This quickly ended after I figured out a few things and my second batch was so much fun to make.This is what I do:1) Mix up the maza and keep it moist. I roll out the balls first.2) Use 1 sheet of wax paper.3) Fold the wax paper in half (I do this diagonally so that it fits)4) Put the wax paper so that the open end is at the hinge side of the press and the folded part of the wax paper is at the handle side of the press. This will help in removing the tortillia.5) Put your tortillia ball about 1 inch off center towards the hinge of the press and then fold over the wax paper and close the press. The maza being off center will keep it evenly pressed. If it is in the center it tends to get pushed forward too much and hangs off the press.6) Open the press and run the wax paper with your hand a few times prior to peeling of the paper. This helps to break the bond. Turn the paper over and do the same thing to the other side. The tortillia now will fall out the paper very easily.7) Since the paper peels off the tortilla from back to front, the tortillia will not rip. If the paper were the other way it tends to rip the tortillia as the handle side of my press makes the tortillia thinner there.Hopefully this helps get you started. I love this press. Wish it were bigger though. Norpro Cast Aluminum Tortilla Press
I checked out tortilla presses at Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table before getting this one. The others were crusted over with cheap chrome jobs, one that looked like goopy silver spray paint. One display model's finish was even chipping in the store - there's no way nasty flakes of chrome are going in my fresh tortillas! This press is cast aluminum and just beautiful. It works well and, if you use wax paper or plastic wrap when you press the dough, it doesn't require cleaning at all.
If you have ever had a fresh tortilla made of stone-ground corn, you will never, ever eat a packaged tortilla again. You can also use this to make the round wrappers for potstickers (chinese ravioli) and other chinese dough wrappers like bao (stuffed buns), shu mai dumplings and Peking pancakes for Moo Shoo Pork. Also works for chappatis. A handy device.
This is a sturdy tortilla press. Freshly made tortillas are a heaven sent delicacy compared to store-bought ones. That being said, beware of the limitations. If you are looking to make burritos, for example, with your fresh tortillas, this won't do. The diameter of the tortillas you can produce is just too small. The other limitation is that it is difficult to get thin tortillas.As a result, what you can produce with this is closer to what might be most purely "authentic" - a relatively small, relatively thick tortilla more suitable for eating alone or as a "soft taco" than anything else.I like this product, but I continue to look for something to let me make larger, thinner tortillas.
I have had one of these for many many years and it finally died on me. I purchased another of the same to replace it, that's how much I loved it!! I highly recommend these to anyone who wants to make their own tortillas. It sure is easier than rolling them!!
There's often a construction detail that is left out in manufacturing these. Though this thing does press the masa into a disk, it will come out uneven in thickness. If you watch the top plate when you press the masa ball, the top plate will warp or bow as the masa lump resists it in the middle. The tortilla is pinched thinner near the handle. That's one problem. The other problem is the gap between the plates near the hinge. I don't think the manufacturers carefully gauge the gap between the plates nearest the hinge. If the plates actually touch near the hinge area, and they often do, the masa gets extremely pinched to transparency in that area. If this happens along with the warping when pressing, you get a tortilla that is fat in the middle and piched at two edges. Viewing it on edge you get a flying saucer shape.
Five solutions:
1) After pressing, even out the thickness with fingers or rolling pin. It helps if you press slowly, release and press slowly again. Pressing slowly prevents the warping of the top plate creating a more even tortilla. If you press too hard to fast, you risk snapping the handle.
2) Reject pliable aluminum and purchase a stiff cast iron one that you inspect visually for a proper gap between the plates near the hinge.
3) Acquire a mesquite wood one that is properly gapped near the hinge. If it's not you can always unscrew the hinge and reposition it. Pine wood is too soft to stand up to time.
4) Go back to hand rolling.
5) Buy packaged sawdust shaped to look like corn tortillas.
BTW - As a side note, 6 inches for a tortilla is a bit small and really kind of girly man size. Maybe they're supposed to mimick Tapas proportions from Spain. The tiny tortillas are quaint, dainty and authentic size I suppose and yet I think they were meant for four foot high Mexicans from the desert mountains. But I'm hungry and I want a manly, American consumer size tortilla the size of Texas! In my travels in Mexico I remember the little stands that offered these miniscule soft tacos which were okay for finches, sparrows and canaries, but common on - FEED ME!!! There are 8 inch presses out there and the wooden ones tend to make larger tortillas.
My wife and I are were not very impressed with this tortilla press. Compared to a plastic one that we originally had, this one is much better. Unfortunately, it would not press tortillas as thin as we wanted, and 6.5 inches was smaller than we thought it was going to be.
We later switched to the 8 inch cast iron press that is also sold on amazon, which we have been much more satisfied with. The cast iron press will thin out our dough as thin was we want, even to the point of being too thin if we push it that hard. The size of the tortillas is much more convenient as well. If we want smaller tortillas, we just use less dough. - Gadgets - Tortilla Maker - Tortilla - Kitchen Aid'
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