As one of my friends said, I'm a back to basics gal. I want to make my own
tortilla but my family likes the larger ones. Anyone know of a tortilla
press that is larger than 7inches in diameter? I've seen some on the web
that are 10inches in diameter but they come with heating elements and cost
$50 at the minimum without figuring in shipping.
A friend of mine suggested that I use two cast iron pans. The problem
with that is that all of my cast iron has the little lip around the outer
edge on the bottom so that won't work.

Thanks
--
Cymru Llewes
Caer Llewys

"Cymru Llewes" > wrote in message
news
> As one of my friends said, I'm a back to basics gal. I want to make my own
> tortilla but my family likes the larger ones. Anyone know of a tortilla
> press that is larger than 7inches in diameter? I've seen some on the web
> that are 10inches in diameter but they come with heating elements and cost
> $50 at the minimum without figuring in shipping.
> A friend of mine suggested that I use two cast iron pans. The problem
> with that is that all of my cast iron has the little lip around the outer
> edge on the bottom so that won't work.
>

If you look at this Froogle search (Tortilla Press 10 inches) you will see a
wide varieity of 10 in presses from francy electic units to the basics.
Since you are a "back to basics gal." you might be interested in the $14
Norpro model.
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...+press+10+inch

I've seen women in Mexico pat them flat on their stomach's. 8-)

Erik

"Cymru Llewes" > wrote in message
news
> As one of my friends said, I'm a back to basics gal. I want to make my own
> tortilla but my family likes the larger ones. Anyone know of a tortilla
> press that is larger than 7inches in diameter? I've seen some on the web
> that are 10inches in diameter but they come with heating elements and cost
> $50 at the minimum without figuring in shipping.
> A friend of mine suggested that I use two cast iron pans. The problem
> with that is that all of my cast iron has the little lip around the outer
> edge on the bottom so that won't work.
>
> Thanks
> --
> Cymru Llewes
> Caer Llewys

Cymru Llewes > wrote:

> As one of my friends said, I'm a back to basics gal. I want to make my own
> tortilla but my family likes the larger ones. Anyone know of a tortilla
> press that is larger than 7inches in diameter? I've seen some on the web
> that are 10inches in diameter but they come with heating elements and cost
> $50 at the minimum without figuring in shipping.
> A friend of mine suggested that I use two cast iron pans. The problem
> with that is that all of my cast iron has the little lip around the outer
> edge on the bottom so that won't work.

It's been my experience that the "classic" tortilla presses work fine
with masa, but not so good with wheat dough. And you'll want to use
plastic wrap - otherwise the dough is likely to stick to the press. :-)

Hello,
Well right off the bat let me say we sell them BUT my recommendation just
comes from personal experience. My first tortilla press was a cast aluminum
product. The really are just too light and don't do a good job of pressing
and quite annoying if you are doing a lot of tortillas. A good heavy cast
iron is the best "all-purpose" way to go. They are typically 6.5 to 7.5" in
diameter and frankly the one extra " does not make a big difference but go
for which version you prefer. The weight gives you extra leverage for
mashing the masa balls. Look at the overall construction -- most are sand
casted and are "OK" a couple brands are better than others. If you have
space and don't mind a "hulk" the heavy wooden ones do a very good job and
work well for enpanadas as well. As for the electric versions.. they are
"hummm".. I just prefer "human powered" when possible. We have had mixed
feedback and some seem to like them and others have trotted them right back
from whence they were purchased. Making them by hand takes a LOT of
practice. If you are "handy" or have a "handy person" around the house you
can make a wooden one -- might be a fun project if you are so inclined.
Hope this helps you out a bit.

Regards,
Barbara--
GourmetSleuth.com http://www.gourmetsleuth.com

"Blanche Nonken" > wrote in message
...
> Cymru Llewes > wrote:
>
> > As one of my friends said, I'm a back to basics gal. I want to make my
own
> > tortilla but my family likes the larger ones. Anyone know of a tortilla
> > press that is larger than 7inches in diameter? I've seen some on the web
> > that are 10inches in diameter but they come with heating elements and
cost
> > $50 at the minimum without figuring in shipping.
> > A friend of mine suggested that I use two cast iron pans. The problem
> > with that is that all of my cast iron has the little lip around the
outer
> > edge on the bottom so that won't work.
>
> It's been my experience that the "classic" tortilla presses work fine
> with masa, but not so good with wheat dough. And you'll want to use
> plastic wrap - otherwise the dough is likely to stick to the press. :-)

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:21:21 +0000, Vox Humana wrote:

> If you look at this Froogle search (Tortilla Press 10 inches) you will see a
> wide varieity of 10 in presses from francy electic units to the basics.
> Since you are a "back to basics gal." you might be interested in the $14
> Norpro model.
> http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...+press+10+inch

Those Norpro models are 6 inch presses. The only ones that are 10 inch are
the VillaWare models.

--
Cymru Llewes
Caer Llewys

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 05:03:14 +0000, BCBPROJXX wrote:

> Hello,
> Well right off the bat let me say we sell them BUT my recommendation just
> comes from personal experience. My first tortilla press was a cast aluminum
> product. The really are just too light and don't do a good job of pressing
> and quite annoying if you are doing a lot of tortillas.

Not quite as annoying as rolling them out with a marble rolling pin.

> A good heavy cast
> iron is the best "all-purpose" way to go. They are typically 6.5 to 7.5" in
> diameter and frankly the one extra " does not make a big difference but go
> for which version you prefer. The weight gives you extra leverage for
> mashing the masa balls. Look at the overall construction -- most are sand
> casted and are "OK" a couple brands are better than others. If you have
> space and don't mind a "hulk" the heavy wooden ones do a very good job and
> work well for enpanadas as well.

Well, we don't have much space but if you could point me to some plans for
making a wooden one then we could make it as large as we like.

> As for the electric versions.. they are "hummm".. I just prefer "human
> powered" when possible. We have had mixed feedback and some seem to
> like them and others have trotted them
> right back from whence they were purchased. Making them by hand takes a
> LOT of practice.

Yes, it does indeed. And I'm tired of practicing. I'd like to mix up the
dough and just plop it on to the wax paper, press, and then cook.

> Hope this helps you out a bit.
>
> Regards,
> Barbara--
> GourmetSleuth.com http://www.gourmetsleuth.com

Thanks. You've helped a great deal.

--
Cymru Llewes
Caer Llewys

Cymru Llewes wrote:

>On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:21:21 +0000, Vox Humana wrote:
>
> =20
>
>>If you look at this Froogle search (Tortilla Press 10 inches) you will =
see a
>>wide varieity of 10 in presses from francy electic units to the basics.=

>>Since you are a "back to basics gal." you might be interested in the $1=
4
>>Norpro model.
>>http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...+press+10+inch
>> =20
>>
>
>Those Norpro models are 6 inch presses. The only ones that are 10 inch a=
re
>the VillaWare models.
>
Why don't you go to the Gourmetsleuth website and read up a little on=20
tortillas? Lot of good info.

The Norpro's are aluminium anyway, I would want (have) a 7.25" cast iron =

model.

Anything bigger in diameter you cant peel off the press without ripping, =

breaking the handle on the alu-models.
There is a reason they don't come bigger than 7+"

And forget about pressing out flour tortillas, not with a household press=
=2E
They are rolled out using a pin.

The VillaWare Thingy cooks the tortillas, so you can press them out a=20
little bigger in diameter, although I have not used one and would not=20
want to. They might come out OK though if you have access to Mixtamal,=20
instead of making the dough out of Masa.

--=20
Sincerly,

C=3D=A6-)=A7 H. W. Hans Kuntze, CMC, S.g.K. (_o_)
http://www.cmcchef.com ,
"Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it Happened"
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/=20

Hi,
Link to the plans:
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/search....tortilla+press

"Cymru Llewes" > wrote in message
news
> On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 05:03:14 +0000, BCBPROJXX wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> > Well right off the bat let me say we sell them BUT my recommendation
just
> > comes from personal experience. My first tortilla press was a cast
aluminum
> > product. The really are just too light and don't do a good job of
pressing
> > and quite annoying if you are doing a lot of tortillas.
>
> Not quite as annoying as rolling them out with a marble rolling pin.
>
> > A good heavy cast
> > iron is the best "all-purpose" way to go. They are typically 6.5 to
7.5" in
> > diameter and frankly the one extra " does not make a big difference but
go
> > for which version you prefer. The weight gives you extra leverage for
> > mashing the masa balls. Look at the overall construction -- most are
sand
> > casted and are "OK" a couple brands are better than others. If you have
> > space and don't mind a "hulk" the heavy wooden ones do a very good job
and
> > work well for enpanadas as well.
>
> Well, we don't have much space but if you could point me to some plans for
> making a wooden one then we could make it as large as we like.
>
> > As for the electric versions.. they are "hummm".. I just prefer "human
> > powered" when possible. We have had mixed feedback and some seem to
> > like them and others have trotted them
> > right back from whence they were purchased. Making them by hand takes a
> > LOT of practice.
>
> Yes, it does indeed. And I'm tired of practicing. I'd like to mix up the
> dough and just plop it on to the wax paper, press, and then cook.
>
> > Hope this helps you out a bit.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Barbara--
> > GourmetSleuth.com http://www.gourmetsleuth.com
>
> Thanks. You've helped a great deal.
>
> --
> Cymru Llewes
> Caer Llewys

Cymru Llewes > wrote:

> On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 05:03:14 +0000, BCBPROJXX wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> > Well right off the bat let me say we sell them BUT my recommendation just
> > comes from personal experience. My first tortilla press was a cast aluminum
> > product. The really are just too light and don't do a good job of pressing
> > and quite annoying if you are doing a lot of tortillas.
>
> Not quite as annoying as rolling them out with a marble rolling pin.

That's part of the problem. For bread dough, I get better results with
a 1 inch hardwood dowel (mine is oak) than a standard rolling pin.
Rolling pins are great for short doughs - pie crusts, scones, biscuits,
cookies, like that.

Bread dough is usually more elastic, can take (and usually needs) harder
pressure. I bought a dowel at the local woodcrafter supply, sanded it
down to 400 wet/dry grit, washed off the dust and when dry used mineral
oil on it. I bought a 3 foot dowel (shortest length I could find) and
cut it down to about 2 feet - maybe a bit less, because I was measuring
by my comfort level. It's a different rolling procedure.

I'd suggest saving the cut-off piece for making tortillas, as it's a
perfect size for the pressure of the palms. ;-)

>
> Yes, it does indeed. And I'm tired of practicing. I'd like to mix up the
> dough and just plop it on to the wax paper, press, and then cook.
>

doesnt sound too much like a 'back to basics gal' to me! i make
the indian (asian) equivalent, rotis, with a wooden rolling pin,
and isnt too bad. tried a few tortilla presses, but they seemed
more work than the rolling pin once you are used to it. i can
mostly get them rolled out as fast as they cook on the girdle...

i.