It’s sickening when you have an 8-hour corporate job but need to prepare your own meals! I am talking about tortillas, of course. Doesn’t it drain a lot of time?

Hence, I started scouring in every market to find out the best tortilla press so that I can make round and consistent tortillas in a jiffy. I wasn’t sure about the press, but it later turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

And the process of using a tortilla press is very easy! Just get yourself a tortilla press, and half of your work is done. Still, as I am sober to share anything I have learned, today, I am going to share how to use a tortilla press orderly!

Behind A Tortilla Press

So the question is, what is a tortilla press all about? Well, it’s a conventional kitchen appliance that has a round base or surface where you keep the dough. Against the round surface, there’s a lid that generally coordinates with the tortilla press ground.

Tortilla Press

To make the tortilla round and broad, you have to shut the lid and press it – creating a sheer pressure linearly. Once you obtain your desired shape, you can stop pressing it against the surface and remove the dough lumps from the edges to get a round and seamless tortilla.

Now, there’s a wide range of tortilla press or tortilla maker in local kitchen appliance’s vendor or in online marketplaces.

No wonder each of them bears some diversity in terms of quality, resilience, material, durability, maintenance process, and of course, price and variants!

But to be honest, if you ask what would be the best material for a competent tortilla maker with high caliber, then I will take these names; cast iron, wooden, aluminum, etc.

These materials have a relatively better surface disc than other conventional tortilla presses.

Well, my grandma still prefers a round wooden surface and her rolling pin for making tortillas.

Though I still couldn’t figure out how she still possesses that energy for this entire dough grinding labor. And yeah, her hand is like magic; with every turning of the rolling pin, the tortilla gradually gets a round shape!

But we don’t have that time and energy, right? So, let’s just get back to the smart ways and see how to use a tortilla press to craft round and uniformed tortillas in no time!

4 Easy Steps to Use a Tortilla Press

Before you embed the dough on the press surface, you need to know how to make the dough. Now, when it comes to tortilla doughs, you can either prepare for your own dough of corn or whole grain wheat.

However, if you are in a low carb diet, choosing corn flour will be the right choice as it consists of low carbs compared to whole grain wheat and flour.

Tortilla Press

See, I know that readymade doughs exist! But I prefer making my doughs at home because consistency and hygiene are something that you can’t bet getting from readymade doughs.

Because the doughs need to stay in average room temperature or where it can reside without losing its moisture and texture, instant doughs that you make grinding the flour constantly until it gets the softness and moisture is the key to getting tender and edible tortillas.

So, let’s start with the process of making tortilla dough!

  • If you are new to this, flip the packet of the corn or flour where you will get in-depth instruction on how to make a dough by yourself – everything from scratch, including how much water you need to merge.
  • Perhaps the instructions seem ambiguous to you. If so, then you can add 2 or 3 cups of flour (still it depends on how many tortillas you are going to make) in boiling water, add a pinch of salt, and start blending the flour until it becomes consistent. You can add oil to get a sheen or enhanced moisture.
  • Use your palms to make the dough as round as possible by keeping the dough between your palms and rolling it gently. Also, you can grind them on a traditional rolling press and add some extra flour to make it powdery.

Now, as you have the dough, lets hit into the four easy steps to use a tortilla press!

Step 1: Cleaning!

Cleanliness is the key to stay hale and hearty. Hence, before you keep your dough into the press, make sure you wipe off the surface and lid to prevent any awful odor or debris.

Step 2: Place the Dough

Take two pieces of waxed paper or plastic cuts. If the waxed paper is out of your reach, you can cut the plastic bags into medium-cut pieces. Keep one paper under the dough and another on top so that the dough doesn’t stick to the press surface. Now place the dough on the tortilla press surface.

Use A Tortilla Press

Step 3: Create Pressure

Close the lid or the surface against the bottom press surface. Press it mildly by distributing a sheer pressure exertion. Or you may have the press handle to generate the force. After one press, you aren’t gonna get a moderate size. Hence, keep pressing until you get to your desired size.

Step 4: Remove the Paper

Once you reach the preferred size, remove the butcher paper or wax paper gently. After removing the paper from your tortilla, go for another one.

Tada! Your tortillas are now ready.

Pro Tips

  • Add a few drops of vegetable oil or olive oil on the paper cuts so that separating the papers from the tortillas becomes effortless.
  • Try finding masa harina in supermarkets or Mexican stores, which is a corn ground flour that makes relatively healthy and flavorful tortillas.
  • Get yourself a tortilla warmer so that you don’t need to reheat the tortilla constantly. However, the variation of tortilla warmers is getting rampant, so choosing the ideal one might seem tight. Hence you can have a glance over tortilla warmer reviews to appraise the equity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVtrrJ7-h8o&feature=youtu.be

The Benefit of Having a Tortilla Press

Here are some perks of having a tortilla press –

  • Round and consistent tortillas
  • Drains less energy and time
  • Doesn’t need a dishwasher or expensive adhesive for cleaning
  • Inexpensive yet sophisticated

Bottom Line

The process of making the dough is what takes most of your time and labor. However, flour doughs and corn doughs are different in terms of nutrients and flavors, but the making process merely bear differences.

With the corn ground flour, you need to knead them fairly as corn ground is a composite of vital ingredients.

So that’s a wrap! Make sure you purchase a tortilla press with plausible attributes and don’t forget to check the homemade tortilla chip recipe for a luscious evening snack!

Bon appetite!