How to Break a Tortilla Press
Last week, I was trying to think of a way to speed up making flour tortillas (I want to make about 50 of them for freezing burritos again). The tortillas you get at the store are so expensive that it really aren't as frugal as they could be, making the burritos with them (I learned that last time when I used store bought and the price has risen since then.)... I went online to search for a tortilla press, which I thought would help a lot.
I found one press for making corn tortillas. I couldn't find one that was specifically for flour tortillas. I assumed that a press that made corn tortillas would probably work just as well for flour tortillas, so I ordered the press on Ebay.
When it arrived today, I went into the kitchen, and started making some tortillas for chicken fajitas.
I made the dough, let it rise, then put a little ball in the press. It pressed into a 4 inch circle, that was way too thick. No matter how hard I pressed it, that's as good as I could get it. I was a bit disappointed, but figured it was my fault for getting a corn tortilla press. I guess flour tortillas aren't meant to be pressed this way!
When I told James about it, he said,
"Well, you must not have been pressing hard enough."
I said, "Yes, I think I pressed it as hard as possible. It just won't work."
He said, "Oh, I can make it work!"
I said, "Okay, then, let's see it!"
So he hopped into the kitchen just knowing that he was going to show me how to use the thing properly, and he opened the press, stuck a ball of dough in the press, and pressed REALLY hard. He had a bit of a smile on his face, knowing it was going to work perfectly for him.
He looked at the tortilla. It was still way too thick, and not nearly long enough.
So he pressed again, even harder... then harder. I smiled.
Then, he put all of his weight on the stick that helps push the lid down. All of a sudden we both heard "SNAP!", and the press had broken in two.
He said, "Well, I guess it broke."
I guess it did!
Oh well, I don't miss it that much...it wasn't going to do what I needed it to do anyway.
I think we both learned a lesson today: A corn tortilla press does NOT work for flour tortillas.
I found one press for making corn tortillas. I couldn't find one that was specifically for flour tortillas. I assumed that a press that made corn tortillas would probably work just as well for flour tortillas, so I ordered the press on Ebay.
When it arrived today, I went into the kitchen, and started making some tortillas for chicken fajitas.
I made the dough, let it rise, then put a little ball in the press. It pressed into a 4 inch circle, that was way too thick. No matter how hard I pressed it, that's as good as I could get it. I was a bit disappointed, but figured it was my fault for getting a corn tortilla press. I guess flour tortillas aren't meant to be pressed this way!
When I told James about it, he said,
"Well, you must not have been pressing hard enough."
I said, "Yes, I think I pressed it as hard as possible. It just won't work."
He said, "Oh, I can make it work!"
I said, "Okay, then, let's see it!"
So he hopped into the kitchen just knowing that he was going to show me how to use the thing properly, and he opened the press, stuck a ball of dough in the press, and pressed REALLY hard. He had a bit of a smile on his face, knowing it was going to work perfectly for him.
He looked at the tortilla. It was still way too thick, and not nearly long enough.
So he pressed again, even harder... then harder. I smiled.
Then, he put all of his weight on the stick that helps push the lid down. All of a sudden we both heard "SNAP!", and the press had broken in two.
He said, "Well, I guess it broke."
I guess it did!
Oh well, I don't miss it that much...it wasn't going to do what I needed it to do anyway.
I think we both learned a lesson today: A corn tortilla press does NOT work for flour tortillas.
LOL...I guess it broke...LOL!
I always assumed that you could use a press for flour tortillas too!...But once I read your post I checked here:
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/flourtortillas.htm
and it says flour tortillas cant be made with a press! How bout that!
You have inspired me to give them a shot...with a rolling pin of course!
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haha "I guess it broke" .. I love that!
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Oh, Bethany!! Thank you for the first laugh I have had today!!! And, thanks also for letting me know that a corn press wouldn't work for flour tortillas.....LOL
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Oh no! :0( Those corn tortilla presses aren't too sturdy. I'm so sorry to hear yours broke. I have an electric one and I broke part of the handle off when I was first learning to use it. Now what I do is use the electric press then I roll the tortilla thinner with a rolling pin after that if it doesn't come out thin enough. Usually they come out fine with no rolling pin. It always works well for flour tortillas, even whole wheat ones. The electric presses are kind of high. Maybe $30 to $50 but they are well worth it and you can bake the tortillas right on the press. I got mine from target.com.
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Oh that's so funny! opps!
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You know I have been to Mexico many times and do not recall ever having seen a flour tortilla being made.
My wife and daughters have always used rolling pin. They first make the dough balls of the desired size, then start rolling them out and throwing them on the comal and cast iron skillets. It is really a team work/assembly line process.
I have seen actual assembly line tortilla machines in restaurants in the USA. They use mechanical rollers and premeasured dough balls.
The corn tortillas are a different story. I have the good fortune of being in a home in Chiapas, Mexico where the wife patted them out by hand, tossed them on a comal made from the lid of a metal 55 gal drum, over a fire pit in the middle of the dirt floor, with the smoke going up thru the hole in the grass/thatch roof.
Nowadays, most people use the little corn press.
My wife has an excellent recipe for flour tortillas. Her ethnicity is Japanese, but her nationality is Canadian. My neighbors grand mother from Mexico asked for my wife's recipe. And GOD is still gets a smile on His face when He thinks of it.
Yor bro ken
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LOL! Thanks so much for the laugh
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Sorry to hear about the tortilla press. We've never tried homemade tortillas, but I know that this
http://sharskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SK&Product_Code=130-5955
is a really good tortilla press (you might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere)
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Well....shoot. Brand new and broken already. This is the one issue that keeps me from making my own tortillas...having to roll them out. So time consuming. Well good luck!
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#1 - let the dough *relax*
#2 - roll 'em while you cook 'em, not before.
#3 - have the skillet/griddle as hot as you can, it shouldn't take more than a few moments to cook one on each side.
I've been making tortillas for a year+, and I'm getting lean and mean with my rolling pin. I can actually roll them faster than they can cook (now!), but rather than stack them up I usually buzz around doing something else for a few seconds until the cooking ones are done.
I used a griddle and can cook 2 at a time, I usually stagger them and always have one coming off/one going on. It goes pretty quick. I also sometimes powder some of my dried tomatoes and add some of those to the dough - oh.my.word! They look so pink and rosey and are so great!
I've made tortillas for 8-10 people at one time, I'd rather build up to that. The longest part of the process for me anymore is letting the dough rest. It has to be workable or it just takes too much effort!
I found a pattern for a wooden corn tortilla press after I read your post yesterday. I also found articles saying that the reason most of us prefer flour is that corn tortillas are best right after or up to a few hours after they have been made. So I want to try those again, with a press. Once we get caught up on a few other projects, dh said he would make me one.
I'm not sure my husband would eat a store-bought tortilla at this point?
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I have a flour tortilla press and it works like a champ. It doesn't make them as big as I would like but it's a great time saver. I just need something bigger to cook them on and I could go really fast.
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Just made theese tonight...they where very good
http://happytobeathome.net/tortillas/
Kristen
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I had read here: http://www.squidoo.com/tortilla-making that tortilla presses break easily. So sorry about that! I recently tried to make corn tortillas for the first time and it was a disaster!! I was so sad because I had bought the masa in Hong Kong and brought it into China. I ended up throwing it away. What a waste. So terrible.
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". . . .its really a tightrope sort of thing, living" - Joy Hester /http://airbrushactioncom/airbrush-getaway-workshops/vegas-february-20-24-2012
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