Cast Iron Tortilla Press 8 Inch - Tortilla Maker Press, Pre-Seasoned Roti Maker with 100 Pcs Parchment Paper - Heavy Duty Quesadilla Maker for Homemade Flatbreads, Rotis, Empanadas

So this is going to be a long review, but if you want really good tortillas you may want to read it. This is a review of the 12 inch t-maker. Two key points: 1) Great cast iron. 2) Needs mods to make great, thin tortillas. The 5-star review is based on the relatively easy mods done to make this a great thin t-maker. Out of the box you will note that this is a very heavy, well made cast iron product. It has the industry standard "pre-seasoned" coating. To really season this product, get some flax seed oil and a brush. Unscrew everything, and coat all with a light coating of oil. Use a brush as there are a lot of non-square surfaces. Used the brush to get the oil inside the holes for the screws. Note: Only a very light coating -- no drips/pools. Pop into a 450F oven for an hour, and be sure to open all your windows and turn on all your exhaust fans. When the product cools you will see an incredible brownish-black new seasoned coating. This is the very best coating you can get. Now go to your local stores and buy the following: 1) A 4.5 x 1/4 stainless steel hex bolt with either matching stainless lock-nut, or a standard stainless nut (if you use the t-maker on the stove). 2) A 1/4 inch x 3 inch "Safety Coupler" lynch pin (see the picture). These are used for hooking up tractor devices to rear hitches so a "country" or "tractor" supply store will have them in stock. Both items should cost less than $3 each. Replace the back bolt with the 4.5 inch stainless hex screw, and replace the front screw with the lynch pin. Note that this will take all the "play" out of the t-maker. The Mfg suggests "play" is a good thing, but if you want thin tortillas this is not true. Despite the bolts being the same size the UCasa bolts are thinner and weaker than what you will replace them with. So if you use the packaged bolts you cannot make a thin tortilla, and will certainly bend/break the handle bolt (hence they give you a second one in the package). Again, impossible to get a tortilla that is less than 1/8 with the supplied bolts (1/8 may be over-stating how thin you can get -- there is a lot of "play"). An upside of using the "safety coupler lynch pin" is that it gives a really handy "handle" to grab when moving the t-maker (I bought the rounded versino). This is pretty heavy product, and while there is a natural gap in the rear to grab, the front lies flush with the counter. Not that easy to move with the standard equipment. The lynch pin is a great salvation when moving the device. Also the pin is way, way stronger than the supplied bolt, so it will not bend/break. Changing out the supplied bolts removes most of the "play" between the plates and handle. With the standard bolts you can raise the handle fully to the open position with the top-pate flat without any issues because of the "play". With the replacement bolt/pin you cannot do this. You have to use two hands: one to raise the handle, and the second to lift the upper part of the t-makers to clear the handle as you lift it. This is simple and easy, but not quite as convenient when there is "play" available. Finally you need to change/spread the contact point of the handle. The t-maker has a small approximate one inch raised ridge that you leverage down with the handle. This is a significant weak point. First, it focuses the pressure at the very front of the t-maker. Despite it being a solid piece of iron it is very hard to get an even edge-to-edge pressure when pressing down. One side likely will thinner. Second this is a significant wear point. The fix is super-easy. Get a 12 inch long piece of 2x4 kiln-dried lumber, and use it to leverage the handle down (you need to hold it in place when you press down -- hence my added handle in the pic). Even without the handle I added, this is very easy to use, and works great to fix the problems with the 1-inch leverage point. To make a very thin tortilla you will need to do four cycles. For each cycle press down very hard, and pump the handle a few times. Open the t-maker, rotate the tortilla a quarter turn, and repeat. With 75-80 grams of masa you should get a 10-11 inch tortilla that is 1/16 or less thick. Here are some additional hints not related to this t-maker: 1) Use a napkin and some avocado/sunflower to lightly coat the parchment paper before spreading the masa. 2) Use a flat glass container to initially press the ball into a good round. If you do this, no need to offset the ball in the maker. 3) The top layer of parchment is easy to remove, so take if off and take the tortilla stuck to the bottom layer to your pan. 4) Center and drop the paper/tortilla into the pan. Use a silicon spatula to "free the initial edge" of the tortilla from the paper. You can then easily peel the paper away. Parchment does not burn easily, so no worries there. HTH, and GOOD LUCK. Months Later Update: I wanted to add an update given I have been working on my tortilla process ever since my purchase. I am now consistently making great 50/50 tortillas about 11 inches in diameter. Love, love the 50/50 flavor and "rollability". Insights: A) I bought a roll of 12 inch silicon baking mat and cut two 12x12 squares from it. Lightly coat these with Avocado oil prior to pressing each tortilla and they work GREAT & seem to last forever (still on my first pair). Peel off top, flip top onto removed bottom, peel off, fold over and drop onto the comal to cook (silicon spatula need to initiate the peel). Works fantastic. B) Had to go back to the thinner, original bolt in the back as an 11 inch gets too thin at the back with the thicker bolt. C) My recipe: --110 grams Bob's Redmill masa (uniquely good), --70 grams white flour, --1/2 Tablespoon vital gluten (mix these three in a bowl) --3/4 cup less 2 tablespoons water, --1 tablespoon duck fat, 1/4 teaspoon salt (add these three into a pyrex bowl and microwave for one minute). Stir heated mixture until salt & fat are dissolved. Add water mixture to flour and mix with a spatula (it is hot). Put final mix onto a wetted board, and knead for about 2 minutes. Wet your hands while kneading to get the texture pretty 'wet' -- the Red Mill masa will absorb quite a lot of this moisture. Cover with saran wrap and let sit for an hour or so. Separate into 3 balls by weight (should be about 123 grams each). Press on the maker rotating it three times -- press really, really hard to get an 11+ inch spread. Cook at 500 degrees for maybe 90 seconds per side (varies as my temp control on the comal is not that great). Store in an airtight container. Enoy.

i bought this as a gift for someone who was making homeade sourdough tortillas. they love it and have used it multiple times already. the quality is great and its so much easier than rolling them out. it works well they are uniform in size and thickness. they couldnt be happier. it was well worth the price.

So convenient! Definitely heavy duty. This has made my first time making tortillas from scratch easy and enjoyable. It's a little bit hard to figure out exactly the right spot to set the dough so that it doesn't flow over the edges when you squish it, but that doesn't reflect on the quality of the item, it's just a user error. It's going to be a trial and error process to figure that out. As for the handle that I've seen some complaints about (which is why I didn't buy this sooner) it has some give because of the way that it is attached. It's attached the way that it is so that it can be shipped in a smaller box. It's very easy to put the handle on and it's completely functional. It just feels different than what we may be used to. I've had no problems at all with the handle. The pre-cut parchment papers that it comes with are really convenient for pressing and you're definitely going to want to use them. I use the same two sheets of parchment paper to make a batch of 2 dozen tortillas, so those will last for a while. It is cast iron so if you accidentally get dough on it and need to wash it, just remember to dry it thoroughly so it doesn't rust.

A good size! It work well!

Sturdy, well built, easy to use.

This press simply cannot, on its own, flatten the tortilla dough enough. The tortillas still come out thicker than if you use a rolling pin and the press cannot press down enough to make a tortilla larger than approx 8 inches. The design doesn’t allow you to push downwards with enough force. As other reviewers have discovered, you need to modify it in order to make it work. Not worth the money or the space it takes up.

This is a perfect tortilla press. The cast iron is quality and handle is sturdy. Be careful on some of these reviews. They almost “swayed” me in a different direction, but I took a chance. One reviewer gave it 1 star because the “cast iron care sheet” they provided was, “too much work for her!”, lol. ALL cast iron requires care, pre-seasoned or not and this requires no more care than any other piece, maybe even less since depending if you cook on it or just use it as a press. As for the handle, not sure how the others broke theirs, since most of the pressing is done simply closing the top. My handle is solid and requires very little pressure. I can’t help but wonder if maybe someone put it on backwards or their dough was too tough? IDK, can only speak for myself. The parchment paper is “”ok”, it’s NOT wax paper for sure, but most of my tortillas peeled right off, a few stuck, but honestly I think that was my fault due to little dough. The important take away is this is a solid press and the cast iron is even. I still rotate 180° and press again, but that’s just habit. This should last a looong time with proper care. What else can you buy for $20 that will last 20+ yrs? That alone warrants 3 stars minimum. The fact it works warrants the 2 stars!

Beautiful tortillera! Highly recommend. Sturdy, clean, and ready to go.