Cast Iron Tortilla Press

Our tortilla presser is a labor-saving device that replaces the traditional method of rolling out tortillas by hand. The surface is designed to produce the perfect size, shape and thickness of tortilla consistently, so there's no more guessing or measuring by eye. The heavy cast iron construction does the work for you, spreading your dough evenly across the leveled surface with no effort.

Simply prepare the corn or wheat flour dough for your tortillas, press it into the preshaped surface (using parchment to protect the surface if you wish, and gently close the lid to shape the perfect tortilla. Then all you need to do is remove it from the press and it's ready for the pan.

Sure, the tortilla dough press is suitable for corn and wheat flour tortillas, along with a whole range of other foods. From Mexican classics such as patacones or tostones to Indian flatbreads or Asian dumplings, you can press it into service for a whole range of world cuisines.

You'll find as you experiment with it that there's an ideal consistency for your dough. Too dry, and you'll get an uneven spread, or the dough might crack. Too wet, and you'll find the dough sticks to the cast iron surface or parchment paper and it's hard to remove the tortilla for cooking in one piece.

It's a really simple piece of equipment to maintain, but there are a couple of tips to keep it in good working condition for decades to come. First of all, when using it to press out tortillas or other foods, use the included parchment rounds between the dough and the surface. You can use it without parchment, but this way saves you a lot of cleaning time and means you don't have to preseason the surface every time.

You should, however, season it fairly regularly to protect the cast iron surface against oxidation or rust. Simply coat the surface lightly with a high smoke point oil and bake it in the oven for a couple of hours on high temperature. Leave it to cool completely before removing and storing it. This process drives out moisture and the oil provides a barrier layer, protecting the iron from moisture in the air.

Once you've pressed your tortilla, simply remove it from the press, discarding the parchment paper if you used it, and cook it for 30 to 40 seconds per side in a hot pan, until you can see a nice browned surface developing. We recommend using a cast iron pan with a flat surface, as for the best results you need a very high temperature and even heat distribution, which it's harder to achieve consistently with aluminum, copper or steel pans.