10 Inch Red Oak Tortilla Press – Handmade Hardwood Tortilla Maker by Central Coast Woodworks

This press is incredible. It’s just wonderful. Success from the very first go. I had initially purchased a Victoria cast iron press after having read reviews about how they were the “Rolls Royce” of presses. Then, before using it, and having had a chance to put it together and take a look at it, I read all the further reviews about how cast iron presses crack, the handles shear, etc; just from normal use. Also, folks complained that they just couldn’t get their tortillas, roti, etc thin enough and we’re still needing to roll them further with a pin to get them to the desired shape. Waaat? So I began to question the wisdom of my purchase. It became quickly apparent that I had made the wrong choice for us. We decided that we would return the cast iron press; unused, and invest in the press we truly felt would deliver the results we were looking for, and have a tool that accomplished our goals from the outset. My husband and I made this our Mother’s Day / Father’s Day gifts to each other for this year. (I’d get the press and he’d receive hand made tortilla, roti, flat breads etc. 😉) I admit, this purchase was an investment for our budget, but I will say this press has been nothing but a joy. A joy to admire, and a joy to use, a joy to own. I made 6-8” corn tortillas on my first go, and cooked them on my little (10” Lodge) cast iron griddle. They turned out beautifully and I knew we’d made a wise decision. If you want to invest in an item that will be a pleasure to own, serve you for a lifetime, and deliver great (thin pressed) results from the get go ... this is the press to buy. I did opt for the largest size to give myself some wiggle room and just to be as flexible size-wise as possible. You can always make smaller items in a larger press, but you can’t make larger items in a smaller press! ☺️ In this day of mass produced semi disposable products I love the fact that our purchase supported a California Artisain and his wife and that pleases me greatly. This press will no doubt serve us well for the remainder of our lives, and then be passed on to our daughter (though she may own her own by then) or a grandchild. In any case this is a momorable and favored amazon purchase that has been nothing from a genuine joy ... right out of the box. I recommend this press, or one similar, as there are several models to choose from to anyone looking to purchase a quality item that will deliver time after time. I honestly can’t think of any way it could be improved upon. It’s just *that* nice. **UPDATE** End of July 2018 I wanted to leave a little update to say that we continue to use this press frequently and L❤️VE it, every time. It’s easily within our top five favorite amazon purchases of all time and we will be grateful for having found such an outstanding product for the remainder of our lives. I’d like to share just a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way. We do add a touch of either lard or even butter to our masa and easily press out up to 10” wafer thin corn tortillas with ease. Seriously. No rollig, nothing. I’ve tried different materials inside to line the press; parchment, ziplock bag material, and clean recyclable grocery bags cut to aprox 11 x 11” squares. By FAR, my favorite material to use is the inelegant disposable grocery store shopping bags cut to squares. It’s thin enough that the masa just spreads out but not so thick that the fragile, thin tortillas tear when being removed from the plastic as they did with the (commonly recommended) ziplock plastic. I wash the plastic pieces afterward and dry them between two dish towels and then store it with the press so it’s handy next time we need it. (Truly recycled!) It took some experimenting to find the best method for me so I wanted to share this with others in hopes of making your journey a bit easier. After pressing, I just put the tortilla in my hand and gently peel off the pliable plastic, and flip I over into the pre heated cast iron comal / griddle ... also purchased on amazon (10” by Lodge; very economical and JUST the right size!) Anyway. It’s a lot of money, but it supports a self sustaining artisain, (which I really like) AND it makes the best tortillas you’ll ever have ... for the rest of your life. It’s even beautiful to look at. Couldn’t be happier with this purchase. 😊

Forget your old metallic press you have, THIS is worth every dollar I spent on it. First of the aesthetics: This thing is drop dead beautiful and you'd be proud to leave it out like a nice accessory because its that pretty! The pictures do not do it justice. Construction/craftsmanship: Gosh, where do I start. Its a night and day difference from my old metallic one I got in Mexico decades ago. The construction/craftsmanship is perfect. Silky smooth woods, food grade oil finish, just wonderful. Function: If you can use the old press, the learning curve is nil here. Just use the quart ziploc bag (cut off the zip top, split the bag on the sides and dont cut the bottom) and there's no cleaning issues. Unlike a metallic one you just dont mash down on it. Constant pressure and hold for a few seconds to get the full size of the tortilla. Open up peel from the zip lock and comal time! What could be better: Three things. 1. Silicone/no slip feets would have been nice. Since the wood is oiled now, it will be hard to stick and I really don't want to drill into it to put rubber feet on it. So I have a silicone trivet under it. Fixes that. 2. The bolt/hinge. I don't know. To be honest it does take away from it. It works but it doesn't look as good as it should. I hope the craftsman reads this. An idea would be to cut a 1/4 stainless rod, tap it through to within a 1/4" each side then tap in wooded plugs like the rest of the screw parts. And last one. The hinges. They work. looks good. But, would wooded hinges hold out? Probably would add to the cost due to the work involved with the jigs and stuff but oh would it look pretty. Eh...They work. Other than that, You see 70 bucks for a tortilla press and ask is it worth it when my La Victoria is just as good. No, its not just as good. Its much better! Like a black-n-decker blender vs a kitchenaid. Yeah they both make cake batter but Its not as sexy. And if you cry hard enough to the S.O...GET IT. You wont be sorry.

I bought this to replace a tortilla press made by my great grandfather, it has been passed down my family, to my mother. My mother is fond of her tortilla press, all the memories and family history makes her very attached to it. The quality over time deteriorated which is I why I looked for a replacement and eventually found this one. I wasn't sure how well my gift would be received but it was worth a try. My mother wasn't happy at first but I convinced her to try it out and she couldn't stop talking about it after the first week, it became her favorite press. The 10 inch oak and wood press is really beautiful. We use it basically on a daily basis, several times a days; almost 1.5 years later it's still standing and with no issues. We've traveled with it, as funny as it may seem, to several states and have had no issues or noticed anything concerning after repeated use. The quality of the press is amazing and we had no issues at all from the day we received it, I recommend without a doubt. Price wise, it does seem a little high at first but for the quality you're receiving makes it worth it in the long run. The size of the press is just right, neither too big or too small; my main concern when purchasing is whether it would be too bulky on the countertop or too small and impractical. Review the sizing before purchasing, make sure it fits your needs and enjoy because you won't regret it.