Why in the world would anyone need a tortilla press? Tortillas come in a package at the store and they are good. I was reading the CITR blog and saw that Suzanne had decided to make her own tortillas.

Well, of course, we decided to make them as it appeared very easy and we would know all the ingredients, which is a huge benefit. They were excellent and tasted way better than the store bought ones. Whoever knew that something as simple could have had the taste bleached out of them?

After making them several times, the biggest pain was the process of rolling them out. I made a deal with the wife that I would make the dough and she could roll them out. That worked great as long as we were both home.

I started reading about a tortilla press–a mechanical contraption used to make tortillas. They are commonly made out of wood or metal. Evidently a press is very commonplace in market places in Mexico.

I decided to combine a love for woodworking and cooking into one thing. I designed the tortilla press and decided to use hickory for the wood.

I started out with rough 4/4 hickory boards. I planed them and then used some glue to join two boards. I was very happy with the way it turned out as you can see distinct difference in heartwood and I think it looks very distinctive.

Once the boards were done, I cut them to the right size and routed the edges. I also fashioned the handle and assembled the tortilla press. After sanding I then coated the wood with salad bowl oil that is food safe.

Now when we want to have tortillas we make our dough. Then we put a small ball on the press and close. A little pressure from the handle and you have a nice home-made tortilla.

pirate96 blogs at Wokokon.

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