HomeCookwareEthnic CookwareChef Pro 10 Inch Tortilla Maker/Flat Bread Maker |
|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 57 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
104 of 110 found the following review helpful:
 electric tortilla press - great time saver! Oct 02, 2009
By Jose Koenig
"Joe Raven"
I am very pleased with the ergonomic design of this model. The 1200 watt heating element does not take very long to heat up the plates. This one also comes with a nice adjustable thermostat to set the desired temperature level. Also the nonstick plates are much better than other models that only use aluminum. The 10" diameter size is also another welcomed plus on this model which allows for different sizes of tortillas from the normal taco to the big burrito size.
I've seen reviews of similar appliances like this one and I suspect that consumers have higher expectations in the sense that they expect to press and cook at the same time. Having used this type of technology in the past, I do not expect it to fully cook the flour dough but rather pre-cook the dough. Once pre-cooked I can then bake the tortilla on a grill or comal. I do not expect something at this price to fully cook the tortilla. Tortilla presses that fully cook the tortilla do not come in the price range of this model and are not meant for home use.
This is a real time saver because it eliminates the manual process of extending the tortilla dough with a rolling pin. Making flour tortillas using this electric press is a breeze. The purpose for pre-cooking the tortilla, it is to prevent the flour tortilla dough from shrinking once you peel it off from the press' plate. This is due to the dough's elastic properties. Otherwise the dough has to be extended by hand using a rolling pin.
I am really happy with my purchase and knocked one star off only because the light indicators are a bit confusing. It has two lights, one is labeled "Ready" and the other "Power". This is my current itnerpretation of the lights: when the "Ready" light is on it means is connected to the electric power; when the "Power" light is on, it means the heating element is on. I think the "Ready" light should indicate whether it reached the desired temperature or not, and the "Power" light that is connected to the electric power. There was no mention of this in the instruction booklet nor the use of the thermostat knob. In spite of these minor omissions I consider the instruction booklet very well written.
I must clarify that I never tested the appliance to fully cook the tortilla since that was not my purpose for buying the tortilla press. I only wanted a flour tortilla press that could save me time making tortillas. I really recomend this press only if you need to press the tortilla and bake the tortilla on a real grill or comal. I think this approach is more efficient and economic than using 1200 watts of electric power to cook tortillas.
33 of 33 found the following review helpful:
 Works great for gluten free tortillas Jun 03, 2010
By Lola Alice
Worked great to make gluten-free tortillas! I made a big batch the first time I used it and my tortillas came out just fine. I had to play around with how much pressure and time to leave the dough on the press, but just like cooking anything else, it's all trial and error.
30 of 30 found the following review helpful:
 So far so good...(update: it broke on me) Jun 15, 2010
By S. Quint
I've read reviews talking about roti makers malfunctioning soon after purchasing. Since I've only used mine once, we'll have to wait and see how it holds up.
I'm very pleased with the way it works except that if you accidentally squeeze any dough to the front of the hot plates, it gets stuck in the crevice between the plastic handle and the top hot plate making it a little hard to keep clean.
There are also some reviews that say you can't fully cook flatbreads on this maker. This is not true. The dough has to be very soft and elastic. I checked out some online videos of Indian people making roti. They are pros. There really is no need to use the 'press and release method' to get the flatbread to the desired thinness. One press will do. It all depends on the dough and if you are willing to practice a little to get the technique down.
I recommend using an authentic roti recipe (the ingredient called 'ghee' is clarified butter) and letting the dough sit at room temperature for at least one hour to soak so that it becomes very soft and pliable. Then press the flatbreads, spin and flip them a few times very shortly after pressing them, and puff them up just like the Indians do in the videos. It's actually quite an enjoyable process - much quicker than rolling them out by hand, etc.
********UPDATE*********
The bottom hot plate went bad about a year after I wrote this first review. It's very disappointing since this product showed such great potential in the beginning. I made many, many rotis with it, but not enough to make me feel like I got my money's worth from it. Two thumbs down.
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
CORRECT INSTRUCTIONS - Picture Perfect Tortillas Every Time Jan 08, 2012
By mdh49
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R320R1060NRK81 This thing is AWESOME and works perfectly if used correctly!!
The problem for most people seems to be that they don't know how to use it, which is understandable as the included instructions SUCK!!!
Here is the PROPER way to use this device to make tortillas:
1. HEAT SETTING - This is the most important part: Put the heat setting ONLY halfway up the dial, literally halfway between "Min" and "Max" and NOT in the "Med" zone, as this is far too hot for making tortillas. The biggest problem with this device happens when it is generating too much heat and causing steam to tear the tortillas apart. It may take some doing to find the proper heat setting, but you should be able to fully depress the lever and hold it for long enough to spread the dough without having the tortillas torn apart. The difference between success and failure can be only one or two clicks on the heat setting dial.
2. Place dough ball about 2/3 of the way towards the hinge side of the device (NOT directly in the middle).
3. Close device and depress handle FULLY for approx 5-6 seconds. On my device, the tortilla does not end up quite uniform in thickness after a single press, so I have to turn the unfinished tortilla around and depress fully again for 2-3 seconds.
4. FINISH the tortilla in a skillet / griddle. HERE IS WHY (see below!!!)
The difference between flour dough and corn dough is that flour dough will not spread well unless some heat is applied. Anyone can make corn tortillas on a simple cast iron press, but it takes real finesse to make flour tortillas with a press, as the dough is much more finicky. THIS DEVICE SHOULD ONLY BE USED to apply the necessary heat to get the dough to spread, it should not be used to cook the tortillas (at least not closed, you could use the bottom like a griddle and cook 'em on it, but things go a lot faster using a separate griddle/skillet). If you put the heat setting too high, the tortilla will not spread; it will be torn apart by the steam generated by cooking. However, if the heat setting is too low, the tortilla will not spread well and will stick to everything in sight. When I live in Mexico in the 90s, we had a device similar to this that we used to make flour tortillas, but it was not multi-purpose and did not get nearly as hot as this one can. The only thing that device did was spread the dough for you, and it did it flawlessly because it was only meant to press tortillas.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS in making 100% perfect tortillas with this device is (1) Correct heat setting, and (2) an understanding of what the device is supposed to do for you.
UPDATE!!!! My reason for previously giving this press 4 out of 5 stars was the fact that I couldn't get my tortilla thickness uniform. However, in trying out a new recipe using canola oil instead of lard, they now turn out absolutely perfect. It was my recipe, not the press.
20 of 22 found the following review helpful:
Awesome Tortilla Maker! Mar 10, 2010
By John Morton Jr.
"- BariSaxManMe"
For about 5 years we used a tortilla maker of a different brand, it was beginning to wear out because we used it so much. I was glad to find this newer style tortilla maker with a temperature control to be priced reasonable for the features it has. We've used this tortilla maker more often than our previous one. The ease of use and flexibility provides for various menus, thanks to the temperature control feature. For the money you can't find a better deal, I know, I tried before I purchased this one. John M.
See all 57 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| |
|
|
|
