Masienda Dona Rosa Tortilla Press Review

Why You Need a Tortilla Press

Tortilla presses are among the most underrated kitchen tools. And part of the reason is because it’s called a tortilla press. If that was the only thing you could make, then sure, it might be an unnecessary luxury for taco enthusiasts, but this press can do so much more.

A lot of the dishes you might make with it have latin roots, things like tacos, enchiladas, pupusas, arepas, tetelas, empanadas, but it can also make flatbreads, chapatis, pitas, it can even crush garlic, nuts, and turn ground beef into hamburger patties.

Anytime you need to flatten something, this press can help you out.

But as underrated as its versatility is, to me the best part of owning a tortilla press is that the quality of your tortillas goes through the roof. If you’ve never made them from scratch with some masa harina, you’re missing out. I wish I could share the flavor difference through the internet, but you’re going to have to find out yourself. All I can say is that you’ll never catch me buying store-bought tortillas again, it’s night and day.

A Poor Man’s Tortilla Press

Before we explore all the features of this particular press, why do we need a press at all? Can’t you just use the bottom of a pot to flatten tortillas? Do you really need an entirely new device to clog up your kitchen cupboard? Honestly, maybe you don’t. If you’re only going to use it once a month, you might be better off without one. I totally get the appeal of a minimal kitchen.

However, using the bottom of your pot will take more work, it’s harder to get consistent presses with the right thickness, and because tortillas and flatbreads are core pieces of so many dishes that span so many cooking cultures with an infinite number of ways you can mix and match them in different meals, you may end up using this press more often than you think.

But a pot was the first tortilla press I ever had, and you can definitely use one to get by in a pinch.

If you’re looking for a real tortilla press, the Dona Rosa tortilla press from Masienda is far and away the best option I’ve seen. There are five key dimensions that separate this tortilla press from all the rest, and one thing I’d like to see Masienda improve.

Masienda Tortilla Press Weight

The first is weight, and Masienda did not cut any corners here. The press is all steel, and it weighs 10.5 pounds, roughly twice as much as my old cast iron press at 5.4 pounds.

And because the key to getting consistently flat tortillas that aren’t too thick or too thin in certain areas is a sturdy press, the extra weight on this one will improve your tortilla quality.

Masienda Tortilla Press Size

The second dimension that makes this press unique is its size. Most presses use a circular shape and a 6” or 7” diameter, which means the total surface area is 28 to 38 square inches. You can make small tacos just fine, but you don’t have much margin of safety preventing your dough from overflowing.

Masienda’s press is an 8.5” square, which means you’ll get 72 square inches of space, almost double the surface area. This protects you from overflowing dough and means you can also create larger tortillas or flatbreads.

Masienda Tortilla Press Leverage

To make use of the size and weight of this press, you need leverage. And once again, Masienda nailed it. They have an 11” handle with a slight bend at the end to make each press more comfortable.

This may not seem like a big deal, but when you’re making dozens of tortillas at a time, having extra leverage saves you tons of effort. I’ve used this press with no problem to make over 200 tortillas for a dinner party, but it would be a full body workout to do something like that with the bottom of a pot.

Even on smaller presses with smaller handles (my old press had an 8” handle), you’ll need noticeably more effort. As far as I know, there aren’t any manual presses that weigh more or have longer handles than this one, but if you know of one, leave it in the comments.

Masienda Tortilla Press Touchpoints

Size, weight, and leverage are the key ingredients to an easy, consistent press, but you’re also going to be lifting, moving, opening, and closing this device a lot. So Masienda did two things that should be obvious, but for some reason are not in many presses.

They added legs on each corner of the press for easy lifting, and handles on the top sheet of the press for easy opening and closing. Again, these should be standard on all presses, but most sit flat on the counter and don’t have handles for lifting the top.

Masienda Tortilla Press Colors

Those are the functional dimensions that make Masienda’s press extraordinary, but it’s also worth noting that this press comes in 5 colors, while most other presses aren’t painted.

There are wood, cast iron, and aluminum presses out there, but they typically use natural colors. So if you’ve got a colorful kitchen or a particular aesthetic you’re going for, Masienda’s press is the way to go.

However, there is one aesthetic issue that occurs on basically all presses, whether they are painted or not. At the point where the handle meets the top of the press, all these paint or metal surfaces will chip and flake as you use the press.

It’s not a Masienda issue specifically, I’ve seen this with my other press too, but I really hope someone tries something like a ball and socket joint or some other system because it’s frustrating and concerning to see chips of paint or metal flaking off near your food.

Masienda Tortilla Press Welding Issues

We’ve covered the five areas in which Masienda’s press excels, but there is one thing I’d like to see Masienda improve. When you take a close look, the welding that connects the panels on the press looks messy. Masienda says these “imperfections” are due to the handmade nature of the product, but the messy finishes are my least favorite part of the press.

And it’s frustrating because Masienda nailed everything else. They are way ahead of all their competition on weight, size, leverage, touchpoints, colors, they have a great product, but it feels like they just gave up right before the finish line.

Functionally, these messy welds aren’t a big deal. The press still works great. But aesthetically, the uneven corners, messy finishes, and sharp edges are the difference between a device I want to keep and showcase on my kitchen counter all the time, and one I just want to hide away in my cupboard when I’m not using it.

Conclusion

Overall, this press is substantially better than all the other tortilla presses I’ve ever tested. It’s not perfect, but it’s built like a tank and it should last a lifetime.

So if you want to take your tortilla game to the next level, you can pick up this press for $95 here.