Tortilla press

Abstract

A tortilla making device for flattening dough into tortillas. A base is included that has a lower pressing surface and a first heat source for heating the lower pressing surface. A pressing plate is pivotally coupled to the base; the pressing plate has an upper pressing surface and a second heat source for heating the upper pressing surface. A thermally insulated handle is coupled to the pressing plate for manually pivoting the pressing plate both toward and away from the base between a raised and lowered position. A lever arm is pivotally coupled to the base for engaging the pressing plate when the pressing plate is in the lowered position and for advancing the pressing plate from the lowered position to a pressed position. In another embodiment, the invention takes the form of a method for making tortillas using a single device that flattens dough into tortillas. The method includes the steps placing a portion of tortilla dough upon a lower pressing surface between the base and the pressing plate. The base and the pressing plate are coupled together by a hinge for relative pivotal movement therebetween. An operator manually grasps a thermally insulated handle coupled to the pressing plate and lowers the pressing plate into engagement with the tortilla dough. A lever arm is moved into engagement with the pressing plate and then used to drive the plate toward the base.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.