Hamilton Beach 80200 Flat Bread MealMaker Bread Press and Skillet

Tortilla, chapati, naan, pita, focaccia, roti, lavash, lefse--all these and about a dozen other flatbreads can be baked neatly in this ingenious countertop appliance while their fillings are either cooking or warming in the appliance's skillet. Not only does the 1,440-watt appliance make flatbreads easy to prepare, a detailed, color-photo, 122-page booklet comes along to provide recipes for both breads and fillings, opening an entire ethnic-cooking universe to novice and expert cooks alike. For ultimate ease, frozen doughs (pizza, crescent rolls, biscuits, cornbread, breadsticks, etc.) can also be used.

The appliance works this way: The lower portion is a nonstick bread press. Preheat the press, place a ball of dough on the removable nonstick paddle, and flatten the dough into a 9-inch round by lowering and locking the press handle. The flatbread then cooks and slides easily off the paddle afterward. Atop the appliance is a built-in, 9-inch, nonstick skillet with a glass lid that can be used to further brown cooked flatbreads, to keep them warm, or to cook or warm fillings. The skillet works like any electric skillet and has three temperature settings: warm; medium for baking thick breads like focaccia; and high for sautéing, stir-frying, and pan-frying foods. For storage, the press handle comes out and fits into a rear slot. --Fred Brack