French pins come in two types: straight (also called a dowel) and tapered. It feels like a special object that you will want to care for well and keep forever. ", Ko, on the other hand, relies almost exclusively on a heavy, simple, wooden dowel-style French pin. While function is the most important aspect of any kitchen tool, aesthetics make a difference in how you relate to it. Perfectionists may appreciate this pin for rolling to a precise thickness, as it can be fitted with spacers (essentially color-coded rubber bands of various thickness). When you think of a rolling pin, you probably picture the kind with two handles, called a bakers or American rolling pin. Pins made from thermally conductive materials such as marble, stainless steel, and glass are meant to be chilled (or in some cases filled with ice water) before using so that they wont warm buttery dough. The surface should feel very smooth, but not so slick that flour wont adhere. Fussing with unscrewing the set and screwing back on the desired spacer was a hassle and we could imagine losing them in our kitchen. We preferred the simplicity of this pin to an over-designed model from Joseph Joseph that had its own screw-on spacers. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Stella Parks of BraveTart points out that these can transfer the warmth from your hands, while wood is a terrible conductor, so the heat from hands is unlikely to transfer to the dough. All Rights Reserved. But each has its drawbacks. It glided across flaky pie crust, requiring fewer applications of flour than the aforementioned pins. Surface: Does the dough stick to the pin? Handleless pins come in two styles: ones that taper towards the end, often referred to as French rolling pins, and straight dowels that are sometimes called shaker pins. Believe it or not, I still bake for fun, too. We prefered the easily-replaceable generic spacers we tested on the JK Adams Rolling Dowel. Heavy but not oppressively so, with a wonderful balance in the hand, it made rolling sugar cookie dough a delight, producing even sheets every time, and tackled discs of buttery pie dough without tearing or sticking. . When we tested 12 carefully selected rolling pins (out of nearly 30 we considered) on three types of dough, the timeless maple 23-inchWhetstone Woodenware French Rolling Pin proved to be a superior tool and a great value. The shape of the pin allowed for rolling out large surfaces smoothly, as well as truly round discs. Also, if youre looking for a rolling pin that works for both you and your kids, check out our guide to tools for cooking with kids. It can also be fitted with spacers like a dowel pin. Conductive materials like marble and metal might be good at getting cold, but they are also good at getting warm quickly. Weighing in at a substantial 1.6 pounds and stretching to a generous 19 inches, the J.K. Adams Dowel Rolling Pin made tackling large slabs of cookie dough a cinch, rolling and rerolling clean, and maintaining an even thickness (without straining our arms or requiring fussing) possible. How often you should oil or buff your pin depends on how often you use it and the climate you live in; when the wood looks pale and feels rough like dry skin, its time to care for it. She explains, When you roll away from your body using the tapered pin, you can roll the pin using the underside of your forearms, which relieves stress on your hands as compared to a handled pin. When rolling out large oblong or rectangular shapes, some bakers find that a tapered pin requires more finesse to make the surface perfectly evensometimes it causes subtle hills and valleys, particularly if the taper is too extreme. The best way to clean your rolling pin is by wiping it with a dry dish towel. To put the contenders through their paces, we took notes comparing the results when working with many, many, many batches of two of the most common types of rolled dough: Food & Wine's all-butter pie dough (for flaky, delicate, double-crust pies) as well as our sugar cookie dough (for classic, buttery rolled and cut cookies). Plus, its currently nearly $50, which is a lot more expensive than our top pick. The handles can take some of the effort out of the pressing and rolling action, especially for bakers who are new or unused to the task, but they also keep your hands at a bit of a remove, making it harder to gauge the thickness of the dough. It's often something people keep on the counter close to the stove, so you don't have to go digging for a pin." Also, though a chilled aluminum pin will keep the delicate dough cool longer, once it begins to heat up it will do so faster than a wooden pinmaking re-rolling dough a trickier proposition. You may be surprised not to see handles on any of our recommended pins. The JK Adams 19-inch Maple Rolling Dowel is available throughmany online and brick-and-mortar kitchen stores small and large, leaving it more widely available and accessible. What sets apart a superior rolling pin? The bulk of a plain dowel pin can also come in handy when you want to make your rolling pin a multitasker, using it to crush nuts or spices or cookies for a press-in crust. Imagine the iconic rolling pin and it probably looks like the Ikea Magasin Wooden Handled Rolling Pin. How much flour do you have to apply during rolling? Chef Monica Byrne, of Home/Made in Brooklyn, also concedes that a dowel flattens more consistently. When I set out to write a review of rolling pins, I began by reading every review I could find. You've chilled the dough. Its more agile than a handled pin, doesnt stick to the dough as much as cheaper models, has just enough heft to do some of the work for you without smashing fragile dough, and is one of the easiest to clean. We tested the rolling pins on a hot humid day in a small Brooklyn kitchenchallenging conditions for even the most skilled bakerwith a 10-year-old and a 24-year-old who didnt have much experience baking. crackers kingarthurflour Among those generous enough to share their opinions were: We also scoured the web, taking notes from culinary and consumer sites including Cooks Illustrated, Wirecutter, the BBC, as well as user reviews on Amazon and conversations on forums like Chowhound and Real Baking with Rose Levy Berenbaum. Heavy-handled pins do more of the work for you by providing more leverage but give you less of a tactile sense of the dough. To narrow the field of contenders and zero in on the best multipurpose rolling pin, we went straight to the source: baking experts who put their trusty tools to use day-in and day-out. The better experience you get with a hand-tuned pin starts with opening the box. There are wonderful wooden rolling pins to be found in flea markets and antique stores, and from small manufacturers and craftspeople around the world. Although we still love this model, it seems to have availability issues. The 3 Best Rolling Pins, According to Our Editors. While not as quick to pivot as a tapered pin when rolling out a circle, the JK Adams 19-inch flat section consistently flattened a large surface area evenly. That said, if you make a lot of pies, it might be worth giving this option a chanceor, if you're a committed baker, getting both a tapered pin and the J.K. Adams dowel. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission. From time to time, when the wood feels rough or dry, apply a little mineral oil with a rag and rub it in. Even when the pin isnt out of stock, it can often take four to six weeks to arrive. You cant always judge a book by its cover, but the Tomnuk is as effective as it is beautiful. Ultimately, our major reservations with this pin came down to price: at more than $100 it's no small investment, and given the cost, doesn't offer 4 times the performance of the J.K. Adams pin. These basics are all you really need, and theyll serve you well year-round. Can the pin be cleaned easily? Only the Whetstone pin, with its 12-inch flat section, came close to flattening the dough as evenly. Now all that's left to do is roll it out into a neat, even sheet. It takes practice, precision, and creativity to produce prize-winning baked goods. Weight: Hefty pins require less strength to use than lighter ones, but they can dent or crack doughis there a happy medium? As their name suggests, tapered French pins narrow off at the ends, an elegant design feature that's not only aesthetically pleasing but also makes them easy to maneuver and pivot when rolling pie dough into neat rounds or working a delicate pastry. To buy: $10 (originally $12) at amazon.com. It should roll smoothly and turn easily to roll out a circle. Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes. The weight of the pin also arrived at a happy medium. Some high-end rolling pins are made from other hardwoods, like walnut or cherry, while the cheapest pins use beechwood. Our adult testers couldnt tell the difference between the weight of this and the 23-ounce Whetstone Woodenware French pin (which is thicker than other tapered pins we tested). Rolling pins are tinged with nostalgia for real or imagined mothers and grandmothers, and they are your tactile connection with the dough you shape. To clean and care for a wooden rolling pin, remove any excess dough from the roller with the dull edge of a knife or a bench scraper, then give the pin a quick rinse in warm water and dry it thoroughly. broomstick handle. This pin is less expensive and more widely available than our top pick, so if you are on a budget or in a hurry to buy a rolling pin by tomorrow (since the Whetstone doesnt come with overnight shipping) it may be the best choice. "We frequently use a wine bottle at home. This cool-looking pin recommended by Saveur has a set of built-in spacers, and markings on the shaft of the pin for measuring the diameter or width of your dough. Food and Wine presents a new network of food pros delivering the most cookable recipes and delicious ideas online. And we liked the more agile handling of a tapered pin. It should be flat and even from center to edge, without dents. Crafted from solid wood, it is simple, sturdy, and a total bargain at about $6and for a basic rolling pin, you could do a lot worse. Although we still love the Tomnuk French Rolling Pin, weve removed it as a pick due to availability issues. christmas cookies fromthesehands This pin is less expensive than our top pick, and more widely available, so it may be a more practical choice for some readers. This isnt the beautiful object that the Whetstone Woodenwares French Rolling Pin is, but it is an effective tool and a good value. The hand-finishedWhetstone Woodenware French Rolling Pin has all the pleasing features of a high-end rolling pin without the outrageous price tag. A good pin shouldnt be so so heavy that it cracks a flaky piecrust, or so light that you have to lean your whole weight into it to get any work done. by Marguerite Preston, Lesley Stockton, Michael Sullivan, and Winnie Yang. We rolled very buttery and fragile-flaky pie crust into circles, soft and sticky sugar cookie dough into wide ovals, and a sweet yeasted dough for sticky buns into squares. *At the time of publishing, the price was $26. French: Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that while American pins are frequently the style that bakers first encounter at home, all of our experts revealed that in their day-to-day work, they prefer to use handleless pinsotherwise known as French pins. Wooden: Most wooden rolling pins are made from hardwoods like maple, cherry, or walnut. But most professional bakers and all of our experts use a handleless pin. Stella Parks, a professional pastry chef who wrote the bookBrave Tart, covers pastries forSerious Eats and is known for down-to-earth explanations of the science and technique of pastry. Thats important if youre making dozens of cookies or racing to flatten pie dough before the butter melts on a hot day. Our favorite was an affordable, American-made classic in the J.K. Adams Dowel Rolling Pin. With a significantly longer straight section in the middle than other tapered pins, its shape offered the agility of a tapered pin with the surface smoothing capabilities of a dowel pin. If you already own a rolling pin that you like, you neednt fret over getting a better one: the best rolling pin is one that you are comfortable with. McDermott told this cautionary tale: "Occasionally I am given a pin that's made from rosewood or something else absolutely beautifulbut is virtually unusable because someone put a finish on the outside that makes it impossible to roll the dough." If its tapered, look for a straight section in the middle of seven inches or more, or look for a very gradual arc across the whole pin. A cherrywood model from Vermont Rolling Pin was so smooth it wouldnt hold a dusting of flour and ended up with dough all over it that was a hassle to remove. Dusted with a little flour, the pin shouldnt stick to your dough. We also loved rolling out cookies with an ultra-luxe (but pricey) nylon model, and we found an excellent tapered rolling pin. And this pin was easier to use for our 10-year-old tester. We suspected that the advantage of higher-end rolling pins was mostly aesthetic, but it turned out that their smoother finish generally meant less sticking, less dusting with flour, and easier cleaning. "When your hand is actually on the body of the pin, you can feel every little bump and discrepancy," says Stella Parks. Related: The Best Cookie Sheets for Every Baking Need, According to Our Editors. Plus, its good-looking and sturdy enough to last a lifetime. Learn more. The hand-finished Whetstone, a tapered French-style pin, not only worked better than handled versions; it proved superior to similarly shaped mass-produced pins (while costing a fraction of what hand-turned pins sell for). In a pinch, you can use a wine bottle in place of a rolling pinindeed, many fine pies have been made this way. 2022 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company, AmazonBasics High-Density Round Foam Roller, Our pick: Whetstone Woodenware French Rolling Pin, Runner-up: JK Adams 19-inch Maple Rolling Dowel, My Favorite Baking Tool: The French Rolling Pin, 6 Favorites: Display-Worthy French Rolling Pins, Gadgets: Put Training Wheels on Your Rolling Pin, Kitchen Basics for Hosting Your First Thanksgiving. The surface of the pin was not as smooth as our main pick, so it required more dustings of flour and it took more effort to clean. Our experts and testers agreed that a handleless pin is the best tool; this one stood out amongst the 12 rolling pins I tested. The iconic, handled style that probably comes to mind when most people think of the toolthe kind you might remember your grandmother using, or encounter frequently at flea markets and estate salesis an American rolling pin (also sometimes called a baker's pin). Make sure whatever pin you are using is unfinished, or at least can hold a dusting of flour and have the grip to actually roll. It wont conduct the heat from your hands and melt buttery pastry. American: Most rolling pins fall into two basic camps. We think youre likely to do a lot more baking if you have a tool like this. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Like the J.K. Adams dowel, the simple silhouette was adaptable to generic spacers and the nylon surface felt cool to the touch and cleaned up easily. That said, if you are looking to treat yourself or someone you love to a special kitchen tool, this is a keeper that will more than prove its worth by turning out beautiful cookies, pies, tarts, and more for decades. (Though Ko added that she also has a petite 12-inch dowel that she's "crazy about" for rolling out small rounds for dumplings, hand pies, or other petite projects.). Derek Laughren, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, doesnt consider himself much of a baker, but is frequently called upon to produce perfect pastry in his work. It should feel smooth but not slick, be at least 18 inches long, and if it tapers, look for a very gentle arc or a seven-inch straight section in the middle. But if pie-, pastry-, or cookie-making is more than a once-a-year project, stocking your batterie de cuisine with the proper tool is more than worth the minimal investment. The Fletchers' Mill 20-Inch French Rolling Pin is beloved by a lot of the pro bakers we spoke with, and its simple lines and sleek finish are certainly appealing, especially when trying to work pastry into thin, delicate rounds. Properly handled, a solid wooden rolling pin will darken and patina beautifully, and last decades. Derek Laughren, the test kitchen manager at Food52 when interviewed, used a basic wooden tapered pin like he had in culinary school. While our 10-year-old said she didnt need the spacers, we noticed that the thickness of her cookie dough was perfectly consistent when she used them and fairly uneven when she didnt. Traditionally, pins are turned from hardwood. Widely available and at a price point that feels accessible to even the most entry-level baker, this pin is an incredible value. While it lacked some of the agility of the tapered pins when finessing pie crusts and shaping round edges, it still managed the job ably and, in fact, produced evenly flattened crusts even more consistently. Without prompting, each of our experts expressed that a handleless pin gives them the best sense of contact with the doughthat they can really feel the dough through the pin and know if it is level. Weight and diameter are subjective: light, narrow pins are more agile, while heavier pins do more of the work for you. This dowel-shaped pin isnt quite as agile as our main pick for making round shapes and needs to be dusted with flour more often. Its unfinished, matte surface held a dusting of flour well, fending off any issues with stickiness and tearing, and its simple shape meant that it could be easily fitted with generic spacers that allow you to roll dough to a precise and even thickness. The slender silhouette also creates a sense of intimacy in the rolling process. "When I cup my hands over it they fit perfectly and it rolls just like an extension of my arm." Although we think the Whetstone Woodenware French Rolling Pin will work best for most people, the JK Adams 19-inch Maple Rolling Dowelalso performed well. I interviewed experts who not only have extensive experience but can relate to a home cooks point of view. However, Parks points out that her mother makes gorgeous pies with a handled pin and feels awkward using the French styleultimately, the best pin is the one you like. Pins meant to be filled with ice water create condensation that can dampen what youre rolling out. *At the time of publishing, the price was $16. Her reasoning? We prioritized the handleless pins favored by experts, testing two dowel pins (with and without spacers), three basic tapered pins, three fancy hand-turned tapered pins, and the tapered silicone pin. The spacers did feel a little awkward, as it was hard to find a placement where they didnt interfere with your grip or make tracks in the dough. Higher-end pins like the one from Whetstone are already oiled, but basic pins like our recommendations from JK Adams need to be oiled before use. Steer clear of bells and whistles and don't feel like you have to spend a fortune. We independently review everything we recommend. But ultimately, its lighter weight and more slender silhouette seem better suited to niche work with precise tasks and laminated doughs, whereas the dowel pins felt like all-purpose workhorses. Maple and beech, the most common hardwoods used for rolling pins, provide good value, durability, and a pleasing weight. The JK Adams dowel is widely available and affordably priced. However, the craftsmanship still doesnt compare to that of the Whetstone Woodenware pin, and its not quite as easy to use. The hard maple surface has a smoother finish than a basic mass-produced rolling pin, which keeps dough from sticking and makes it easy to clean. Another bonus: Because nylon is non-porous, unlike wood, this pin would be even more adaptable to other (potentially messy) kitchen tasks that require the blunt force of something weighty, like pounding meat or crushing nuts or spices, without the worry of staining or contamination. Our least favorite of all the rolling pins we tried, the Farberware Professional Nonstick Rolling Pin contender lost points for its clunky, hard-to-clean handles, underwhelming performance (uneven rolling, and it didn't seem especially non-stick), and a slew of alarming Amazon reviews which reported that it became waterlogged after washing and that the "nonstick" surface began to chip and peel after one or two uses. Fletchers' Mill 20-Inch French Rolling Pin, Farberware Professional Non-Stick Rolling Pin, Farberware Professional Nonstick Rolling Pin. Derek Laughren says, "I prefer them, because of the added control, ease of cleaning (no moving parts, no rust, no nooks and crannies), as well as the aesthetic appeal." We wavered about recommending one of the more-expensive pins we tested when one that costs around $10 to $16 does the job just fine. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. For all-around performance, sturdiness, and bang for your buck, we think you'd be hard-pressed to do any better. Sounds easy enoughbut without a good rolling pin, the task might be more challenging than you think. Compared to some of the thin French pins weighing 1116 ounces, this 24-ounce dowel requires less strength to flatten dough. And their moving parts, with their nooks and crevices, can be a challenge to keep clean. Stubborn bits of dough can be scraped off with a bench scraper, but be careful not to gouge the wood. . But if youre after precision in your pies and cookies, a rolling pin is worth the $10-$30 investment. We also included three handled pins as a point of reference. They ranged in price from $10 to about $90. Its long, tapered shape also makes it ideal for rolling rounds of crust for pie and the more oblong shapes for cookies. After narrowing the field based on input from our favorite pro bakers, we put six rolling pins to the test. I prepared batches of dough with as much precision as possible, using weight instead of volume to measure ingredients in order to eliminate variables that might throw off the results. gadgets kitchen baking icing cookies royal haves flour arthur hacks sugar must king cut company Subscribe now for unlimited access. When little bits of dough occasionally stuck, I could brush them right off with my hand as opposed to struggling with a plastic bench scraper as I had with the others. There are no bells and whistles here: just a wonderfully simple, attractive, well-crafted made-in-America maple dowel that performs admirably over a range of baking tasks and has the elemental design and sturdy heft to serve you through a lifetime of kitchen work. (If you really want a handled pin, we did test a few.) Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. The ends are gently rounded off instead of bluntly cut like a mass-produced pin. Our 24-year-old who had little experience baking quickly got used to the tapered pins and ultimately prefered them. Unlike those more basic rolling pins, it is already treated with mineral oil, so it is ready to use right away. Marble pins are beautiful but heavy, making them hard to maneuver and causing some kinds of dough to crack. We put our rolling pins to the test with three different kinds of dough to see how they performed on a variety of textures and shapes. An extra $15-$19 isnt much to spend on a tool that will last you a lifetime. In the end, the most important factor in a good rolling pin is what is most comfortable for you, the roller. Without prompting, each of our experts expressed that a handleless pin gives them the best sense of contact with the doughthat they can really feel the dough through the pin and know if it is level. Is it a beautiful object. The Kmn Home Aluminium Rolling Pin is stylish and comfortable but ultimately felt a little too light in our hands. Even our 10-year-old tester came to prefer them. Erin Patinkin of Ovenly says, I have my grandmothers handled pin at home as well as a French pin that [my business partner] Agatha gave me. While she likes both, once she opened her bakery she found that with repetition using the handled pin made her hands cramp. The wood is beautiful, but it was so slick that flour didnt adhere like it did to the other wooden pins, and this pin was the most difficult to scrape clean. Dowel pins have a slight advantage for creating large surfaces that are perfectly even and can be fitted with spacers (essentially plastic rings) to help you roll dough to a precise thickness. We had five kids, ages 2 to 8, test cooking tools and found that the best options are those that work well for adults too. How does it feel in your hands? To buy: $17 (originally $26) at amazon.com. Should you fall in love with the looks of one, or if you're lucky enough to be gifted one, just make sure it's as functional as it is eye-catching. The 12 pins we tested were wooden, except one silicone tapered pin.