Best rolling pin: The essential tool for home bakers

Effortlessly flatten bread dough, buttery pastry or fondant icing with these handy options

By PopSci Commerce Team | Published May 19, 2021 2:22 PM EDT

Gear

A rolling pin ensures even thickness of dough or pastry. Katerina Smirnova, Unsplash

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When it comes to tools for bakers, a rolling pin is essential. It can be used for a range of different tasks, from rolling out buttery pastry for pies to flattening bread dough for pizza. There are also specialist ones to use with fondant icing to make sure it doesn’t stick.

Not all rolling pins are made equal though, and some will work better than others. Wood, for example, is better for bread doughs. But if you’re working with buttery pastry, you’ll want one that will stay cool, like marble or stainless steel. As for fondant icing, plastic is actually best.

Here’s what else to consider:

Shape: There are three main styles of rolling pins: French tapered, cylindrical, and cylindrical with handles. French tapered are best if you need more control during use and need to roll in different directions quickly, for example when making dumpling wrappers. Cylindrical ones, whether with or without handles, are better for rolling out large flat sheets. The ones without handles have a larger rolling surface but some may find these more difficult to handle.
Material: If you work with bread dough a lot, wood is best. This is because flour sticks to its surface more easily, which stops the dough from sticking to counters or wherever you’re working with dough. For buttery pastry, you want to keep the rolling pin as cool as possible so the butter doesn’t melt and ruin the pastry—marble and stainless steel are best for this, as you can chill them in the fridge. As for fondant icing, look for plastic ones with a non-stick coating.
Length: Obviously the longer your rolling pin, the more rolling surface area you have, which is great if you need to roll out large sheets. Something around 40cm long will suit most households. Any longer than that and you may struggle with storage; if it’s shorter, it will take you longer to roll out the same amount of pastry or dough.