Do good chefs/bakers use the French/tapered style rolling pin?

[milovany]

Or the "regular" style with a handle on each end?  Which is their tool of preference, this kind or this kind? And I'm assuming that marble is preferred over wood, no? 

 

Signed, Someone Who Doesn't Watch Cooking Shows

 

:D

[Critterfixer]

I don't know. I use a French style wooden rolling pin and I like mine.

[zoobie]

I would like a French style, but I have a perfectly good regular one and no extra storage space. I wouldn't prefer a marble one because of the weight. (I'm not a pro, but I love to bake!)

[Forget-Me-Not]

I switched to a french because my standard was giving off rusty flakes from the handle screws. I'd probably manage to drop a marble rolling pin on my toes. :D

[Luckymama]

Ummm both?

 

(I have a baking toy problem :lol:)

[Matryoshka]

I have both, but now that I do I prefer the French.  And sometimes I use my weird little roller from Pampered Chef, which is something else again...

[justasque]

I have both a wooden roller one and a wooden French one.  I love, love, love the French one.  

For the roller variety, the roller parts eventually fail, and the more pressure you put on the handles the sooner it will fail.  Rolling out is all about pressure sometimes, so this is a design flaw.  In contrast, the French one responds just fine to pressure and will hold up for much longer.  

I particularly like the French one when rolling out pie dough.  You can move the dough from the middle towards the edges, without overly thinning the edges.  

I have never used a marble one, so I can't speak to that.  But my wooden French one has such a lovely finish to it, it's a pleasure to use.

(Which begs the question - why do I still have the roller one, if I never use it?  Hmmm...  I think it will go onto the declutter list ASAP!)

[mamaraby]

I'd say a good chef/baker uses whichever they prefer. :0) i have the wood roller kind because that's what I grew up using. I can get a very thin result without using a great deal of pressure. I think it's one of those YMMV kinds of things. I sent my Pampered Chef one to Goodwill. That one didn't seem to make any sense to me when it came to actually using it.

[magic]

I use both.  It depends on what I am making and my needs but I do use both along with a small hand wheel pastry roller.

[Kathryn]

Idk. I have a marble handled one, but I don't use the handles.

[KungFuPanda]

I have a marble one. I love it, but the only pastry it sees is pie crust. I use it mainly for bread and Christmas cookies.

[LucyStoner]

I am using a very old wooden roller one. No one has had a problem with my pastry yet. Were this one to break, I would likely get a marble one just for the coldness factor. I could freeze it or put it in ice packs and that would be better for crusts. But given that my rolling pin is older than me, I serious doubt I'll be needing a replacement anytime soon.

[Carol in Cal.]

I use wood.  And I 'flour' it with powdered sugar instead of flour when rolling out cookies, which works just as well and prevents sugar cookie dough from getting tough.

[LucyStoner]

I will say this though. Just like a poor workman blames his tools, a good baker is not defined by their kitchen gadgets and needs nothing fancy.

[Dory]

I will say this though. Just like a poor workman blames his tools, a good baker is not defined by their kitchen gadgets and needs nothing fancy.

 

True, but I've used crappy tools for a long time, and every time I get to upgrade to something really nice, it's amazing how much easier it is to get the results I shoot for. I can make do, but always fun to not have to make do or work around something.

[bibiche]

I will say this though. Just like a poor workman blames his tools, a good baker is not defined by their kitchen gadgets and needs nothing fancy.

True. When I was broke in Paris I used to use a wine bottle to roll out pastry. ;)

 

In professional kitchens most of my colleagues used wooden dowel type rolling pins, though some used tapered. Marble would be impractical. But really, whatever works for you...

[Laura Corin]

True. When I was broke in Paris I used to use a wine bottle to roll out pastry. ;)

 

In professional kitchens most of my colleagues used wooden dowel type rolling pins, though some used tapered. Marble would be impractical. But really, whatever works for you...

 

I started baking biscuits/cookies for the first time about a month ago.  So far, I've just used a bottle to roll them out.  It's been fine.

 

Our last rolling pin (wooden) went mouldy when we lived in Hong Kong and I threw it away.  I'm not even sure why we owned it....

 

L

[Melissa in Australia]

I have 6 different rolling pins :laugh:

 

 does that make me a good cook? :hurray:

 

 or a hoarder of kitchen appliances? :leaving:

[WestHoustonMom]

True, but I've used crappy tools for a long time, and every time I get to upgrade to something really nice, it's amazing how much easier it is to get the results I shoot for. I can make do, but always fun to not have to make do or work around something.

It's like using a pastry cutter for the first time when you've always used a fork.

[SparklyUnicorn]

It's like using a pastry cutter for the first time when you've always used a fork.

 

I feel this way about my cookie scoop.  It makes making cookies so much easier.

[Doodlebug]

Nothing fancy here.  I have a very basic french wooden rolling pin (no handles).  

 

It isn't heavy, has no crevices for particles/rust to work out of, it fits into my drawer, and it doesn't get washed (rinsed and toweled off only).

 

I don't think the pin matters as much as your work surface.  THAT'S what I need!  

 

Stella 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I prefer the type with handles.  I'm sure it's just personal preference rather than one is actually better than the other.

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

Disclaimer: I'm not a good chef or baker (as in professional quality) - just a pretty darn good cook/home baker. :)

 

I have the French style tapered one, but mine is wood not marble. Sometimes the tapered part annoys me when I'm rolling out something larger, and I've been thinking about getting a regular handled one. It would be an addition, not a replacement. I grew up only knowing about one kind of roller - the wooden kind with handles. I tend to prefer no handles.

 

I've had marble in the past and got rid of it. I didn't find it worked any better for me, and it was too heavy. 

 

I also had the little Pampered Chef one. It eventually found its way to the thrift shop because I never used it. 

 

 

[fairfarmhand]

I have a glass one that I love. Fill that baby with ice water and you can seriously roll a pie crust.

 

I use my wooden with handles for biscuits.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Mine is stainless steel.  It was a gift.  Probably not something I would have picked out.  I wish it were a bit heavier.  It's easy to clean though.  So there is that.  I don't do a ton of baking anyway.

 

 

[Anne in CA]

I agree with Katie that you don't need fancy tools, but good ones are important. Quality art supplies and quality cooking ingredients make a big difference in a finished product even with minimal skill involved. I used my dh's grandmother's baking tools for years and got great results. Over time the kids lost/ broke things and I don't have many of her things left anymore and sadly no one puts of things of that quality anymore for any price. Our bakery came with everything we need and the things are simple but adequate. 

[Alessandra]

I like a wooden, non-tapered one with no handles. When I look at French languages videos of French chefs making pastry, that is the kind of pin I see. Obviously, I am very slanted in favor of French cooking, JAWM.

 

Not sure if the same style is best for cookies or biscuits though. I still keep my old pin with handles, because that is the style I grew up with. And my tapered pin, because it reminds me of my young adulthood. (I have difficulty purging stuff.)

[ErinE]

I bake often, but I don't like many specialty tools.

 

I have owned a tapered pin, handled pin, and a thick wooden dowel. I had difficulty getting a flat dough with the tapered pin, although it was great for targeted rolling out of thick spots. Since I usually ended up finishing the dough with a flat pin, I donated the tapered pin.

 

The handled pin was easier to roll out with, but the handles bent from the pressure I used when rolling out dough and it shed flakes. I donated that one as well.

 

I finally settled on the wooden dowel. It's more difficult to roll out than the handled, but it makes a flat dough and I've adjusted to the difference.

[umsami]

My favorite rolling pin is actually a small wooden dowel one that came with one of my kids cooking sets.  :)   So, if it were me, I'd probably go for a French style one.  I think they're easier to use.

 

I do watch cooking shows and tend to see those more than the other kind...but I do think it's personal preference.  

[Laura Corin]

I like a wooden, non-tapered one with no handles. When I look at French languages videos of French chefs making pastry, that is the kind of pin I see. Obviously, I am very slanted in favor of French cooking, JAWM.

 

 

That's the kind I just bought - after reading this thread, I thought that I should probably move on from using a bottle.  My new one has no handles and is wood - it looks easy to keep clean and I'm sure it will be fine.

 

L

[redsquirrel]

I think I am a good good baker, I have taken french pastry courses and was asked to become an apprentice in the kitchen.  I make my own puff pastry and great pie crust. I use a rolling pin on a regular basis.

 

The 'best' rolling pin is one you like. I don't have a marble one and have no plans to get one. I think it would be too heavy and I am afraid if it fell off the counter it would break.

 

I own a solid, untapered, wooden rolling pin (no ball bearings) that belonged to my husband's grandmother. It is quite heavy enough without having one of stone, lol.  It isn't flimsy at all, is heavy enough to beat the butter into submission for puff pastry, and it will survive a drop on the floor.

 

For years I used any old wine bottle I happened to have. Empty or full, it didn't matter.

 

I think what makes one a good baker is experience. It can take a lot of practice to get it right. I have a good friend who is a pastry chef and she has hardly any fancy equipment. She doesn't have a food processor or stuff like that. She makes pie crust by hand, as in with her fingers and just works quickly. She doesn't have marble counters or a fancy oven. So if you get a marble rolling pin or whatever and you like it, that is great! It is the right tool for you.

[Guest]

The guy on American Cooking (whatever that show is with the guy with the bow-tie) --Christopher Kimball --from Cook's Magazine, just did a review of rolling pins, and recommend the wood with handles.  The handles keep your warm hands away from the dough and from the pin, and you have a better physical sense of when the pie crust is even.  

 

:0)

 

No Pie for Me.

[Happy]

Mine is a wooden, tapered French style. I love it!

 

I had the basic with handles before and didn't like it at much.

 

 

[LostSurprise]

Marble if you are really into making pies, but if you're that into pie dough you would probably want a marble surface to roll on (one that you could chill) at least as much as a marble rolling pin. Frankly, a marble rolling pin would be a bit heavy for me. I'd rather roll things out with some enthusiasm which marble definitely dampens. 

 

I have a wooden tapered french rolling pin. The taper is nice for rolling out curves and circles, but doing that has a learning curve. The taper also acts as a sort of handle, keeping you above the dough. I prefer no-handles. Handles change the center of force. I think the dowel and french types are easier to manipulate in a variety of directions and with greater over-all force. 

 

I personally like wood. I oil or wet it with water when rolling out sticky things, but I don't do a lot of pastry.