Rolling pins

four types of rolling pins

The tools in our kitchens are not just utilitarian.  They are also sometimes really enjoyable to work with.  I just got a new rolling pin although it wasn't a new purchase.  It was a gift from a piano student who had graduated high school a few months ago and recently had a final lesson with me before heading off to college.   This student of course knew from years of coming to my home studio for lessons that cooking is one of my passions and decided to get me something I didn't have.  Well, I had rolling pins, but I didn't have the particular type this student had in mind to get for my kitchen.  It arrived yesterday and as it was sitting out in view when a different student arrived for a lesson it prompted a discussion about kitchen tools in general and different types of rolling pins specifically.  From that we segued into a discussion of piano technician's tools.  But let's stay with rolling pins for now.

In the picture above are the four pins that I keep in my kitchen.        

The one on the bottom is the standard rolling pin that most people seem to have in their kitchen.  The barrel rolls independently of the handles, of course.  I have had this one for years and it's the same type as the one I used as a kid.  But as time went on and I became more experienced, I found myself using it less and less.  

The second one up from the bottom, with the colored ends, is the one I just received as a gift.  The ends can be removed and any of the colored pieces can be taken off.  Each of those pieces is a different diameter and that means that you can set the height of your pin so that if you want a 1/4 inch thick rolled dough, you can achieve that uniformly without relying only on your eye and your touch since the pin can't roll any thinner than 1/4 inch with the proper end piece.  The barrel is a solid piece of ash with no bore-hole drilled through.  So even if you push on it in the center you can't make it bend.  I haven't tried using it yet, but I will very soon.

The third one up is a French style rolling pin with tapered ends.   This is a great pin to use for things like tart or pie dough which you want to roll out in a circle.  The tapered ends, once you get used to them, can be used to manipulate the dough in a variety of ways.  Some people who use this type of pin use it only for things like pie dough, but others use it universally.

The pin on the top of the picture is the one I use more than any other.  It's very heavy, quite long, solid ash, and I love the tactile aspect of using it.  I find this one easy to use for just about everything whether it's rolling sugar cookie dough or pounding blocks of cold butter into flattened planks to be placed in croissant dough.

Today I'm using it to roll out small circles of dough for pain au lait, or "milk bread".   But more on that later.  

A big thank you to my former student for adding to my collection of pins.  I will try it out very soon.