The Best Rolling Pin | Reviews by Wirecutter

When you think of a rolling pin, you probably picture the kind with two handles, called a baker’s or American rolling pin. But most professional bakers and all of our experts use a handleless pin, because it gives you the best sense of contact with the dough and a better feel for if it’s level. (If you really want a handled pin, we did test a few.)

Here are the factors that can affect the performance of a handleless rolling pin:

Shape: 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.

Tapered pins pivot easily as you roll, making them ideal for flattening round pie crusts.
But tapered pins can require more finesse when rolling out large oblong or rectangular shapes evenly.

Dowel pins have a slight advantage for creating large surfaces that are perfectly even. And they can be fitted with spacers (essentially plastic rings) to help you roll dough to a precise thickness.

Dimensions and weight: The ideal length of a handleless pin is 18-22 inches. If it’s tapered, look for a straight section in the middle of seven inches or more, or a very gradual arc across the whole pin. A good pin shouldn’t be 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. It should roll smoothly and turn easily to roll out a circle.

Material: Maple and beech, the most common hardwoods used for rolling pins, provide good value, durability, and a pleasing weight. Some high-end rolling pins are made from other hardwoods, like walnut or cherry, while the cheapest pins use beechwood. No matter the wood used, the surface should feel very smooth. Dusted with a little flour, the pin shouldn’t stick to your dough.

We don’t recommend specialty pins made from thermally conductive materials such as marble, stainless steel, and glass for most bakers. These are meant to be chilled (or in some cases filled with ice water) before using so that they won’t warm buttery dough. But each has its drawbacks. Marble pins are beautiful but heavy. Aluminum pins can discolor eggy dough; neither metal nor glass hold flour well. Pins meant to be filled with ice water create condensation that can dampen what you’re rolling out.

We tested the rolling pins on a hot humid day in a small Brooklyn kitchen — challenging conditions for even the most skilled baker — with a 10-year-old and a 24-year-old who didn’t have much experience baking. We had to race to roll out each piece of dough before it softened into a buttery mess.

Since some pins were pre-treated with mineral oil or beeswax, we rubbed mineral oil into the untreated ones the night before testing to level the playing field.

We used three different kinds of dough to see how each pin performed on a variety of textures and shapes.

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. As we worked through these tasks, we judged the pins on weight and maneuverability, and noted how easily dough stuck to their surface.