Rolling Pins

A tapered rolling pin gives you more control than a pin with handles, because your palms rest directly on the wood and feel the thickness of the dough. Norpro’s 18-inch French-style pin is thickest in the middle and narrows toward each end, which makes it easy to pivot and roll a round pie crust without turning the dough.It is turned from a single piece of beechwood with no handles or joints to loosen or trap flour. At 18 inches long, it rolls a crust for a 10-inch pie plate in a few passes and is light enough to lift and flip a sheet of dough over a tart pan.Use it for pie and tart crusts, cookie dough and pasta sheets. Dust the pin and the counter lightly with flour and roll from the center outward, giving the dough a quarter turn now and then. Holiday bakers buy it along with the Norpro pastry blender, the bench scraper and the silicone pie crust shield. Learn More

This nearly five-pound rolling pin is heavy duty and suited to a commercial kitchen. Its weight does much of the work on difficult doughs, such as dry or chilled laminated dough, and if you are making a sizable batch of croissants or puff pastry, this is the roller to have.Size and WeightThe maple barrel is 18 inches long and 3.25 inches across, and the pin measures 27 inches overall. It turns on ball bearings, so the barrel rolls while the handles stay steady in your hands.For pie crusts and smaller batches at home, the Ateco 12275 is lighter and easier to store. Learn More

A French pin is thickest at the center and tapers toward each end. The taper lets you pivot the pin as you roll, turning a disc of dough into an even round for a pie or tart without lifting and rotating the dough itself.This one is maple, 20 inches long, tapering from 1.35 inches across at the center to 0.85 inch at the ends. With no handles, your hands rest directly on the pin and feel the dough’s thickness. It is made in Canada.For an even barrel, see the Ateco 19176 Straight Dowel. For heavy laminated doughs, a ball bearing pin such as the Ateco 18325 does more of the work. Learn More

A straight dowel has no handles, so your palms rest on the dough side of the pin and can feel its thickness as you roll. Many pastry cooks prefer that direct contact for pie dough, tart shells and cookies.This maple dowel is 19 inches long and 1.75 inches across, wide enough to roll a full sheet without the edges of the dough passing under your hands. It is made in Canada.For a pin that tapers toward the ends and pivots easily into rounds, see the Ateco 20175 French Rolling Pin. Learn More