kitchen utensils

A Turkish rolling pin is an extra long wooden rolling pin that is over 30” long rolling pin.

You can find an extra long rolling pin by Bulut that is 35″ long, and only 3/4″ in diameter.

This is one of the classic Turkish Oklava rolling pins.

Baklava (phyllo pastry dough), dumplings, and tortillas are rolled into very thin doughs ~2 mm or less before baking.

To create these thin doughs, having an extra long rolling pin will make it much easier to roll out. The larger the rolling pin, the more surface area the dough has to expand.

These types of dough are light, and will move freely as you press your rolling pin into the dough.

One dough in particular, phyllo pastry dough is especially difficult to make. Phyllo pastry takes a long time to master because the dough becomes substantially large and paper thin.

Phyllo pastry is created by rolling out the dough to it’s final dough thickness – as thin as you can make it. Phyllo pastry requires you to add flour/corn flour to your dough as you continuously roll it out thinner and thinner. The phyllo dough will become as long as your rolling pin.

If you’re working with a rolling pin half the size, it will take you twice as long to roll out your dough. You might not get your dough to the required thinness needed for phyllo using a short rolling pin.

The sheets of phyllo dough are then stacked together to make layers of fat and dough.

Phyllo pastry is used to bake many delicate pastries by manipulating it into different shapes and adding fillings in the center of the dough before baking.

Pasta dough can also be rolled out using an extra long wooden rolling pin. Pasta dough requires the dough to be thinner than paper, which is easily achieved using a pasta maker. A pasta maker squishes the dough together, making it thinner and thinner, working the dough until it’s a uniform thickness.

In a pinch, an extra long rolling pin will help you roll out your pasta dough into thin sheets. You will not get it as thin as a pasta maker, but you can use a rolling pin if necessary.

Lavash Armenian Flatbread becomes quite large and thin when it’s rolled out to ~35 inches long. By using an extra long rolling pin it will save you time rolling out your dough to the suggested length.

The best solid wood rolling pin is Ateco Professional Solid Wood Rolling Pin.

Ateco Solid Wood Rolling Pin
Solid wood - maple
Heavyweight
Cylindrical or French
Hand wash only

Ateco’s solid wood rolling pin is made to last you a lifetime.

Ateco creates highly specialized professional quality baking accessories for pastry chefs and has done so for over 100 years.

Ateco’s rolling pins are made of solid maple wood. Their solid wooden rolling pin is heavier than your average rolling pin weighing in at 1.5 lbs for their 18″ rolling pin.

Having a heavier rolling pin is helpful when you’re trying to roll out cold laminated dough like puff pastry or croissant dough.

There will be a lot of resistance when you’re trying to roll out these doughs. Heavier rolling pins help with forcing the dough down for you, so you don’t have to use as much pushing motion.

The surface of the Ateco rolling pin is very smooth, so you don’t need to add too much flour to your dough or rolling pin to effectively roll out your dough.

If your rolling pin has more of a rough surface then you have to add quite a bit of flour to the rolling pin to smooth it out first. If you don’t add enough flour to the rough surface, your dough will stick to the rolling pin.

Ateco’s rolling pin has an exceptionally smooth surface, so you will only need to dust the rolling pin lightly with flour before rolling out your dough.

Ateco’s solid wood rolling pin comes in a few different sizes – 12″, 15″ or 18″ plus the length of the handles.

How to use a French rolling pin

To use your French rolling pin, you’re going to be putting pressure on the center of the rolling pin.

1. Place your dough on a floured surface.
2. Flour the top of your dough, and flour your French rolling pin.
3. Place your French rolling pin on top of your dough and begin rolling out your dough by pressing down with the base of your hand and pushing it away from you.
4. Press the dough with the base of your hands and roll the pin back towards you.
5. Repeat this motion until you have rolled out your dough with your French rolling pin to your exact thickness needed. Be sure to add flour to your dough and your French rolling pin as needed.

French rolling pin vs Regular rolling pin

French Rolling Pin vs Regular Rolling Pin
Tapered	Cylindrical
Direct Pressure	Indirect Pressure through using handles
More control	Less Control
Gentle on dough	More forceful on dough
Unable to use thickness rings	Able to use thickness rings

A regular rolling pin is cylindrical shaped whereas a French rolling pin is tapered.

A French rolling pin is tapered, therefore you need to put pressure on the center because it doesn’t have any handles.

With a French rolling pin you have more control with it because you are applying direct pressure with your hands in the center of the rolling pin.

A regular rolling pin has handles, which is where you will be putting pressure. You’re sandwiching the dough with a regular rolling pin to force it to roll out.

A French rolling pin is more gentle on the dough because it has direct pressure, versus indirect pressure.

Should you wash a rolling pin?

You should wash your rolling pin with a damp cloth to gently wipe away the excess flour on your rolling pin.

Do not soak the rolling pin in water as this will warp the wood and cause it not to be even. Water will penetrate the wood and potentially crack the rolling pin as well.

Use a soft cloth with a bit of water to wash your rolling pin.

Do you need to oil a rolling pin?

If your rolling pin becomes too dry over the years of use, you can use mineral oil to oil your rolling pin.

Mineral oil acts as a barrier between water and other foods. This will keep your rolling pin from drying out when you wash it.

Putting mineral oil on your rolling pin will keep food and bacteria out of your rolling pin, resisting mold and bacterial growth.

Typically you should oil your rolling pin every 2-3 years depending on usage.

Learn which extra long rolling pin is best for phyllo pastry, dumplings, or pasta.

The best marble rolling pin is the Chefmade 18” marble rolling pin.

The Chefmade marble rolling pin weighs over 2 lbs, making rolling out stiff, cold, laminated dough much easier than a light wooden rolling pin.

• Ergonomic wooden handle design
• Smooth marble surface for rolling
• Wooden holder for marble rolling pin to rest in when not in use

Always keep your marble rolling pin resting in the holder when not in use. Marble rolling pins are prone to chipping, so keeping it in it’s holder should make it last you for a long time.

Marble vs Wood Rolling Pin

Marble rolling pins are best used for butter lamination dough recipes, like puff pastry, or croissant dough.

Marble is able to sustain its temperature. Pastry chefs can place their marble rolling pin in the fridge, along with their pastry dough. When they’re ready to laminate their pastry, the marble rolling pin is able to keep its cold temperature. This is ideal for laminating dough. Laminating cold dough is critical for puff pastry and croissant dough because the butter inside needs to be kept cold, otherwise it will break through the dough.

Marble is particularly heavy, making it much easier to roll out cold laminated dough than a light wooden rolling pin.

Wooden rolling pins are best used for cookie dough, pizza dough, bread, and buns.

Wooden rolling pins are not as heavy as marble rolling pins. Therefore, you need to use more force to roll out dough using a wooden rolling pin.

Wooden rolling pins are ideal for recipes that need flour to adhere to the rolling pin as you roll out the dough. Flour clings to wooden edges easily. Your dough will roll out nicely without having it stick to the rolling pin.

How do you keep dough from sticking to marble rolling pins

Marble rolling pins have a particularly smooth surface, making it difficult for flour to stick to the marble rolling pin. Add a dusting of flour to your dough instead, and then use your marble rolling pin to roll out your dough. The dough will not stick to your marble rolling pin as long as your dough is floured enough for it to be rolled out. Add more flour as needed.

If adding more flour to your dough isn’t working very well, you can place a sheet of parchment paper on top of your dough and then roll it out. The parchment paper will act as a barrier in between and will not stick to your rolling pin, or your dough. Peel the parchment paper from your dough when you’ve finished rolling it out.

How to clean a marble rolling pin

Clean a marble rolling pin by using a cloth and bit of water to rub it clean.

Only if necessary, use a bit of dish soap to clean off residue that will not clean off with water.

Marble rolling pins are the best rolling pins for making croissants and pastry dough. They are able to keep their cold temperature throughout the rolling and laminating process, unlike wooden rolling pins. Pastry dough and croissant dough are very temperature sensitive. Marble rolling pins are able to keep that consistent temperature and smoothness needed to create these delicious pastries.

The best rolling pin with thickness rings is the Geesta Adjustable Rolling Pin.

Geesta Adjustable Rolling Pin
5 sizes of measurement rings (2mm, 4mm, 6mm, 10mm and 13mm)
Extended handle design - ergonomic and easy to use
14" dough maximum width
unlimited dough length
Measure width of dough by using the graduated measures located on the rolling pin.
Rings are dishwasher safe

The Geesta Adjustable Rolling Pin is heavy duty and durable weighing almost 3/4 of a kilogram. You won’t need to use much pressure to roll out your dough, since the rolling pin is already weighted.

The Geesta Adjustable Rolling Pin is a rolling pin with measuring rings that are placed on the handle and then the handle is screwed in to securely fasten the rings on either end of the rolling pin. You can easily roll out your dough to the precise measurement needed for your recipe using their 5 different rolling pin measuring rings in sizes 2mm, 4mm, 6mm, 10mm and 13mm.

What are rolling pin rings?

Rolling pin rings are used to roll out dough to specific measurements.

Rolling pin rings are made to sit on either end of the rolling pin, elevating the rolling pin to the exact measurement.

The rolling pin is then used to roll out the dough until it’s the exact measurement, and no further, creating an evenly rolled dough for your recipe.

Rolling pin rings will work best on an even, cylindrical rolling pin.

Do not use them on a French rolling pin that is tapered.

You can also find silicone rolling pin rings that will stretch to fit over your rolling pin.

Boao makes a set of rolling pin thickness rings in 0.4”, 0.2”, 0.08” and 0.04” sizes.

The inside diameter of the rings is 1.6” so be sure to measure the width of your rolling pin to see if they will fit over.

How do rolling pin rings work?

Rolling pin rings work by elevating the rolling pin to an exact measurement.

The rolling pin rolls the dough out to the specific measurement, not any less than the rolling pin ring because the rubber holds the rolling pin up from squishing it any more.

1. Place your rolling pin rings on either end of your rolling pin.
2. Put your dough on your floured countertop and roll the dough with it being centered under the rolling pin. 
3. Roll out the dough until it matches the exact height of your rolling pin. You’ll know it’s ready if it doesn’t seem to be stretching any further as you roll.
4. Your dough is ready to use!

How do you roll dough evenly?

To roll dough evenly, place your rolling pin rings on either side of your rolling pin. Place your dough on a floured surface and begin rolling out your dough. Roll your dough until it won’t spread any further. Your dough is even throughout because the rolling pin ring holds the rolling pin to the precise measurement of the ring.

You might need to roll your dough out more lengthwise, because the rings will make the width of your dough no more than the length of your rolling pin. Keep this in mind if you’re making a recipe that needs an exact measurement for both width and length.

Rolling pins with measurement rings make it easy to roll out your dough evenly to an exact measurement. Use your measurement rings on your rolling pin when making dough for sugar cookies, pastry crust, shortbread, and gingerbread.

If you’re looking for a rolling pin for puff pastry dough or croissant dough, check out our recommendation for the best marble rolling pin.