Solid Wood Rolling Pin

A straight dowel of solid wood, 2.8 cm thick, with no handles and no bearings. This is the shape used for dumpling skins, and it works differently from a handled pin: you push with one hand near the edge of the dough and turn the dough with the other, so the round stays round and the middle stays slightly thicker than the rim - which is exactly what you want in a dumpling that has to hold filling without tearing.

It is also the easiest kind of rolling pin to look after, because there is nothing inside it. No axle to seize, no join to loosen, no cap to come off.

Three lengths

• 25 cm - dumpling and wonton skins, one hand, small board
• 30 cm - the general one. Skins, flatbread, pie lids
• 40 cm - long sheets, noodles, laminated dough

Details

• 2.8 cm diameter
• Lengths: 25 / 30 / 40 cm
• Solid wood, one piece, no handles
• Unfinished surface
• Origin: China

Care

Flour it, do not oil it before use. Scrape dried dough off with a bench scraper or the back of a knife rather than soaking it. Wipe with a barely damp cloth, dry it, and stand it upright or lay it on a rack so both sides dry evenly. Never the dishwasher.

Questions

Why no handles?
Because for thin round skins you want to feel the dough under your palm. Handled pins are better for large sheets of pastry; this one is better for small rounds.

Which length should I get?
30 cm if you only want one. 25 cm if you mostly make dumplings and want it light in one hand.

What kind of wood?
[Not specified] by the maker beyond solid wood. It is pale, close-grained and unstained.

Is it sealed or treated?
No. It arrives bare, which is normal for this type and is why flour rather than oil is the right thing to use on it.

Filed under The Serein Edit, beside the olive wood.