Not All Rolling Pins Are Created Equal, and This One Might Be the Best

When Lisa Ludwinski, the owner of Sister Pie in Detroit and the author of the recently-released Sister Pie cookbook, started making pies professionally, one of the first things she noticed was that the traditional rolling pin (the kind with the two handles) was actually pretty unhelpful. “The handles would always feel like they were not connected to the center of the pin, which made it hard for me to apply a lot of pressure,” says the 2015 Eater Young Gun. “They felt cumbersome and heavy.”

That’s how she found the Ateco 20-Inch French Rolling Pin with tapered ends, and now she is a firm believer that every home baker should have one. The most important feature of the rolling pin, she says, is the lack of handles. “I can push my hands on all parts of it and really manipulate the dough,” she says. Also, because it is so lightweight, “I can use my own body weight to apply pressure rather than the strength of the pin, which gives me more control.”

The result is consistently good dough with even thickness throughout. “Because you are able to really connect with the dough,” versus a traditional rolling pin, where you are only touching the handles, “you are less likely to roll it out too much or under-roll it.” The width, too, is ideal. “It naturally fits where your arms extend,” Ludwinski says. “It is truly an extension of your arm!”

This rolling pin is especially great for those are just starting out as bakers. “It allows you to really understand what you are doing a lot more, so you can develop your own instincts,” she says. And making pie, she says, is so rooted in those intuitions that can only be crafted over time. “This rolling pin really helps with that process.”