A rolling pin is a cylindrical
food preparation utensil used to shape and flatten
dough. Two styles of rolling pin are found: rollers and rods. Roller types consists of a thick cylinder with small handles at each end; rod type rolling pins are usually thin tapered batons. Rolling pins of different styles and materials offer varying advantages, as they are used for different tasks in cooking and baking.
Types of rolling pins
Rod: thin rods typically made of wood around 1–2 inches (2–3 cm) in diameter. They are used by rolling the rod across the dough using one's palm. The pins may be tapered at one or both ends for more pivot control in certain tasks such as making small
jiaozi skins or
pie shells. Most
East Asian or
French style rolling pins, and the
TurkishOklava are rod-style.
Roller: consists of a thick heavy roller made of a variety of materials around 3–4 inches (7–10 cm) in diameter with thinner handles which extend through the roller. They are used by grasping the handles and pushing the pin across the dough. Many
Western rolling pins are roller types.
Textured: some specialized rolling pins have textured surfaces that mark and indents the dough surfaces for special breads and pancakes. They may even be embossed with writing.[1]
Chakla belan: in
Indian cuisine, the rolling pin (belan) is used in combination with a chakla (flat circular rolling board). The dough for
chapatis is rolled on the chakla with the help of the belan.[2][3] Devices like
Rotimatic and Rotillicious combine the functions of chakla, belan and round electric cooking griddle also known as tava.