I love my rolling pin. It’s dark wood, close grain with long handles that fit my hands perfectly. My mom bought it for me in college, and my rolling pin and I have been friends ever since, baking together once or twice a week in mutual happiness. Now I’m not going to go through all the plusses and minuses on choosing the right kind of rolling pin, but if you are interested I’ve found a couple of good websites that do, here and here. What I am going to discuss is the proper care of your wooden rolling pin.
Care and cleaning of your rolling pin is actually very easy. The secret is: don’t wash it. I’m serious, you don’t need to wash your rolling pin. treat your rolling pin like a cast iron pan. Here are the rules:
- Absolutely do not wash your rolling pin, or for that matter any other wooden utensil, in the dishwasher. The dishwasher will dry your rolling pin out and it will crack.
- Do not use soap and water on your rolling pin at all.
- If the dough sticks to your rolling pin after you’re done using it, then immediately use a metal icing spatula to GENTLY scrape the dough off. Don’t gouge your rolling pin by knocking the spatula edge into the wood. You can also use a metal cooking spatula to scrape off the dough.
- If there are still dough remnants on your rolling pin after you scrape it, then use hot water (not boiling) on a rag to wipe your rolling pin off, or use a stiff, clean, brush to remove the dough. Preferably the brush should never have had soap on it before.
- If you live in a dry climate, as I do, then you should oil your rolling pin once or twice a year. I use either mineral oil or walnut oil. Pour a little bit of oil onto a clean dry rag and wipe the oil onto your rolling pin. Let the oil soak in for a day or two before using it again.
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