How to Care for a Traditional Rolling Pin and a Handled Rolling Pin

A traditional rolling pin is a thin, long rod without handles; the dough is wrapped around it as it is rolled out, so its surface must stay perfectly smooth. A handled rolling pin has a thicker body and usually 2 handles; it spreads dough by pressing down, and its body turns on the handles. This structural difference means the two tools need different care: the surface is what you protect on a traditional rolling pin, while the handled rolling pin’s bearing mechanism is what you protect. Do not use the same method for these two tools. If your kitchen has the two tools, storing them in the same drawer in the same way will inevitably damage one of them.

Water is the enemy of a traditional rolling pin. When wood gets wet, the fibers on its surface swell; when they dry, they do not settle fully back into their original position. Dough sticks to a roughened rolling pin, and the more it sticks, the more flour gets added; excess flour dries out the thin dough sheet. That is why you should not wash a traditional rolling pin. Scrape off dry dough with a dull scraper or another piece of wood, then wipe the pin with a dry cloth. If you need a damp cloth, dry the pin immediately afterward. Scrape only after the dough has dried completely; scraping wet dough only spreads it between the fibers.

With a handled rolling pin, the problem is more often inside than on the surface. The shaft and bearing connecting the body to the handles are metal in most handled rolling pins. Dishwater gets into the gap and, because it cannot be seen from outside, never dries completely. After a few washes, the bearing rusts, the body starts turning stiffly, and the rolling pin drags over the dough instead of rolling. That is why a handled rolling pin is not placed in water or submerged; wipe its body with a damp cloth and dry it, and keep the handles dry. If it starts turning stiffly, apply a drop of food-grade oil to the bearing; if rust has started, this provides only temporary relief.

Marble and stainless-steel rolling pins tolerate more than wood, but each has its own care requirements. Marble is porous and permanently absorbs oil stains, so wipe it right after working with oily dough; it also does not tolerate sudden temperature changes well. A marble rolling pin placed in the refrigerator to chill can develop condensation on its surface in a warm kitchen, causing dough to stick. A cool shelf is sufficient. If you want to keep a marble rolling pin cool, place it in the coolest corner of the kitchen or briefly in cold water, then dry it immediately; do not put it in the refrigerator.

Storage has its own quiet hazard. A thin traditional rolling pin hung by one end can bend almost imperceptibly under its own weight over the years, and a bent pin will not roll a thin dough sheet evenly. Store both tools horizontally and flat on a surface, with nothing stacked on top. Keep them in a ventilated drawer, not a damp cupboard. If wooden rolling pins will not be used for a long time, wiping them with a thin coat of mineral oil, as you would a cutting board, helps protect them from cracking.