The 3 Best Rolling Pins, According to Our Editors

In search of the best rolling pins, we spent 18 hours in the kitchen with a half-dozen pins in a range of styles, rolling our way through piles of pie crusts and bowlfuls of sugar cookie dough. What did we learn? Steer clear of bells and whistles, and don't feel like you have to spend a fortune. A simple, sturdy pin is all anyone needs — and properly cared for, it should last through a lifetime of baking adventures.

We talked to pro bakers and pastry chefs Dorie Greenspan, Kate McDermott, Joanne Chang, and Genevieve Ko about this indispensable baking tool. Our experts gave us lots to consider when narrowing the field; we then tested six top rolling pins. Read on to see how we tested and what makes one pin better than another.

Our Top Picks

• Best Overall J.K. Adams Dowel Rolling Pin
• Best Splurge: Matfer Bourgeat Nylon Rolling Pin
• Best Tapered: Fletchers' Mill 20-Inch French Rolling Pin

There are no bells and whistles here: just a wonderfully simple, attractive, well-crafted, made-in-America maple dowel that performs admirably over a range of baking tasks and has the elemental design and sturdy heft to serve you through a lifetime of kitchen work. The J.K. Adams Dowel Rolling Pin made tackling large slabs of cookie dough a cinch, rolling and rerolling clean, and maintaining an even thickness (without straining our arms or requiring fussing) possible. Its unfinished, matte surface held a dusting of flour well, fending off any issues with stickiness and tearing, and its simple shape meant that it could be easily fitted with generic spacers that allow you to roll dough to a precise and even thickness.

Widely available and at a price point that feels accessible to even the most entry-level baker, this pin is an incredible value. While it lacked some of the agility of the tapered pins when finessing pie crusts and shaping round edges, it still managed the job ably and, in fact, produced evenly flattened crusts even more consistently. For all-around performance, sturdiness, and bang for your buck, we think you'd be hard-pressed to do any better.

Material: Maple hardwood | Dimensions: 20 x 1.5 inches | Weight: 1.5 pounds

The French-made dowel-style Matfer Bourgeat Nylon Rolling Pin is crafted from cream-colored nylon and is the personal favorite of baking doyenne Dorie Greenspan — and after a couple of days in the kitchen with it, we could see why. Heavy but not oppressively so, with a wonderful balance in the hand, it made rolling sugar cookie dough a delight, producing even sheets every time, and tackled discs of buttery pie dough without tearing or sticking. Like the J.K. Adams dowel, the simple silhouette was adaptable to generic spacers and the nylon surface felt cool to the touch and cleaned up easily. Another bonus: Because nylon is non-porous, unlike wood, this pin would be even more adaptable to other (potentially messy) kitchen tasks that require the blunt force of something weighty, like pounding meat or crushing nuts or spices, without the worry of staining or contamination. Last but not least, as Greenspan says, "it's pretty darn handsome to boot."

Ultimately, our major reservations with this pin came down to price: at more than $100, it's no small investment, and given the cost, it doesn't offer 4 times the performance of the J.K. Adams pin. That said, if you are looking to treat yourself or someone you love to a special kitchen tool, this is a keeper that will more than prove its worth by turning out beautiful cookies, pies, tarts, and more for decades.

Material: Nylon | Dimensions: 19 x 2 inches | Weight: 1.87 lbs

The Fletchers' Mill French Rolling Pin is beloved by a lot of the pro bakers we spoke with, and its simple lines and sleek finish are certainly appealing, especially when trying to work pastry into thin, delicate rounds. But ultimately, its lighter weight and more slender silhouette seem better suited to niche work with precise tasks and laminated doughs, whereas the dowel pins felt like all-purpose workhorses. Also, though the narrower sides made for graceful pivoting when shaping the rounded edges of a double-crust pie, we found them to be a hindrance rather than a help when trying to maintain an even thickness with sheets of cookie dough (not to mention that the tapered design eliminates the option of using spacers).

That said, if you make a lot of pies, it might be worth giving this option a chance — or, if you're a committed baker, getting both a tapered pin and the J.K. Adams dowel. At $24 a pop, it's not too dear an investment. That said, if you make a lot of pies, it might be worth giving this option a chance — or, if you're a committed baker, getting both a tapered pin and the J.K. Adams dowel.

Material: Maple hardwood | Dimensions: 20 x 2 inches | Weight: 8.8 ounces

Our Favorite Rolling Pin

The J.K. Adams Dowel Rolling Pin earned the top spot on our list because it is not only beautiful, but simple in its design. We love how it feels in our hands, and you can't beat the price. Its blunt sides and weight make handling dough a cinch without any tears.

How We Tested Rolling Pins

Using the recommendations of our expert panel as a guide with a few wildcard options thrown in for good measure, we went into the kitchen with a lineup of six rolling pins of various styles and materials — handled, tapered, and dowel, solid wood, aluminum, and nylon — and then whittled that list down to three winners that we felt represented the best value in terms of design, ease of use, performance, and cost. To put the contenders through their paces, we took notes comparing the results when working with many, many, many batches of two of the most common types of rolled dough: Our all-butter pie dough (for flaky, delicate, double-crust pies) as well as our sugar cookie dough (for classic, buttery rolled and cut cookies).

Factors to Consider

Material

Rolling pins come in all sorts of materials, from marble to stainless steel, silicone to wood, and even glass. The choice comes down to how you intend to use the pin. Wood has been the primary choice of bakers for centuries, and with good reason. Light enough to be nimble, heavy enough to tackle stiffer doughs, and with just enough grip to work with the dough using natural friction. Marble can be useful for doughs that have to maintain a cold temperature, like laminated doughs, but the weight can be hard on a baker’s arms. Stainless steel and silicone are both easy to clean and can be put in the dishwasher, but sometimes are harder to keep floured for effective use.

Weight

You want a rolling pin that is heavy enough that it does a lot of the work for you when rolling dough, but not so heavy that it is unwieldy or hard to manipulate. The pin should feel good and solid in your hands but should not be difficult to lift easily with one arm.

Size

Since most pie crusts will need to be rolled to at least a 12-inch diameter, a 9-10 inch pin is the minimum you would want to buy for handled pins and 12-14 inches for French-style pins.

Shape

Straight rolling pins are great for all-around use. French pins are tapered at both ends and are specifically designed for pie and tart crusts. Some pins have indentations that allow for specific thicknesses of dough, like 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch, which can be good investments if you do a lot of pies, tarts, or homemade crackers when you want the consistency of thickness across a whole batch.

Other Rolling Pins We Tested

Ikea Magasin Wooden Handled Rolling Pin ($10 at Ikea)

Imagine the iconic rolling pin, which probably looks like the Ikea Magasin Wooden Handled Rolling Pin. Crafted from solid wood, it is simple, sturdy, and a total bargain at about $8 — and for a basic rolling pin, you could do a lot worse. But, if you can afford to spend another $16, the J.K. Adams dowel is easier to control and clean and a better long-term investment.

Kmn Home Aluminium Rolling Pin ($20 at Amazon)

The Kmn Home Aluminium Rolling Pin is stylish and comfortable but ultimately feels too light in our hands. Also, though a chilled aluminum pin will keep the delicate dough cool longer, once it begins to heat up, it will do so faster than a wooden pin — making re-rolling dough a trickier proposition.

Farberware Professional Nonstick Rolling Pin ($8 at Amazon)

Our least favorite of all the rolling pins we tried, the Farberware Professional Nonstick Rolling Pin contender lost points for its clunky, hard-to-clean handle and underwhelming performance (uneven rolling, and it didn't seem especially nonstick).

Our Expertise

• Sarah Karnasiewicz wrote this piece. Sarah Karnasiewicz is an award-winning writer, editor, and cook. In addition to Food & Wine, she has contributed to Everyday with Rachael Ray, Epicurious, Food Network, and Cooking Light, among others.
• Emily Belfiore also contributed to this piece using data from editors and industry experts. She has years of experience covering kitchen, travel, and lifestyle products for publications like Travel + Leisure, People, Food & Wine, and more.
• To narrow the field of contenders and zero in on the best multipurpose rolling pin, Belfiore and Karnasiewicz went straight to the source: baking experts who put their trusty tools to use day in and day out. Among those generous enough to share their opinions were:
• Dorie Greenspan: The beloved baking authority and award-winning author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including the recently released "Dorie's Cookies."
• Kate McDermott: The Seattle-based pie doyenne and author of "The Art of the Pie."
• Joanne Chang: The James Beard Award-winning pastry chef/owner of Flour Bakery + Cafe in Boston and Cambridge, Mass. and author of "Flour."
• Genevieve Ko: The recipe developer, culinary consultant, and author of "Better Baking."