Monday, June 18, 2007

Cooking essentials- dough scraper


Just what IS a dough scraper? According to Wikipedia it is...
A dough scraper is a tool used by bakers to manipulate dough and to clean surfaces on which dough has been worked. It is generally a small sheet of stainless steel (approximately 3"x5" or 8 cm x 13 cm) with a handle of wood, plastic, or simply a roll in the steel blade along one of the long sides.

Bakers and pastry chefs use this tool to help pick up, turn, and portion dough. When finished, the dough scraper can be used to scrape up the little bits of dough that have dried onto the kneading surface during the forming process. It can also be used in a more generic kitchen role to transfer sliced or diced foods from cutting board to pan.

This tool is known by a variety of names, including dough scraper, dough cutter, dough knife, pastry cutter, bench scraper, board scraper, and bench knife.

Some modern varieties of this tool have blades of nylon or silicone and even feature both straight and curved edges. These are intended primarily for the use of scraping cutting boards and bowls rather than working dough. These uses have introduced further variants of the name, including terms such as bowl scraper or chopper, scooper, scraper.



I LOVE my dough scraper!! I never would have purchased one on my own. Mine came when I bought a pasta maker a few years ago. I now use it ALL the time. When I make biscuits, I use it to scrape all the dough off the counter when I'm done. When I'm making rolls or bagels, I use it to divide the dough into even sections. When I'm making French bread, I use it to divide my loaves into two equal parts. I do use my dough scraper all the time!

Do you have a dough scraper? If so, do you use it?

(Note: A commenter asked what size the dough scraper is. I guess it does look kind of large in the photograph. It is 5 inches by 4 inches and fits perfectly in your hand.)

15 comments:

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I also use mine a lot.

It's perfect not only for cutting bread dough but the cleanup.

Melissa said...

Could you describe the size of your dough scraper. It looks kinda large, but kinda small....

theups said...

Thank you, Melissa, for asking that question. I guess it does look kind of large in the photograph. It is 5 inches by 4 inches and fits in your hand. I added a "Note" to the end of the post in case anyone else was wondering the same thing. :)

Thank you for helping me make it more clear!!

His,
Mrs. U

Tracy said...

I do have one, and I use it. Mostly to clean up the counter after working with doughs.

Susan said...

I don't have one, but I've seent hem and didn't realize what they were for. It would be perfect when I make rolls or pizza dough - I can see how handy it would be to divide the dough with. I'm going to be on the lookout for one!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mrs. U.-

I am a regular reader of your blog and really enjoy it. This is my first time commenting.

I have a dough scraper. I use it often, though not for scraping dough much (I don't make much dough as we eat low carb.) I mainly use mine as a sort of shovel for chopped veggies to transfer them into the pan. It is indispensable for this!

Jan H.

Kelly @ Growing.Learning.Playing. said...

Oh, I do not have one of those, but need one badly. I'm thinking a trip to the kitchen store is in order! I have never seen one of these before but it would make my life so much easier. Thank you, Mrs. U!

Kelli said...

I have a plastic one that I remember being very handy. Thank you for the reminder to dig it out again!
Kelli

Paula said...

This is one tool I don't have. And never thought about having. However, after reading how you use yours, it could come in quite handy! Thanks for sharing such a great little gadget!!

Anonymous said...

I don't have a dough scraper, but I would love one......I use my spatula :}

Mrs. Anna T said...

I've never even heard about those! I definitely have a lot to learn.

Becky said...

Hi, Mrs. U...Love your blog!

I don't have a "fancy" dough scraper--what I use is a plastic paint scraper from the hardware store. I have them in two different widths, wide and narrow, so that I can tackle any counter or bowl or pan scraping that needs to be done.

Heart 4 My Home said...

I love mine. I use it for all sorts of things...from scraping cookie dough to cutting bread dough to scraping up chopped veggies on the cutting board. You name it. I would say this is one of those must have tools in the home.

kariwhite said...

I love my dough scraper and use it at least twice a week!

It's handy for cutting dough down into smaller pieces (a necessity when making breadsticks or rolls) and also for cleaning up my work space after kneading dough.

I personally prefer one with a padded handle like the OXO Good Grips Pastry Scraper.

Oh, and a tip for ladies and gentlemen looking for one online, try searching pastry scraper in addition to dough scraper!

Pink Dinosaur said...

we use ours for cutting dessert bars. much easier to get that in there than a knife...

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