Rolling Pins

I like using a tapered French pin—a long, smooth, tapered wooden rod—for rolling out pie and tart doughs. It allows me to feel the dough underneath the pin, and I can maneuver the dough with the tapered ends to roll it into the shape I want. For laminated doughs, a small pin with two offset handles—a steel rod that runs from handle to handle and rotates smoothly on ball bearings—is nice. You need more strength and leverage to roll out sheets of laminated dough, and with a pin that rolls while you hold the handles, you can lean in and push down and the pin, helped by the ball bearings, will glide over the dough.