Did you know you can use common household items as rolling pin substitutes? If you’re ever in a pinch and in need of a rolling pin, no need to run to the store to get one! You most likely have one if not most of these items laying around your house. Here are ten creative ideas for what to use instead of a rolling pin.
When we got married, we received a beautiful, non-stick Kitchen Aid rolling pin. It worked great for the first few years. But one day I was in the middle of rolling out pie dough and started noticing little black dots on the edges of my dough. Apparently, the non-stick coating was peeling off the rolling pin from the inside! Luckily, I was able to salvage most of the dough, but I still needed to roll out my dough!
I thought, surely there are things around the house I can use to roll out this dough. So here are the ten best substitutes to use if you’re having a rolling pin emergency. 🙂
When would you need to use a rolling pin?
Rolling pins are an essential tool for any home baker as many recipes call for a nice flat dough. It’s actually one of the most ancient baking tools as it’s versatility has stood the test of time. But I digress.
You would mainly use a rolling pin when you are baking treats that require a nice even thickness all the way around. Think of the perfect pie crust, cut-out butter cookies, a berry tart, or these chicken curry puffs.
When would you need to use a good rolling pin substitute?
Sure, most experienced bakers have a rolling pin. And you might be asking, is this even a question worth asking? But hear me out. There are times when you might need one and it’s nowhere to be found. For example:
- Yours breaks in the middle of making something (like mine did!)
- You just moved into a new house and haven’t unpacked it yet.
- You’re making dessert at a friend’s house and they don’t have a rolling pin.
See? More scenarios than you might think where you could be in need of a rolling pin. 🙂 Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered with some great rolling pin alternatives.
What to Use Instead of A Rolling Pin
1. Wine Bottle
A wine bottle is a great rolling pin alternative as it has a similar shape and weight as your rolling pin. A full or empty wine bottle will work. However, I’d recommend maybe not using the wine you’ll be drinking later that day. 😉 If using a full bottle, wrap the wine bottle in plastic wrap to protect the label from the oils in the dough. If using an empty wine bottle, remove the label (or you can wrap it if you want) and use.
2. Tall Drinking Glass or Pint Glass
Don’t have a bottle of wine laying around? No worries, a tall drinking glass or a pint glass will also work! As it’s glass, be careful when you are rolling with it as you don’t want it to break.
3. Reusable Water Bottle
Fun fact: A reusable water bottle can be the best rolling pin substitute. It’s the right size, the right shape, and a works great in a pinch. An aluminum or stainless steel water bottle is also very easy to clean so wrapping in plastic wrap is totally optional. If using a hard, plastic bottle you may want to consider wrapping it.
4. Soda Cans
If you don’t need to roll out a large amount of pastry dough or pizza dough, then a soda can will do the trick. You definitely want to use a full can as it will provide the weight needed and an empty can would crumble when you try to roll it. Again, don’t open the can right after you use it (unless you’re trying to prank someone 😉 ).
5. Canned Food
Similar to the soda can, canned food works great in place of a rolling pin. If you’re able to use a larger can, like a 24oz can that would be preferred, but honestly, I’ve rolled out a large thing of cookie dough with a can of corn so any size can will work. The smaller cans just take longer and you need to be careful about pressing the edge of the can too far into the dough so you don’t get impressions or lines.
6. PVC Pipe
A piece of PVC pipe makes a perfect rolling pin. It’s long, straight, and weighs about the same as a traditional rolling pin. They are super cheap to buy if you don’t have any. But if you have leftovers from a construction project or are using one to help roll out your sore muscles after a workout, you can clean that baby up and also use it as a rolling pin.
7. The end of a broomstick
I saw this trick while watching the Great British Baking Show. They were making filo pastry (which is super long) and many of the contestants used a wooden broomstick to roll out their dough. The broomstick is extra long, easy to roll, and will ensure that your dough is the same thickness all the way through.
8. Wooden Dowel
If you recently put together some furniture and have leftover wooden dowels, don’t throw them away (unless they are super tiny). If large enough, wooden dowels have the same effect as the end of a broomstick. They are just thinner which works perfectly if you’re rolling out flatbreads or small pastries.
9. Bottom of a heavy frying pan
Okay, this one you can’t really roll, but if you just need to press dough into a shape (like you’re making pizza dough or something), this is a great option. The heaviness and size will allow you to press your dough into a large, even circle.
10. Your hands
When all else fails, you can always use your hands. Will it be perfectly even throughout? Probably not. But that’s okay! With most recipes, you can get away with the dough not being perfectly flat.
Different Types of Rolling Pins – What Kind Is Best?
Now that you know what you can use during a pastry emergency, you really should consider purchasing a rolling pin. It’s such a useful kitchen tool and is critical when making puff pastry, rolling out cookie dough, or pie dough. But what kind should you buy? There are many different shapes of rolling pins out there. Is one better than the other?
French Rolling Pin: Personally, I love this style of rolling pin. It’s made of wood and is a tapered rolling pin meaning there are no hard edges or handles. It’s just one piece of wood with smooth sides. They allow you to easily roll away from you and towards you—helping keep your dough at the same thickness.
I have three different sizes of these wooden rolling pins, each with varying thicknesses. The thinnest one is great for rolling out Naan bread or small, delicate pastries—bakes that you don’t want to put too much pressure on so you don’t overwork the dough. My go-to rolling pin is by Hearth & Hand. It’s great for pretty much anything. Wooden rolling pins also hold oil really well so you don’t have to constantly reapply to make it non-stick.
American Rolling Pin or Classic Handheld: These types of rolling pins have handles on each side to help provide even pressure throughout while also keeping your hands clean. Think of the most common style of rolling pin and you’re probably picturing this one. You can find them made of wood, non-stick material, metal, etc.
Straight Dowel: Now you know why a wooden dowel works great in a pinch! Because there is literally a type of rolling pin that looks like a straight dowel. A straight dowel is a long cylinder made of wood that has straight edges (unlike the French style with tapered edges).
Precision Rolling Pin: Yep. It’s as fancy as it sounds. While most rolling pins create a free-form shape that you have to coax along to try to get square, these pins have barriers at the end so the dough keeps its square or rectangular shape. They look a bit clunky for the average baker but I’m sure they would be loved by a pastry chef looking for uniformity.
What’s the best way to use a rolling pin when rolling out dough?
With most doughs, whether that’s cookie dough, pie crust, pastry dough, etc. you want to try to not overwork the dough. The overworked dough becomes tough and prevents that signature melt-in-your-mouth texture that we’re all looking for when baking.
There are a few tricks to rolling out dough:
- Roll on a lightly floured surface and flour the rolling pin.
- If you’re worried about using too much flour, you can grease the rolling pin with cooking spray or oil.
- Or, you can place your dough inside two pieces of wax paper or a folded-over sheet of parchment paper and roll it inside there to prevent it from sticking.
There you have it! I’m sure you have at least one of those items laying around your house (or your friend will if you’re making something in someone else’s kitchen). You’ll never have to worry about not having the right baking tools again. Feel free to make pastry until your heart is content. 🙂
Is there anything you’ve used in the past that I left off this list? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll add it!
Happy baking!
