Today was a busy day and it included teaching great 4H group of kids (ages 7 to 13 years old) how to make French Galettes & Mini Turnovers, getting the rest of the grapes picked, and putting away the garden hoses and getting ready for the cold weather coming our way.
And this was how my day off went by so fast.
While I was teaching the group how to make Flaky Pastry Dough by hand, one of the parents asked me why I used the bench scraper instead of a pastry cutter. I love it when people ask me this question, because I think that sometimes this handy tool is often overlooked. I explained that ever since I began using one in culinary school, I've never gone back to a pastry cutter, because you can use this handy tool for so many steps in baking.
Here are a few ways you can use the Bench Scraper in your baking & cooking projects:
1) In making pie dough, it cuts cold butter quickly and then when you are finished with making the dough on a cutting board, you can use it to easily scrape up the leftover flour and clean up the board.
2) It's a great tool for dividing bread dough for loaves or rolls.
3) You can cut bars (brownies, shortbread, etc.) easily in a sheet pan, without scratching the pan like a sharp knife would do.
4) It's helpful when transferring delicate desserts to a serving tray or lifting pastries from the pan.
5) It also is a great way to chop some vegetables quickly and then use it to scoop up the cut vegetables to be used in cooking.
*Bench scrapers come in a variety of sizes and materials, I have several white plastic ones that are great for scraping bowls clean and not wasting any batter.
What task do you use your Bench Scraper for and why?
While I was teaching the group how to make Flaky Pastry Dough by hand, one of the parents asked me why I used the bench scraper instead of a pastry cutter. I love it when people ask me this question, because I think that sometimes this handy tool is often overlooked. I explained that ever since I began using one in culinary school, I've never gone back to a pastry cutter, because you can use this handy tool for so many steps in baking.
Here are a few ways you can use the Bench Scraper in your baking & cooking projects:
1) In making pie dough, it cuts cold butter quickly and then when you are finished with making the dough on a cutting board, you can use it to easily scrape up the leftover flour and clean up the board.
2) It's a great tool for dividing bread dough for loaves or rolls.
3) You can cut bars (brownies, shortbread, etc.) easily in a sheet pan, without scratching the pan like a sharp knife would do.
4) It's helpful when transferring delicate desserts to a serving tray or lifting pastries from the pan.
5) It also is a great way to chop some vegetables quickly and then use it to scoop up the cut vegetables to be used in cooking.
*Bench scrapers come in a variety of sizes and materials, I have several white plastic ones that are great for scraping bowls clean and not wasting any batter.
What task do you use your Bench Scraper for and why?
I've never heard of a bench scraper before so this is a new one for me. Though it seems like quite the handy little tool. Add it to the list....
ReplyDeleteBench scrapers are not part of my kitchen, but they look great =D.
ReplyDeleteI think bench scrapers are the bee's knees. So handy for cleaning up your work surfce when making bread.
ReplyDeleteTo scrape cake dough from a bowl, I prefer a silicon spatula, though.
Surface, I mean. Gnaah.
ReplyDeleteJeff: Your list is getting long. Is it time to go shopping?! :)
ReplyDeleteLauren: If you find one, buy it! You'll love how handy they are. :)
Andreas: I love using them in making bread too.