A Guide To Pastry Cutting Tools: What Are They And When To Use Them
Dough-cutting tools come in a dizzying array of shapes and sizes, from doughnut and biscuit cutters to calzone presses and pasta wheel cutters. We’ll explore some of the best pastry cutters on the market and why you need them in your kitchen.
What is a Pastry Cutter?
A pastry cutter is any utensil used to mix butter or other fats into flour to form a pastry dough. The term also refers to a dough-cutting tool that forms or cuts pastry into shapes.
Types of Pastry Cutters
No single dough-cutting tool can claim to be the best pastry cutter. The best pastry cutter for a task depends on the job at hand and the type of pastry you’re making. Below is a range of dough-cutting tools designed with specific functions in mind.
Cookie Cutters
Available in all types of shapes and sizes, the humble cookie cutter is probably the most-used pastry cutter on the market. Depending on your needs, you can purchase nesting sets of cutters, specialized shapes, or individual plain or fluted cutters. These cutters are great for biscuits, cookies, and pie crust decorations.
Wheeled Pastry Cutters
Wheeled pastry cutters cut through rolled dough with minimal pressure to create long strips of dough for pasta, latticed pies, and crimping ravioli. A wheeled pastry cutter may have a smooth-bladed wheel for neat, straight cuts or a fluted blade for decorative cuts. Double-wheeled pastry cutters offer a smooth and crimped edge, increasing their usefulness.
Six-Wheel Dough Cutter
A six-wheel dough cutter uses an expandable, riveted arm to set the distance between its wheels. Perfect for cutting larger amounts of dough in a short time.
Pastry Scraper
Also known as a dough scraper or dough knife, a pastry scraper helps you handle sticky dough, cut dough, or scrape dough off table surfaces.
Lattice Dough Cutter
A lattice dough cutter is a specialized pastry cutter that transforms rolled-out dough into an intricate lattice shape. These are perfect for making your favorite dessert pies.
Doughnut Cutters
A doughnut cutter is similar to a cookie cutter, except the doughnut cutter includes an internal space to create the hole in the doughnut's center.
Pastry Blender
A handheld five-wire pastry blender quickly blends flour with butter or other solid fats (and can also be used to mash potatoes).
Ravioli Stamp Cutters
Designed like a traditional biscuit or cookie cutter, ravioli cutters form uniform pasta shapes before filling. They’re available in round and square varieties.
Calzone and Empanada Presses
Production of calzone, dumplings, empanadas, ravioli, and other filled pastries moves faster when you use dough presses to seal the pastries.
Baker’s Dough Knife
It takes the right blade to score baguettes and loaves. A baker’s dough knife cuts perfectly through dough, allowing the cut to expand during baking for a professional finish.
