I decided to incorporate a few informative posts in the resting period between recipes on my blog. I haven’t fully conjured up all my ideas as to what I’ll talk about when I’m not talking about a particular recipe, but for now, enjoy the experimentation and feel free to offer your own advice.

This “segment,” if you will, offers a little breakdown of specific materials/equipment I find immensely helpful when prepping a dough. If you don’t have the time/money/energy to buy these materials, your own two hands are always your best tool (unless you don’t have hands, in which case I suggest being an eater of bread rather than a baker… we all have our gifts).

bench scraper on table

This time I’m showcasing the bench scraper. Ah, yes, this delightful little tool, which looks like something you’d buy from a hardware store, is truly a gift from God in the realm of struggling with sticky dough. Fact: you will struggle with sticky dough from time to time. And though sprinkling more flour on a countertop suffices as a remedy for this ugly mess, the extra flour sometimes toughens the final product, and you risk losing that coveted softness of the bread you’re baking.

bench scraper close up

I’d been dreaming of a bench scraper for a time while I fought with gooey messes on my counter — and boy, did I fight. I managed to substitute the function of a bench scraper with metal pancake turners and other oddball kitchen items, but nothing was as sweet as the day when I received a bench scraper as a gift and so effortlessly scraped renegade dough from the counter. How glorious! So long, wasted dough; goodbye, sticky mess! I’d like to shake the hand of the individual who so ingeniously created this heavenly tool.

bench scraper handle close up

My bench scraper has made public appearances in past recipes (flaky lemon poppyseed scones, anyone?) and will continue to play the starring role as needed in the future!