A bench knife, also known as a bench scraper, is a kitchen utensil used in baking to cut, portion, scrape, and manipulate dough. It consists of a single piece of metal attached to a handle and can be used for portioning dough, separating it from surfaces, and cleaning work areas.
A bench knife is a kitchen utensil, often used in baking, that is typically used to cut, portion, scrape, and otherwise manipulate dough prior to baking. Despite its name, it is more like a spatula in some respects and usually consists of a single piece of metal, square or rectangular in shape, attached to a rounded handle. The knife is held with one hand, holding the handle and instead of extending from the top of the handle, the metal “blade” protrudes out the side. A bench knife can be used to cut dough for portioning, separate dough from a work surface, or to help clean up.
Also known by a number of other names, including bench scraper, pasta knife, pasta scraper, and pastry cutter, a bench knife usually consists of only two pieces. These are the handle of the knife and the knife itself “blade”. The blade is a single piece of solid metal that is usually about the thickness of a steak or chef’s knife. While you can use a thinner bench knife, if the blade is too thin it will bend under the weight of the dough or snap when scraping.
The handle of a bench knife is usually made of wood and firmly connected to the blade of the knife. While the blade isn’t very sharp, especially when compared to a chef’s knife or similar implement, it is more like a butter knife and can still cut through soft objects. The edge of the bench knife can be used to separate dough cleanly and quickly, making it ideal for portioning a large piece of dough into individual loaves or rounds for making rolls. When the sticky paste is worked on a surface such as wood, marble or a laminate countertop, it can stick together easily. This makes a bench knife ideal for getting dough under and pulling it off these surfaces easier than your fingers.
A bench knife can also be used after the dough has been made to clean the work area. Even with the prodigious flouring of work surfaces, dough can often stick to the surface, and it can be difficult to clean marble or laminate with wet dough or flour stuck to it. The edge of these bench knives can be used to scrape material off the surface, which can then be more easily cleaned and cleaned afterward. This makes countertop knives a tremendous “multitasker” in the kitchen and a useful tool for both home and professional bakers.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
