The idea of making anything with dough from scratch used to intimidate me. There were few words I dreaded more than “well-floured surface.” To me, it spelled a mess all over my kitchen.
One day, a few years ago, I dropped by my friend Holly’s house while she was baking. She pulled out her rolling pin and with it, a silicone pastry mat with measurements.
“I wouldn’t make dough without it,” she informed me. I promptly ordered one the minute I got home."
The silicone pastry mat has advantages. First, it is transportable, so you can move it as needed. Second, the measurements are right on it, so you know exactly how big you are making your dough—it even has guidelines on it to help with making perfect circles. Third, the “well-floured surface” is now self contained. I can flour it as much as I need to and drop it in the sink when I am finished.
Since discovering the silicone mat, I’ve worked a lot more with dough, and it is not as difficult as I had first envisioned. There are a few tricks that I’ve discovered: I never roll anything cold from a ball shape. If the dough is chilled, it is not going to be very pliable from that shape. Flatten it to a disc shape first before rolling. I also make sure that my rolling pin is well-floured. I have tried sleeves for the rolling pin, but I prefer it to be well-floured instead.
If you aren’t experienced with dough, consider making things that are more free-formed at first. Crostatas are easy to make and are very forgiving in terms of shape. I also find that rolled cookies, such as rugelach work well for a novice.
Perfect circles are overrated, right?
