Ateco Canvas Pastry Cloth and Rolling Pin Cover

The title tells it all, but here are the details. Let’s take the pastry cloth first. Ateco’s cloth is a generous 25” x 20”; a little larger than some of its competitors. The cloth is a specially treated, very stiff canvas for the sole purpose of rolling out pastry, cookies, even noodles, using the least amount of additional flour. The result is a flakier crust. The treatment applied to the canvas helps it repel grease and moisture. As a result, it requires special handling. The accompanying directions in the package are very clear, but here are a few pointers.• Rub (vigorously) a generous amount of flour into the cloth (to be done each time and it will improve the cloth’s ability to make lighter, flakier products)• Scrape off any excess dough and flour to clean it when finished using the cloth. There is no need to wash it if you handle it properly. (The directions for washing/drying are included in the user’s guide.)• Prevent the cloth from moving as you roll. To do this you will need to place it over a board, tucking its edges under it. Another way is to allow the upper edge to be free while the lower edge is held in place by your body as you roll.***The manufacturer doesn’t offer another method, but I do. Buy four small suction cups; one for each corner. Using paper clips (or small metal office paper clasps) put one at each corner. Place each suction cup on your work surface (laminate, tile, granite, etc.), spaced just far enough apart for the pastry cloth to be gently pulled. Now attach each clip to a suction cup. The cloth should be spread tautly. You can now roll without the pastry cloth shifting on your work surface. If you are handy, you could attach grommets to each corner and simply hook each one onto the suction cups. Attention Ateco: Why aren’t you manufacturing your product with these features? It would surely be much more user friendly!***The stitching on the edges is a slightly stretchy blanket stitch. With proper care, it should wear just fine.As for the rolling pin cover, generously flour it before using and scrape off any excess dough. The more flour it absorbs, the better it will work. There is no need to wash it. If you do, you will need to follow the directions for preparing it for use.The pin cover’s length will probably extend beyond the rolling surface of your rolling pin. You will want to keep it taut or, it will bunch up causing you a problem as your roll the pin across the dough.Ateco’s pin cover is unlike my others. It is a heavier gauge, like a sock. I don’t know if all their pin covers come with ends finished like mine or, it was a fluke. One end is bound and lays flat. The other end seems stretched and curls—kind of like a knitted item if the edge hasn’t been crocheted/finished to make it lay flat.It may seem like opening the package and using these two products is a no-brainer; but don’t do it. Really, it is necessary to read the guide first. Pre-treating your pastry cloth and rolling pin cover will save you time and work and your end result will be that much better.

I have been on a bit of a baking tear for about a year or two. Preparing for the zombie apocalypse and all, I do want to be able to feed myself and my family in some sort of style, once the dust settles and we can start eking out a living. (Ok, we moved to Kansas, and I missed all the baked goodies I had in the city I used to live in. Sheesh. Have some fun, people) I have done well with English muffins and finally perfected croissants (hello middle-aged waist-line!), and even do fine with regular breads. Pie crusts and I are not on the best of terms - sometimes we have an ok day, sometimes we have bitter arguments. Most of the problem comes from having to over-flour the darn surface to work the dough. My mum always used a pastry cloth and rolling pin cover, but I just assumed it was because she was some sort of neat freak (she still is) rather than connecting it to anything about utility. So I was reading yet another pastry chef's blog recently, and she mentioned how necessary one of these things are...and it got me to thinking (thinking, thinking, thinking...) Maybe it just isn't something that little old ladies do because they're old.. .maybe there is a reason??? So I broke down and ordered this. I tried it last weekend to make a batch of English muffins - wow! I'm a bit miffed I didn't get one of these earlier - once you season the thing like the directions say, it was wonderful! It actually cut down on my rolling and cutting out time (cuz I didn't have to stop for sticking dough, and to re-flour the board), and it did have me use way less flour. Now that I saw it works, and works well, I just need to hunker down and try the dreaded pie crust! (after I finish watching my Craftsy course on the Perfect Pie Crust...) But at least now I have hope... I have no idea how this compares to other pastry cloths (although this was one of the brands listed by my online course as being recommended), but I just know that it worked well for me.

I bought this pastry cloth as a replacement. This one is SO much better than what I'd been using I wish I'd have pitched the old one sooner. The only issue is that the rolling pin cover is too long, so I'll be trimming that. My holiday pie baking went much more smoothly.

I was expecting it to be a better choice for my pie dough. But no matter how much flour I seasoned it with the dough stil stuck. I finally had to cover it with my old pastry cloth.

I know it's going to make pastry much easier to make. I was given one by my mother, which I had for years, but lost it when I moved to Louisiana.My mother is no longer with me.

After years of attempts, I finally learned how to make a decent pie crust. Only, imagine my horror when I saw my delicious, flaky dough sticking to the counter and tearing after I had rolled it out... that sucked.Enter this amazing pastry cloth. My pie crust dough slides around on it like a fried egg on teflon with very little flour incorporated into the dough. My crusts have turned out even better since I started using this (and figured out how to prep it), and cleanup is ridiculously easy.My wife also loves it. She rolled out her sugar cookie dough and was laughing at how much easier it was.I also purchased the Ateco 692 Non-Slip Pastry Cloth Pad from Amazon, and I would recommend it if you're going to be rolling stuff out on a countertop.Two things to note that I wish I would have known. First, after you rub your flour in and are scraping off the excess, do it VERY lightly. Just enough to get the stuff sitting on the top off. If you press down too hard, your dough will stick. Second, you have to rub flour into it every time you roll anything out - that means if you're rolling out a double-crust pie, you have to flour, roll out, flour and roll out. If you don't, the dough will stick to this and it will be messy and hard to clean. I'm sure experienced dough-makers knew this, but I didn't.Happy baking!

I'm not very impressed by this item, I found that the machined overlock stitch around the edge has come adrift, and the cloth is fraying.