I know the name bench scraper sounds weird for a kitchen utensil because there's no bench in my kitchen (how about yours?), but what a super useful tool to have!

It’s also called a bench knife and a dough scraper, and it originated as a tool that pastry chefs use for portioning out dough. Someone once told me a bench scraper is simply an extension of your hand, and that is exactly correct. 

While it’s not super impressive to look at, it’s beyond versatile.  As a matter of fact, every time I get down my cutting board, I reach to pull my bench scraper off the magnetic knife bar where it’s always handy. I also love how there is a ruler printed on the blade edge for quick measuring.  

Here’s how I’ve found my bench scraper to be really useful with kitchen chores:

1. Smashing garlic cloves by using the side of the blade.
2. Shuttling veggies from my wooden cutting board to my skillet.
3. Portioning all kinds of dough.
4. Cutting bar cookies and brownies into neat, even portions.
5. Leveling a cup of flour or cornmeal.
6. Scoring scone dough before slicing all the way through.
7. Cutting soft and semi-soft cheeses.
8. Clearing my counter of bread dough, sticky foods or crumbs. (I typically just hold my trash can beneath the counter edge and scrape everything right into it – super easy clean up.)
9. Scraping burned or hardened drippings (say from an apple pie that ran over) from a baking sheet.
10. Pressing frosting down to the very tip of my pastry bag when there’s that one, last cupcake to frost! 
11.  Cutting butter, shortening or lard into dry ingredients.

If you'd like to try out your bench-scraping skills, try this blueberry crumb bar recipe.

May 29, 2018

Blueberry Crumb Bars