Watching a baker in Paris shape baguettes by hand made me switch from a machine to a bench scraper for my sourdough.

I saw him at a small shop near the Luxembourg Gardens, and his quick, confident cuts with just a metal scraper gave my loaves a much cleaner look than my old dough divider ever did, so has anyone found a particular brand or style of scraper that holds up best?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tyler2mo ago

Actually, those plastic scrapers can be great if you find a stiff enough one, they just don't last as long. What kind of dough are you usually cutting?

skylerr232mo ago

Picked up a Lamson bench scraper years ago at a restaurant supply store. Thing is a tank. The blade is one solid piece of steel, no seams to trap gunk. It's got a good weight to it, so it cuts through cold dough without bending. The handle is just a rolled edge, but it's comfortable for hours of portioning. I've tried the plastic ones but they always warp on me.

faith7411mo ago

Oh man, @skylerr23, you're totally right about the solid steel ones. I had a cheap two-piece scraper where the blade was just stuck into a plastic handle, and gunk built up in that seam like you wouldn't believe. It was impossible to clean properly. Switched to a one-piece metal scraper and it's a game changer. I just run it under hot water and it's done, no weird food bits stuck in a crack. The weight really does make a difference for cutting.