Monday 27 February 2012

Favourite Tools #1

I've always been fascinated by hand tools. I'm not a tool collector, in my workshop I use tools everyday and I only buy tools that I need. Some tools are beautiful and expensive, while some are cheap and basic. But what links all the good ones that they work very well, they are a joy to use and they make working a much more pleasurable experience. For my first "favourite tool" I have chosen a set of 3 inexpensive plastic breadmaking scrapers.







Before I resumed  breadmaking again (after a short break of 25 years) I decided I had to get hold of some scrapers to help me control the dough. I'd seen people using them on cookery programmes. My memory of the initial mixing of the flour and water together was that it could be a sticky and very messy business! These three tools have made bread making a much more controlled and enjoyable experience. They are very simple but each of them performs a specific task.

The kidney shaped scraper is the most pliable- the soft curved shape designed for cleaning the mixing bowl. It wouldn't be out of place in a  pottery workshop.


The middle one is less flexible - used for scraping the work surface and cleaning up. This one would could be used for decorating.















The third one is a rigid dough knife (known by bakers as a" Scotsman") used for portioning out the dough prior to baking. It has a handle /grip made from a tube moulded on the top edge of the blade - it gives rigidity to the blade. A very simple and elegant design.

















Brilliant tools and cheap!

They are available from Bakery Bits  of Honiton.


Meanwhile the bread making continues apace.


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