Every Home Baker Needs a Bench Scraper—These 5 Picks Aced Our Tests (2024)

Our Top Picks

The KitchenAid bench scraper was the clear favorite among the products we tested. It’s superior in regards to the basics: It’s easy to use and efficient at all its tasks. More than any bench scraper we tested, the overall weight and balance of this model felt good in our hands. The rubberized handle is heavy yet comfortable to hold, and slip-free. We loved the beveled edge, which cut through our dough with satisfying precision. It was also sharp enough to use as a chopper for garlic and onions. With 6 x 4.75-inch dimensions, the roomy surface made transferring ingredients easy.

Its durable materials and solid construction impressed us, too. Even after multiple rounds through a dishwasher, it still looked brand new. The added-value features make this pick stand out from the pack. On one side, there are easy-to-read measurement markers. Flip it around, and there’s a common conversion chart, including teaspoons, tablespoons, milliliters, ounces, and cups. This was an outstanding performer at every task.

Size: 6 x 4.75 inches | Material: Stainless steel blade; rubber handle | Dishwasher-safe: Yes

At under $12, OXO’s bench scraper is our clear winner for the best value option. Its materials are made from a winning combination: sturdy stainless steel for the blade, and a soft, grippy rubber handle that’s gently rounded for an ergonomic grip. Although slightly shorter than the KitchenAid scraper, at 6 x 4 inches, the OXO is still plenty spacious; we had no trouble moving aromatics around the kitchen during testing.

We liked the versatility of this one. Even though it’s top-notch at portioning dough and scraping clean counters, we found it to be the perfect tool for unexpected tasks, like chopping up ground beef in a cast iron skillet. We noted that the beveled blade not only makes for clean slices but aids in scooping up ingredients or scraping away dough from a cutting board.

Size: 6 x 4 inches | Material: Stainless steel blade; rubber handle | Dishwasher-safe: Yes

At first glance, the appeal of this bench scraper is all in the aesthetics. With a sleek stainless steel blade and a solid walnut wood handle with gold bolsters, it’s the most handsome scraper we tested. But we quickly found other reasons to appreciate the natural wood handle: Its pleasantly rough texture made holding and maneuvering the scraper a lot easier.

At 3 inches tall, King Arthur’s bench scraper is shorter than most on our list, but that didn’t slow us down: During testing, we used it to move around an entire chopped onion and a whole prepped bell pepper. There are no measurement marks on the blade, although the sharpness of its edge made up for that. The combination of a thin and sharp blade made dividing pizza dough easy. Cleaning up a sticky cutting board was easy, too. Although it does have to be hand-washed, we feel confident that the heirloom quality of this bench scraper makes it worth a little babying.

Size: 6 x 3 inches | Material: Stainless steel blade; walnut handle | Dishwasher-safe: No

It’s impossible to miss this bench scraper thanks to its striking deep sea-blue handle with brass accents. It’s thoughtfully designed, too. During testing, we found it easy to read the measurements (inches on one side, centimeters on the other), even when the scraper was messy or covered in dough. The blade is sharp and beveled, and we had no problems shimmying it underneath finely chopped herbs.

This is one of the largest scrapers we tested, and although that could be useful for big portions of dough or mounds of prepped onions, we found it difficult to maneuver with finesse at times. That said, we also noted a surprising benefit of the size: there’s so much room for ingredients on the surface, that it’s unlikely that they’ll get wedged in the no-man’s land between the blade and handle. It is dishwasher safe, although we noted that one of the brass accents had suffered a dent.

Overall, we liked the handle. The silicone coating was comfortable to hold but didn’t attract dust or fur. We didn’t love the wider bow in the handle’s center, although in the grand scheme of things it was a minor quibble.

Size: 6.5 x 5 inches | Material: Stainless steel blade; silicone handle | Dishwasher-safe: Yes

A bench scraper is not a bowl scraper, which is why this three-piece set is so handy. It comes with a stainless steel bench scraper, a plastic bench scraper, and a rounded-edge bowl scraper. The design of all three pieces is minimalist, which makes cleanup easy (no crevices or cracks for dough to hide in). All three pieces nest together, which is good news for your kitchen drawer organizer.

We had no problem dividing dough with both the steel and plastic scrapers and appreciated the option to switch from one to the other, depending on the material of our work surface. There are measurement markers on the steel scraper, although the numbers could stand from being etched in a higher contrast: They’re hard to read when the scraper is in use. Like the Food52 scraper, this one is larger than most we tested.

Size: 6.4 x 4.53inches | Material: Stainless steel blade; plastic handle | Dishwasher-safe: Yes

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a bench scraper used for?

  What can’t a bench scraper do? You can use it to cut and shape dough, move chopped veggies from your cutting board to the Dutch oven, clean your cutting board or counter, portion food into piles, score soft foods, and even cut food that isn’t too tough. Once you incorporate a bench scraper into your kitchen utensil collection, you’ll find new uses for it daily.

• What is the difference between a bench scraper and a dough scraper?

  Most people use these two terms interchangeably, but technically, they can be two different things. A bench scraper is usually used to refer to the metal version made of a rectangle of thin but rigid metal with a handle, usually made of plastic or wood. It’s a great all-purpose tool suited for a variety of kitchen tasks.

  A dough scraper usually means a flexible plastic, D-shaped tool. Zoey Davidov, Owner and Baker/Pizzaiola of Heirloom Pizzeria in Los Angeles, California, knows all about dough scrapers; she uses one daily in her pizzeria. “A dough scraper is usually made of a plastic material and not very sharp at the end,” she says. “They are better suited for delicate applications such as picking up and moving a ball of already shaped dough.”

• What is the best material for a bench scraper?

  The best material for a bench scraper depends on what you plan to use it for. Stick to metal if you’re unsure or plan to use it for dough and other ingredients. Natasha Tatton of BReD, a bakery in Whistler, British Columbia, loves her metal bench scraper. “We prefer solid metal ones coated with a nonstick coating so it doesn't stick to your dough and a fine beveled edge for a precise cut,” she says. “The rectangular shape makes it easy to hold and transport dough.”

• Should a bench scraper be sharp?

  A metal bench scraper should be able to cut through things like dough, but it shouldn’t have an edge like a knife. Metal bench scrapers can be surprisingly sharp, so it’s best to be cautious of the edge when using your bench scraper and when storing it. You want it to be sharp enough to sail through food easily and able to get flush with a surface, but not too dull where you have to press down hard when cutting.

• What can I use instead of a bench scraper?

  That depends on what you’re cooking. Two of the most common uses for a bench scraper —portioning dough and moving ingredients around —can be handled with a chef’s knife. Just be sure that the surface you’re cutting on is knife-friendly, like a wood carving board. Although the flat side of a chef’s knife doesn’t have as much surface area as a bench scraper, it’s still handy for shuttling chopped vegetables from a board to a pan. To lift sticky bits of dough from a work surface, a scrubber pad, hot water, and a little elbow grease are your best alternative bet.