I have 2....can't cook without one.
I use those flexible cutting mats for veggies so I don't use one for that often, just occasionally when I want to place the veggies not dump them into a soup pot.......but for any dough type thing that is on eht counter....it's the best....breads, biscuits, cookies, pizza.
absolutely you need one!!

I use my bench scraper probably more than any other tool I have, except maybe a whisk or wooden spoon.

I use it to clean my counter after kneading bread, or making pastry. I use it to cut my dough in portions, to scoop all my cut up stuff into a pot for soup or stew, For what it costs it has earned its keep over and over.

I use mine alot also. I wasn't sure I would use it much, but I do!

Mostly pie crust and bread/pizza dough, but it is also good for cut out cookies!

I only use mine for dough things, but I'm glad I have it. As gadgets go, it's cheap, and doesn't take up much space. Unlike my obsession with cast iron....

FWIW Another option is a Cuisinart prep board. Its a cutting board with a lip that I use when I'm working with messy or slippery foods. Link below. DH hates it because the sides aren't flat and it is hard to cut on, but I love my rectangular one.

Here is a link that might be useful: amazon link

Add me to the list of people who LOVE my bench scraper. I use it for dough, to scrape counters when baking, lots of things.

It's cheap, doesn't take up much room, I use it a lot.

Annie

Yes, you do (lol )... Don't know if size makes a difference in this case but I picked up one with a 5"w X 3"h blade at the dollar store for $1...

Rita

I use mine a lot also and store it on a magnetic knife holder where it is out of the way and always in easy reach.

If Linda C has two, you should at least have one! I bought mine for scraping bread and pasta dough, but I use it more for collecting chopped vegetables, especially garlic, onions, and chilies, but pretty much anything I mince.

BTW, why does your husband have to understand? Is he a chef?

Lars

Everything all the above mentioned. I use a metal bench scraper as well as a couple plastic bench scrapers.

Plastic bench scrapers are good when you are working on a Silpat since they won't cut the mat. Plastic bench scrapers have a straight side for cutting (dough, etc.) and a curved side for scooping out or cleaning out bowls. Especially great on those bowls of loose bread dough so you can quickly clear the bowl and not have to get your hands all doughy.

My metal bench scraper has a measuring guide on one side which also comes in handy. I like to form the logs of dough for cinnamon rolls into a 12-inch log, nick the dough every one inch to mark where to cut them. A metal bench scraper is a safer choice for picking up cut/chopped/sliced food than the wide blade of your chopping knife. Scraping your knife blade along the cutting board to pick food up is a good way to dull the blade.

-Grainlady

I have one and use it for scraping up dough and portioning it out, too. I never thought to use it for chopped stuff. Thanks for the idea. I didn't know, or hadn't thought about that causing my knife to go dull.

Sally

Can't imagine life without a bench scraper.

Ann

It's a dual purpose tool so it pays for its own real estate. I store mine vertically so it doesn't take up much space either. Since I use it almost every time I cook, I wouldn't be without it.

Shannon, if you have to justify the purchase of one more kitchen tool to your husband and you cook for him...well, you might have bigger problems than we can help you with. Nor would I ever assume he's ''probably right'' either! :))

Thanks everyone for your advice. And first I want to reassure you that my comment about DH was a little tongue-in-cheek. Basically, I DO have a kitchen tool clutter problem, and I expect a brief roll-of-the-eyes to yet another purchase, nothing more. As I said, this is not a major expense, but probably if I added up all my kitchen tools, PLUS the duplications (how many spatulas do I have? Um, a lot), it adds up. And I have had to commandeer an entire wide drawer that was meant to hold place mats and the like, just for kitchen tools. Add to that the fact that I never make doughs or pastries, well, you see why I hesitate.

I think what I need to do is edit what I have now, e.g. spatulas, multiple wooden spoons, TWO fat skimmers, a spider skimmer I never use, multiple strainers, 3 meat probes, 3 whisks, 2 pizza wheels, etc. Donate or give to friends/family, and that way I can have room for the yearned-for Bench Scraper, even though I never make doughs...

With a Chinese cleaver, you don't need many other kitchen tools.

dcarch

Ah Welll...That makes perfect sense! I'm dealing with some organizing issues myself this week, so I understand perfectly. It seems like when you clean out one area to make space, it means you have to move on to another. (I get to deal with 5 different areas in my home, just because I want to consolidate some items and find a better place for my suitcases.) Only the most used gets the best real estate. I seem to have a lot of satellite locations for some things!

Re: a bench scraper...one of things I also like it for is to cut pans of things like lasagna, quick breads or bar cookies as the straight edge also works like a knife. I suspect once you start using it, you'll wonder how you got along without it.

Like CdL, I use my bench scraper to cut pans of brownies and fudge, and I have a deep drawer so it "stands up" at the end of that drawer and takes very little space.

I don't have a lot of kitchen gadgets but I have very little space to keep anything, so items have to earn their storage. The bench scraper does. I've even used it in a pinch as a spatula to lift large cookies off the pan.

Annie

Yes, you could use one but why would you have to ask your dh about a cheap kitchen tool? Does he cook all the time?

I have multiples of nearly everything and consider most tools vital, at the time I need them!

Dh certainly doesn't ask me when he wants another screwdriver, ratchet set or drill. I would always say no.

Since they will most likely have the plastic flexible ones at the store, you should get one of those too. It's great to clear out the bottom of bowls, and clean the counter top too. I have one and next time I go to the kitchen store I am picking up the metal scraper along with a bread bucket.

bumblebeez, Shannon answered about her DH above:

And first I want to reassure you that my comment about DH was a little tongue-in-cheek. Basically, I DO have a kitchen tool clutter problem, and I expect a brief roll-of-the-eyes to yet another purchase, nothing more.

I got that from the get-go.

I'm getting one next time I'm in the stores. I'd like a plastic one and a metal one.

Would your husband know if you bought the bench scraper? I'm not saying lie, but just maybe dont mention it? hahaha! Unless of course he's asked you to not buy anything else; that's different.

Sounds like you really want one. Hey, ask him for one for Valentines Day. How romantic!

Once I bought my metal one, I couldn't believe I had cooked this long without one!

Now, if you ask me about the Swedish dough hook, I will tell you a different story!

Two things I couldn't do without now that I have found them:

The bench scraper
The spider

I forgot - I do also have a plastic bench scraper (I guess that is what it is), but it is curved, and I use it for scraping bowls, and so it must be a bowl scraper. Anyway, it does a great job and saves time.

As for multiples of things... Last week-end the kitchen cabinet above my refrigerator came off the wall, and I had to call Jimmy & Maartje (and son Matthew) to help me put it back up. To brace it in place, Jimmy used every single one of my wooden chopping boards, which I have in a convenient array of thicknesses, plus a couple of bamboo spoons! So you see, it can be very handy to have multiples of certain things. It is necessary to have multiple spatulas and wooden spoons - eventually they will wear out, and if you have multiples, you won't have to replace them as often. That used to be my reason for having so many shoes.

Lars

All tools have a use. We may not know what those uses are going to be expanded upon until we get one to play with. A lot of "time savers" I've bought over the bazillion years I have been cooking, resulted in that some don't, but some stay on as invaluable. The bench scraper is one of the latter. I don't like to have to use another tool to dirty but then again, I have two dishwashers in my kitchen so it is a moot point from my view. I threw away my cookie spatulas because the bench scraper is wider and thinner, dull edged but effective, and stiffer. I gave up on scooping with the "wrong" side of a chopping knife because it would always bite the wrong side of my bare hand. I now chop soft veggies and fresh herbs without leaving a big slice on my Formica if I get involved and forget the unforgiving surface that it is being used on.

Nancy

Love mine and use it all the time like others have mentioned. I need to pick up a rounded one for scrapping wet bread dough out of the bowl like several have mentioned on this post.

David