Rolling pins come in two basic types: A pin with handles is commonly used for pie dough; choose one with ball-bearing handles for smooth rolling, and a hardwood surface at least 12 inches (30 cm) long. A hardwood dowel-type pin without handles affords the best control when rolling out pastry or pizza dough or for shaping tortillas. Use either type for crushing wafers or cookies into crumbs. For German springerle cookies, a special rolling pin is incised with patterns that imprint on the dough as it is rolled out.