In the Pie and Pastry Bible, Rose talks about how expandable flan rings can be a useful tool when rolling out pie crust dough, so that you can get an exact measurement.  I stopped in Sur La Table today to ask if they had any, and they looked at me like I was crazy.  I just did a search on Amazon and also came up with nothing.  Does anyone have any more information about what expandable flan rings are, if they are still made, and who might carry them?  I know it is a completely unnecessary tool and that you can do perfectly well just by holding the pie pan over the top of the dough to estimate whether it’s the right size, but now I’m really curious!

Dear Loopy:

OK…I have one.  I don’t remember who made it.  I got it at New York Cake and Baking.  Their sales help is notoriously difficult to deal with.  I went in.  I asked for an expandable flan ring.  They looked at me like I was crazy.  They had sooooo much baking stuff in that store I figured if they didn’t have it…it didn’t exist.  I found it on their racks…and if I remember correctly, It wasn’t actually called a flan ring. Perhaps an expandable cake ring…or cake mold…

It is one of my favorite tools to have and I use it all the time.  I use it to cut dough.  I also use it to mold and stack layer cakes like the black forest cake.  I love it.

Not sure if this is helpful…but good luck

I’ve owned a few. I bought this one in the fall, and like it the best for ease of clean up and versatility.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JKE7Q

This is the same one that I have.  I use it all the time

Hi Loopy,

I bought mine online from lacuisine.  I use it all the time to cut my pie dough.  It is alot neater that way than trying to trim it after it is in the pie plate.

Bill, Matthew, Liza:  thank you!  After hearing your reviews, now I’m completely sold on it…and won’t feel like I am just buying a frivolous gadget.  Funny thing is, I saw this pop up when I did my Amazon search, but had no idea it was expandable and didn’t read down to see the description.  It’s pretty reasonable, too!  Okay, I admit my quiche crusts (leek, goat cheese, & bacon; and spinach/mushroom) came out just fine tonight even though I was lacking this ring, but it just seems like a fun thing to have, and useful too!  Thanks again for the info!