The best way to remove sticky, soft dough or runny batter from a bowl is with a bowl scraper—a hand-held spatula that fits between your palm and fingers. We tested five models to find one that required least amount of effort and number of scrapes to get the bowl clean. We looked for a scraper that was curved, with enough grip to scrape the bowl clean and enough rigidity to move heavy dough easily. While we tried scrapers made of plastic, metal, silicone, and combinations of these materials, our favorite models were made of contoured silicone covering a metal insert.
The winner had the best-designed contour to sweep the bowl clean, with a spring steel interior that provided a rigid construction that moved dough with ease, along with a thin straight edge that could double as a dough cutter or a bench scraper (to clean off a cutting board). It's our new favorite bowl scraper.