Pizza Peel Buyers Guide
Alright, come on pizza enthusiasts, you know the right equipment can help you recreate the flavor, texture, and unique aroma of a ‘real’ pizzeria. Making pizza at home is fun and easy if you get the right tools for the job. A pizza peel, for example, is a must-have if you want to have an authentic pizza-baking experience.
What is a pizza peel?
A pizza peel is just a large spatula-shaped tool for placing and taking a pizza out of a hot oven. Baking pizza is fun, but it can also go wrong quickly when it comes to placing the unbaked pizza in the oven, and your ingredients spill off during the process, or you burn your fingers while trying to retrieve the cooked pizza from the oven.
A pizza peel is, therefore, an essential pizza-making tool. You just place the dough on the peel, build your pizza, then simply place it on the hot oven floor, rill, or pizza stone. Here is a summary of what you can do with a pizza peel.
- Placing pizza onto a hot grill, oven or pizza stone surface without spilling toppings.
- Turning pizza when baking for even cooking; this also helps reduce charring.
When it comes to making pizza at home, if you want to do it like pros, the verdict is in, get a damn pizza peel, and put it into good use. Keep in mind though that pizza peels come in different materials and sizes, and not all pizza peels are made equal.
Things to Consider before buying a pizza peel
- Price
A lot goes into the making of pizza peels to meet the needs of various people who will be using these tools, and this, therefore, influences the final price of pizza peels. The price of a pizza peel is therefore determined by the type of chef going to use it: is it a professional or just a pizza enthusiast. It is also determined by the frequency of use and quality of raw materials. Pizza peel prices range from $15 to $100 and above.
- Material
Common materials for pizza peel include wood, composite, steel, and aluminum.
Wood is lovely, natural aesthetic, and a pizza peel can be easily constructed from it. For those who want a traditional kitchen vibe, going with wood is the best choice. The advantage is the pizza peel can be used as a cutting board, and you can serve the pizza directly from it. Keep in mind however, that wood doesn’t have a long lifespan and is not indestructible; you have to handle it gently. Wooden peels are also heavy maintenance.
Steel pizza peel, unlike their wooden counterparts, lasts longer. They also are very smooth and thin, making them useful for moving pizza into and out of the oven. Steel peels are also almost indestructible. The disadvantage though, is the weight. They tend to be heavier than aluminum or wooden peels.
Aluminum is the most common metallic peel. It’s low maintenance, almost indestructible, thin, and unlike steel peels, it has a lower specific weight.
- Handle
You have a choice between the short handle and long handle pizza peels. Short handled peels are easier to work with, especially on small countertop space. The long handle peels, on the other hand, come in handy when moving pizza in and out of the oven. You can work with both types of peels: Use the short handle during preparation and the long-handled when moving pizza in and out of the oven. Long-handled peels help avoid burns.
- Size
You have a choice between thin and thicker pizza peels. The advantage of thin peels is that they make it easy to move your pizza in and out of the oven and also come in handy when its time to turn the pizza around. Thicker peels make it difficult to slide the peel underneath the pizza and retrieve it.
- Storage
Do you have enough storage space for the size of the pizza peel you are going for? Pizza peels are not cabinet friendly. Most people just hang them on a guitar mount, but be careful not to mess with your kitchen’s theme.
- Porous vs. solid
Perforated pizza peels are appreciated by those who prefer lighter peels. These bad boys are very flexible on the worktop and also release excess flour from the bottom of the dough, easily eliminating burnt or bitter taste and smoke.
Solid pizza peels, on the other hand, offer maximum stability and rigidity but do not allow the release of excess flour stuck on the bottom of the dough; when this ends up in the oven, it burns to the big smoke and gives the pizza a horrible taste.
How to use a pizza peel?
Everyone has their own method of using the pizza peel; you will become one with yours after a few sessions of pizza making, but before that, here is your guide to using the pizza peel.
Always start by sprinkling some flour on the surface of the peel. Next, prepare your dough and place it on the peel, then slight jerking motion, so the dough easily slides on the peel, but don’t put in much force lest the dough ends on the floor.
Add some toppings and sauce then jerk the peel again to ensure the dough slides when the time to place it in the oven comes. In fact, you should jerk the peel routinely, so the dough doesn’t stick on the surface, but remember not to use so much force.
Finally, place your pizza in the oven, let it slide off the peel and onto the grill or pre-heated pizza stone, then bake it, turning it to minimize charring from hotspots and ensure even cooking.
Once the pizza is ready, just slide the peel beneath it and take it out of the oven.
Okay, pizza enthusiasts, now you really have an idea about pizza peels. These bad boys are a must-have if you want to experience some real pizza-making experience, just like the pros in your favorite restaurant chains.