Peels

[CanuckJim]

There seem to be a few questions regarding peels out there, so I thought I'd post a pic of two I'm in the process of making. I bought the blades from Empire Baking Supply in upper New York State. Originally, they measured 18 inches wide by 28 inches long. My oven door is 16 inches wides, so I cut down the width to 12 inches (for wiggle room), but left the length untouched. Made two pine handles, for a total length of 6 feet for each peel (my oven deck is 4 feet deep), and drilled through them to accept the supplied bolts. The blades are pine as well, and they came to me quite roughly finished, with a lot of raised grain (sticky, therefore). I used a palm sander on them, starting at 220 grit, then 320, then 400. Nice and smooth. Next, I used a mahogany wipe stain, let it cure, and now I'm in the process of using food-safe Danish Oil on them to harden the finish and make them even more slippery. Three to four coats should do it. The plan with these two modified peels is to be able to load three loaves at a time.The maple peel blade I posted with my oven pics was sanded to 600 grit, then oiled. It's so slippery that I only use semolina out of habit; not really necessary, except for wet doughs. Maybe this sort of approach will help people who are having sticking problems when loading.

Jim

[muppety1]

Re: Peels

I did not realise wood made such a good peel, is the danish oil a special type ?

[blacknoir]

Re: Peels

Danish is the type basically, it's a purified linseed oil. You can get different brands of Danish Oil but they amount to the same thing. Even most box stores sell it. It gives it a nice oil finish which is good for food prep items.

Not sure how important this is for peels but for my cutting blocks I prefer to use a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil. This helps preserve and protect the board while also making it food safe. It requires a monthly reapply but that's for a cutting board.

[muppety1]

Re: Peels

Danish Oil is widely available over here, I use it on my garden furniture to keep it waterproof and many people use it on Kitchen work tops / counters. Sets really hard if you put lots of coats on and is quite water resistant.
Beeswax -- a memory of smells - in a past life I used it on oak furniture , neat with a blowtorch it creates an amazing polished finish and hardens up with the heat.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Peels

Is the Danish Oil oven safe ? Im assuming your not having any problems as the peel doesnt stay in the oven that long. Just curious as I have seen oil finish rags burst into flames all by themselves.
Thanks

Mark

[Dutchoven]

Re: Peels

Just a side note but somewhat related...Empire has plastic proofing baskets on sale right now for $2 each...they are 9.5 inch round 2 pound dough capacity...gently used they say but that is a fantastic deal...no minimum order...get'em while they last
Best
Dutch

[muppety1]

Re: Peels

Rags used to apply Danish oil will 'Spontaniously combust" even paper ones -- so be carefull !!

[UnConundrum]

Re: Peels

I like to stick to food grade mineral oil for my cutting boards and other wood products. No problem with edibility... I'll usually melt a little beeswax into some mineral oil to make it stick around a little longer..