Homemade Pizza Peels

[BrickStoneOven]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

After you made the peel did you use and food safe mineral oil on it? After seeing your peels I am having one made by my uncles friend.

[Grimaldi]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Your recipe is correct for the active dry yeast, for instant yeast you want to cut the amount down to four grams. Your bread machine may be overworking the flour. How long did you refrigerate the dough? One final question, you didn't reform or kneed the dough ball before stretching it out? That's a sure way to turn dough into rubber band consistency.

I'm not familiar with the flour you're using, maybe others can comment.

I used my 4 1/2 Q Kitchen Aid mixer (now the gears are stripped and I will be mixing by hand for the foreseeable future) to mix and knead the batches...at the most 10 minutes. Then let it rise as I described above. After the rising, I did not knead or reform the dough ball (I'm unfamiliar with the term reform...probably part of the problem). Somehow I thought I was supposed to handle the dough ball gently.

This was two batches of dough with different rising times due to the different yeast, so they were in the refrigerator different times before baking...maybe 2 1/2 hours for the fast yeast batch and an hour for the active yeast batch.

I need to get this down to a more precise process - I didn't really prepare properly - I used what I had on hand, which is the reason for the different yeast. Also, any recommendations on the yeast...active yeast versus fresh yeast?

Thanks

[dmun]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Your recipe is correct for the active dry yeast, for instant yeast you want to cut the amount down to four grams. Your bread machine may be overworking the flour. How long did you refrigerate the dough? One final question, you didn't reform or kneed the dough ball before stretching it out? That's a sure way to turn dough into rubber band consistency.

I'm not familiar with the flour you're using, maybe others can comment.

[Grimaldi]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Post your recipe, plenty here can advise. I have always been happy with my (evolving) mix, but I have it pretty much locked down as a base, and it is good. I am actually eating the pizza bones (outer crust) which I have never done with any pizza.

My recipe is kind of what I think is the standard:
1000 grams flour
630 grams water
20 grams salt
6 grams yeast

The flour I used was an All-Purpose organic flour I picked up at Costco...I think it is called Central Milling (hard red wheat). I made two 1000 gram batches to experiment, one with bread machine yeast (fast acting dry yeast) and the other active dry yeast.

I made the dough in the late morning and let is rise about an hour and half for the fact acting yeast and about 2 1/2 to 3 for the active dry yeast. Then made the dough balls (220 grams or so) and let them proof for about an hour...then refrigerated until a little before baking.

I have a lot of dough left and I'm going to see how it works tomorrow and then again the next day. Hopefully it will improve. The crust was pretty tough...ok flavor. Lots of room for improvement.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Post your recipe, plenty here can advise. I have always been happy with my (evolving) mix, but I have it pretty much locked down as a base, and it is good. I am actually eating the pizza bones (outer crust) which I have never done with any pizza.

[Grimaldi]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Had the opportunity to use one of the peels tonight, the 12" x 16". Made four pizzas, and successfully laid them in the oven right where I wanted them...and they slid off like butter. I know this won't sound like much to the experienced pizzaiolo, but getting the pizza to slide off the peel has been a source of frustration (and motivation to make my own peels), and not just since the WFO has been finished. When I made pizzas on the grill with a pizza stone...failure, when I made pizzas in the kitchen oven on a pizza stone...failure. Never once did they slide off the cheap pine peel I had...it was like the thing had claws

After the successful maiden flight, I cleaned the peel with a damp sponge and dried it carefully, then gave it rubbing of coconut oil as a reward. One problem solved...now if I can just get the dough to taste better than shoe leather, I'll be well on my way

[dusty]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Wow! Those are beautiful! Almost to nice to use. I am thinking that you would be a fantastic canoe paddle builder!

dusty

[BrickStoneOven]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Grimaldi your killing me with the peels. The newest one I think is the best one out of the three, great craftsmanship as always.

[Grimaldi]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Thanks for all of the positive feedback...if I can be of assistance to anyone wanting to make them, feel free to ask.

[scottz]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Im with Tscar....if you have a spare one. I wonder how it would go in the mail to Australia though??

[Tscarborough]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

If you find yourself not needing one of those....

[Grimaldi]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

OK, one last peel and I'm moving on to other things. This one is also Texas Wild Cherry (the last I have of it), 14" x 16". I made the strips 2" this time and shaped the front of the peel with a little less radius on the corners. Then, all three of them side by side.

[czaunb2]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Great job! They are beautiful!! How I wish I had more tools . . .

[Grimaldi]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Do you build your pizza's on it or, could you slide it under a "made pizza" on top of a formica cabinet ? Nice craftmanship, i've put my dad on this project for me.

I'm not very experienced in pizza making...I'm in the learning curve, having just recently finished my oven. From what I've seen in videos of professionals, they make the pizzas on a marble surface (or similar hard surface) and then slide the pizza ONTO the peel (not sliding the peel under the pizza) and into the oven...pretty quickly.

I tried building pizzas on a pine peel (like you see at retails stores) and the dough stuck to the peel and I couldn't get the pizza to slide off...it was a mess and a pizza disaster :]

The peels I made are very slick and I don't expect the dough to stick, but I'm going to build the pizzas on floured hard surface and slide the pizza onto the peel. Just like this guy :]

8 pizzas in 3 minutes 48 seconds from dough balls to cooked pizzas.

YouTube - ??????????

[roobqn]

Re: Homemade Pizza Peels

Wow the craftsmanship is great! They are really good looking peels. I had thought to come here and lok for ways of making peels for myslef and here was your thread. Very nice.

I don't have the tools or the skill, but who knows what bartering a few pizzas might bring.