Pizza Peel Ponderings

[Ken524]

We just finished up a party where I cooked around 20 pizzas. It was fabulous but I have a few questions about peels.

We have 4 of the short handle wooden peels. We use these for the guests to build their pizzas on. When they are ready to cook, they carry the pizza peel to the oven, I pop the pizza in and the peel is sent back to the "assembly table" for the next guest. It works like a charm.

For oven work, my dear wife, on the advice of the FB salesperson, bought me the Forno Bravo Ultimate Pizza peel for our anniversary a few weeks ago. When I first tried it last week, I noticed the handle was awfully long (maybe too long) and the peel itself was so large it is very difficult to turn and move the pizzas around. Hmmm.

I remembered folks here talking about a smaller peel for turning the pizza, so yesterday, I ran to a restaurant supply store in town and found a really inexpensive 12" square aluminum peel with a 36" wood handle. I figured I could fire up my jigsaw and trim it to an 8" circle to make a turning peel.

Although I haven't modified it yet, I discovered today that the little inexpensive peel worked so well for turning, arranging and removing pizza that I didn't even pick up my anniversary present .

So, I'm a bit confused about the FB Ultimate Pizza Peel. Maybe this question is more for James... What is the intended function of this big peel? I sort of get the feeling it's for big commercial pizza ovens and a bit over sized for a 42" Pompeii. Or maybe I'm not yet making large enough pizza's that I need it? So far all our pies have been under 12".

Another thought is that it would be handy for bread. Any thoughts and comments appreciated!

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Hi Ken,
I have one of those too...purchased from another source (sorry James), and I cut the handle down and still don't use it as much as my plain wooden and one plain aluminum peels.

I do use the a fancy round steel one with similar perforations constantly.

Drake

[gjbingham]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Isn't the peel bigger allowing you to build a bigger pizza, or possibly, as you suggest, it allows you to place a pizza deeper into a bigger oven ?

It may just be a esthetics thing. VW vs. a BMW. Yes they both get you there.....

The pizza turning tool is about 8 inches and round Ken. Much easier to turn a pizza while it cooks, or to pull it out and turn it with your fingers.

[Frances]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

It will probably come be more usefull if you make bigger pizzas... depends on what kind of party you're having: for girl scouts each person having her own pizza makes sense, but with smaller groups of grown ups I usually make several different BIG pizzas, one after the other, which are cut up and everyone has a slice of each pizza. Everyone gets to try all the different toppings and can eat at the same time (...well, appart from me. But hey, you get the picture...)

And the big peel is just for putting the pizza in the oven, not for turning or removing it... at least thats what I gathered

[PizzaPolice]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Gj has it right. I have the same model except for the holes. A WFO pizza guy in town has one too. He told me to buy the shorter handle. Of course, I didn't listen. So now I'll have to shorten it up somewhat. It's great for the deep vertical insertions. .....Oh yes..... I said it.
When I'm making one at time with no rush, I too use the wood "make" peel.

[Ken524]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Drake, shortening the handle was the first thing I thought of to improve it. I'll definitely do that. I nearly impaled my son who was standing behind me the other day.

Frances, you made good (and helpful) point. If I make family-size pizzas, the wooden peels I have will be too small to build and place the pizza. That would be a perfect job for the big peel.

I knew you guys would help me find reasons to justify having this thing!

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Hey Ken, Don't for get the super advanced look of the thing. The Ferrari is not as practical as the pickup truck...

Drake

[Ken524]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Hey Ken, Don't for get the super advanced look of the thing. The Ferrari is not as practical as the pickup truck...

Hmmm... good point. I'll prop it up next to the oven during pizza parties!

[gjbingham]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Hey, and don't forget your loving wife trying to hook you up with a winner. That makes it special in its own way. I got nothin!

[christo]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

I cut a peel down from square to circle with the sabre saw. Much easier to turn pizza in the oven vs the big square peel.

I use the big peel to make sure the entire pizza is loose from the oven floor before I turn with the smaller peel and use the big peel to remove.

I think I use both tools equally... - I like the longer handles - I can rest the peel on my shoulder while tryting to keep myself from needlessly turning the pizzas continually while they cook. When tending multiple pizzas - I need to be careful..... someone could lose an eye....

[james]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

Hi Guys,

Sorry I am late to this thread. First things first.

There are two distinct metal peels types: placing peels and turning peels. You just can't get around the fact that a placing peel is terrible at turning pizzas, and a turning peel is too small to get a pizza.

That's why the large, rectangular peels are perfect for placing. They are roughly the same size as your pizza and they have a thin blade that is perfect for sliding under a pizza (either on a solid work surface or from a small wood prep peel). They are made from aluminum, which is slippery, so pizza's don't stick (the way it would on stainless steel), and slide easily into the oven. The placing peel has a rectangularly steel tube handle, so it doesn't rotate in your hand.

The round turning peel is 7"-8" and has a hand glide that makes turning pizzas easy. The premium model is stainless, which will hold up better because that peel is inside the oven longer. The round peel lets you rotate the pizzas using a wrist motion. Every wood-fired pizzeria has a small round peel -- you just can't do without it.

These peels are two completely different beasts -- an apple and an orange.

If you try to find one peel that can do both jobs -- placing and turning, you will end up with something that does both jobs poorly.

I will do a short video on picking up, placing and turning pizzas -- that should help.

Make sense?
James

[christo]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

I'd like to see how a pro does it!!!!

My technique could use improvement....

thanks

[Ken524]

Re: Pizza Peel Ponderings

I will do a short video on picking up, placing and turning pizzas -- that should help.

That would be a great help James!

Thanks