When you make pizza at home, you might need some special tools that will make the process much easier. One of these things is a pizza peel which you will often see being used in pizza restaurants.
In this short post, we will be looking at what a pizza peel is and how it will make using your pizza oven a lot easier. We will also check out the important things you should be looking for when choosing between pizza peels.
What Is A Pizza Peel?
You might imagine a pizza peel as being a huge spatula, only rather than turning small food items, pizza peels are used for turning pizza and taking it in and out of the pizza oven.
A turning peel typically has a long handle and a flat round surface onto which you place your pizza. Many people will use them for other parts of the pizza making process as on top of turning pizza in the hot oven.
A pizza peel is normally made from either wood or metal as these materials are pretty resilient when it comes to being exposed to the high temperatures in pizza ovens.
Why Use A Pizza Peel?
You might think that a peel is only useful for turning pizza, and while this is one of the major benefits, there are many others. But let’s start with that; if you attempt to turn the pizza using other tools, there is a significant risk of being burned. Let’s face it, pizza ovens become incredibly hot and standing too close is just uncomfortable. With the long handle on your peel, you can put some distance between you and the ovens heat.
In addition to this, as you turn the pizza, it will be able to cook more evenly giving you a much nicer final result.
What’s more, your peel will allow you to place the pizza onto the hot pizza stone and remove it again when it is cooked. Peels used for this reason are typically square whereas one used for turning pizza would be round.
A lot of people will create their pizza on the peel, loading on toppings and sliding the food into the oven. You will find this an easy way of transferring the food as opposed to making the pizza on another surface and then struggling to move it onto the peel.
How To Choose Between Pizza Peels
Which product you choose will largely depend on how you will use the peel. For example, materials, handle length and shape are all factors to consider.
Wood Or Metal?
A wood peel is normally used for launching the pizza into the oven. You would normally dust them with a little flour such as 0, 00 or any other, so that the food doesn’t stick. However, it is entirely possible to use a metal peel for this purpose.
These perforated peels are normally made from either GI metal or stainless steel, both of these materials handle heat well. There is a reason they have a perforated design. This perforated design allows excess flour to fall through before the pizza goes into the oven.
Shape
If you want to turn your pizza then a round peel is better. Round peels allow you to move the pizza without touching the oven. However, if you don’t like the idea of a round peel, you may opt for a square one; these can also be used for turning but are more traditionally related to putting the food into pizza ovens.
A round pizza peel are normally made from that GI metal or stainless steel we discussed whereas square ones are normally wooden.
Handle
Whether you choose a round peel, a perforated one or another product, you should make sure that the handle isn’t too small. You want to look for something greater than 30cm that will reach to the back of the oven.
It is also advisable to check the diameter of the peel to make sure your pizzas will fit. A good diameter for a round perforated peel is around 15 inches.
