Grant Cunningham
TVWBB Pro
I'm with Brett - use a wood peel. The metal ones are great for getting pizza off a stone, but wood is better for launching. When I started, all I had was the metal peel and had a number of failures. Since switching to wood, none. I now use the metal peel just for removing the pie from the oven/grill.
Here's my procedure: I drop the raw dough onto a floured bread board, and work/shape it until I'm happy with it. Then I pick it up and place it onto a very liberally floured wood peel. Once on the peel, I jiggle it to make sure it hasn't stuck. Then I add sauce and toppings, and immediately put it into bake — the longer the dough sits on the peel, the greater the chances of sticking.
Before the launch, I again wiggle the peel to break any adhesion. Rarely do I need to actually "launch" the pie; it usually just slides onto the stone.
(Edited to add: I jiggle the peel to break adhesion occasionally during the topping process, just to make sure!)
Here's my procedure: I drop the raw dough onto a floured bread board, and work/shape it until I'm happy with it. Then I pick it up and place it onto a very liberally floured wood peel. Once on the peel, I jiggle it to make sure it hasn't stuck. Then I add sauce and toppings, and immediately put it into bake — the longer the dough sits on the peel, the greater the chances of sticking.
Before the launch, I again wiggle the peel to break any adhesion. Rarely do I need to actually "launch" the pie; it usually just slides onto the stone.
(Edited to add: I jiggle the peel to break adhesion occasionally during the topping process, just to make sure!)