Pizza cook

[Grant Cunningham]

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!)

 

[Grant Cunningham]

One more thing: when I flour the peel, I start at the edges and work to the middle. I've never had a pie stick in the middle — it always seems to be an edge that catches, so I make sure my flouring goes all the way to the edge.

 

[THyde]

Thanks looks like I need to go grab a wooden peel. I am slightly insane, so I have another batch of dough pretty much ready to go for late lunch. So I'll run out and grab a wooden peel and see if all my dreams come true.

 

[Grant Cunningham]

Thanks looks like I need to go grab a wooden peel. I am slightly insane, so I have another batch of dough pretty much ready to go for late lunch. So I'll run out and grab a wooden peel and see if all my dreams come true.

Making good pizza can become an obsession. You're not the first to get caught by it.

 

[Brett-EDH]

I used to use this peel until I went smaller, the one posted recently. This giant spatula is great. With my E6 I just wanted a smaller tool and increased access to my steel, from a shorter distance, thus my change. If you’re doing oven pizzas, this one is just perfect.

Kitchen Supply 14-Inch x 16-Inch Aluminum Pizza Peel with Wood Handle
by Foxy Home
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JPJ0QY/?tag=tvwb-20

 

[Brett-EDH]

Making good pizza can become an obsession. You're not the first to get caught by it.

I own a wood peel, two metal peels, 3 screens, a perforated non stick bake tray, a round solid aluminum cutting tray, a dozen lidded fermentation containers, two pizza slicers and I usually keep 12 1kilo 00 Caputo pizza flour sacks on hand, just in case.

You need to be prepared, for anything when pizza making

 

[THyde]

I make the pizza on parchment paper and pull the paper out partway through the cook.

Use these to form and dress your pies. Cook on them for 5 mins then descreen (deck) your pie onto your stone.

I totally appreciate these ideas, but as an expert who has watched, again, almost an entire youtube video, I wanted to keep it pure.

use a wood peel

This is what I ended up doing, and here we have my first semi OK pie:


Thanks for the walk throughs and ideas. Ended up being more .... and I'm not trying to talk politics here ..... liberal with the flour and went and grabbed a wooden peel. Thing basically slipped right off. Trying to get it off the metal peel, it is like when Chief Wiggam got his tie caught in the hot dog roller. It goes from bad to worse pretty quick!

Plus, without setting off the fire alarm or having anybody else at home actually, I was able to concentrate watch the cook and bam! This one came out great, thanks again all and Grant I am totally digging this thread!

 

[THyde]

 

[THyde]

Making good pizza can become an obsession. You're not the first to get caught by it.

Very tangled up in the gears over here!

 

[Grant Cunningham]

I totally appreciate these ideas, but as an expert who has watched, again, almost an entire youtube video, I wanted to keep it pure.

This is what I ended up doing, and here we have my first semi OK pie:

View attachment 42066
Thanks for the walk throughs and ideas. Ended up being more .... and I'm not trying to talk politics here ..... liberal with the flour and went and grabbed a wooden peel. Thing basically slipped right off. Trying to get it off the metal peel, it is like when Chief Wiggam got his tie caught in the hot dog roller. It goes from bad to worse pretty quick!

Plus, without setting off the fire alarm or having anybody else at home actually, I was able to concentrate watch the cook and bam! This one came out great, thanks again all and Grant I am totally digging this thread!

Congratulations!

Now you're hooked. Bwaaahaaahaaaa....

 

[Tony-Chicago]

Next time you are in a bind, put another on top and flip over. Address stickiness, flip back over and into oven.
Parchment paper or a peal or large flat something.
Use parchment, cheating, but works. And you can remove partway through.
Wood over metal.
Practice makes perfect pizza
You need to put smoke detectors in more places. Almost a whole youtube video, you going for a masters?