# Do you have a pizza peel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549 "2010-06-26T00:09:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/1 "2010-06-26T00:09:43Z")
Hi Dopers, Mr. Horseshoe has expressed a desire for a metal pizza peel for his upcoming birthday. What can I say - dude like his pizza. Do any Dopers have one of these, and if so, what would you like to tell me about it? I’m specifically trying to find out what the differences are between aluminum and steel pizza peels. Is one more slippery than the other when moving the pizza? Does thickness/thinness matter much? We have a baking stone in the oven, so I assume that the peel is solely to transfer the pizza onto and then off of it. If that’s the case, does it matter that aluminum transfers heat faster? Any and all advice, suggestions, and comments would be welcome. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/2 "2010-06-26T00:11:05Z")
errr… that should be a ? instead of a ! in the title. Mods, if you have nothing better to do in your copious spare time, I’d love a fix… It looks like I’m hollering at people! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/3 "2010-06-26T00:20:22Z")
I used to work at California Pizza Kitchen, which uses a round, wood-burning, concave oven. There were two types of peels, a large flat one (which was essentially useless) and a much longer one with a tiny plate on the end. If you want to give more details about the cooking situation, I can give more specific advice: 1. What type of oven 2. Size of pizza 3. Type and thickness of crust 4. Typical toppings (especially amount and type of sauce) 5. Prep area (wooden cutting board, plastic cutting board, counter top, etc.) 6. Home or professional use (i.e. how important is presentation) 7. Number of pizzas being cooked simultaneously (1 or more than one) The metal doesn’t really matter, it’s the temperature that counts. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/4 "2010-06-26T00:34:07Z")
Electric oven (for now - we’re in a rental) and this would totally be for home use. 1 pizza at a time, please! The other things on your list are … flexible. For example, he loves cracker-thin crusts and I love thick, doughy, bready crust. So we make both! (Not at the same time.) Sometimes red sauce, sometimes not, and we don’t go nuts with the topping amounts. Does that help? And … may I ask what was so useless about the large flat one? That sounds a lot like what I’m [looking at](http://www.amazon.com/Outset-QZ10-Stainless-Steel-Rosewood-Handle/dp/B002LLOBHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1277509607&sr=1-1) on Amazon right now. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/5 "2010-06-26T00:53:49Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Electric oven (for now - we’re in a rental) and this would totally be for home use. 1 pizza at a time, please! > > The other things on your list are … flexible. For example, he loves cracker-thin crusts and I love thick, doughy, bready crust. So we make both! (Not at the same time.) Sometimes red sauce, sometimes not, and we don’t go nuts with the topping amounts. > > Does that help? And … may I ask what was so useless about the large flat one? That sounds a lot like what I’m [looking at](http://www.amazon.com/Outset-QZ10-Stainless-Steel-Rosewood-Handle/dp/B002LLOBHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1277509607&sr=1-1) on Amazon right now. Re: the one at amazon: that seems fine for single pizzas in an electric home oven. Re: utility of the large flat peel: if you are making pizza using a hot surface like the oven stone, you have to monitor the heat on the bottom of the oven by looking at the color of the crust. The large headed peel is not good for this and is also not good for moving around multiple pizzas. The small headed peel is also useful for cooling down the bottom surface if it is not cooking evenly (we would soak a handtowel in water, wrap it around the peel, and then wipe the bottom of the oven to control its temperature.) Also, if the front surface is hotter/cooler than the back surface, the small headed peel can be used to easily rotate the pizza. With a large peel, you have to remove the pizza from the oven, rotate it manually with a spatula or something, and then replace it. With a small headed peel, it’s very easy to rotate multiple pizzas quickly. However, this is another disadvantage of the larger peel: if there is any moisture at all in the crust or on the peel, the crust will stick to it and you get oval pizzas. Just about the only thing the large peel is for is for placing pizzas into the oven or removing them after they are completely cooked. The actual cooking part was done with the small peel. [This](http://www.lepanyol.com/Images/com/produits_accessoire_pellePizza_Med.jpg)was the main tool we used. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/6 "2010-06-26T00:54:09Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > That sounds a lot like what I’m [looking at](http://www.amazon.com/Outset-QZ10-Stainless-Steel-Rosewood-Handle/dp/B002LLOBHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1277509607&sr=1-1) on Amazon right now. I’ve got one very similar to that one and it works great. You have to cook your pie on a lipless pan for easier depizzaing, though. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/7 "2010-06-26T00:58:02Z")
Heh, this thread brings back memories…working the oven was my favorite part of that job. 😃 I remember using one peel in each hand…good times. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/8 "2010-06-26T01:40:59Z")
Moved IMHO --\> Cafe Society, fixed the thread title – geez, people, y’all are working me to the bone here … ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/9 "2010-06-26T01:42:15Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Moved IMHO –\> Cafe Society, fixed the thread title – geez, people, y’all are working me to the bone here … Hey, where’s the “let’s move the thread” pun? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/10 "2010-06-26T02:00:30Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Hey, where’s the “let’s move the thread” pun? 😃 Aargh! The pressure! Nope, sorry, long week – I got nuttin’ – ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/11 "2010-06-26T02:09:34Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Aargh! The pressure! > > Nope, sorry, long week – I got nuttin’ – I got ya covered: “Let’s add a little spice by moving this from IMHO –\> Cafe Society…BAM!” ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/12 "2010-06-26T02:16:59Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Hi Dopers, > > Mr. Horseshoe has expressed a desire for a metal pizza peel for his upcoming birthday. What can I say - dude like his pizza. Do any Dopers have one of these, and if so, what would you like to tell me about it? > > I’m specifically trying to find out what the differences are between aluminum and steel pizza peels. Is one more slippery than the other when moving the pizza? Does thickness/thinness matter much? > > We have a baking stone in the oven, so I assume that the peel is solely to transfer the pizza onto and then off of it. If that’s the case, does it matter that aluminum transfers heat faster? > > Any and all advice, suggestions, and comments would be welcome. Whatever kind you get, make sure you get it for $5-10 at a restaurant supply store instead of $20-45 at a consumer place. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/13 "2010-06-26T02:18:39Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I got ya covered: > > “Let’s add a little spice by moving this from IMHO –\> Cafe Society…BAM!” Which peel did you use? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/14 "2010-06-26T02:25:03Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Which peel did you use? You know, I really have no idea what verb you would use when using a peel. There was no special vocabulary for it. We talked about it as though we were doing it with our hand, like I did above (place the pizza, remove the pizza, rotate it, etc.) But, regret brings opportunity! Let’s make a verb: peelify? peely? peelunker? ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/15 "2010-06-26T02:37:43Z")
We have one. Just got it from a restaurant supply store. That’s probably your best bet. Don’t get anything fancy from Williams-Sonoma, just get the same ones the restaurants get. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/16 "2010-06-26T02:49:51Z")
We use one of [these](http://www.amazon.com/Super-Peel-Pizza-Solid-White/dp/B001T6OVPO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1277520476&sr=8-1). Works quite well, as long as you wash the cloth between uses. If you don’t, then the dough sticks and you end up stripping the bottom out of your pizza during transfer to the oven. Ask me how I know this. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/17 "2010-06-26T03:11:52Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Which peel did you use? Emma. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/18 "2010-06-26T05:37:09Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > We have one. Just got it from a restaurant supply store. That’s probably your best bet. Don’t get anything fancy from Williams-Sonoma, just get the same ones the restaurants get. That’s what I have, too. Cost about $12. It looks like [this](http://www.webstaurantstore.com/images/1244016_lg.jpg). Works great. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/19 "2010-06-26T06:33:32Z")
A peel? Is that what it’s called? Wow…I learn something new every day. When I worked in a pizzaria, we just called them “paddles”… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549/20 "2010-06-26T09:05:17Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > You know, I really have no idea what verb you would use when using a peel. There was no special vocabulary for it. We talked about it as though we were doing it with our hand, like I did above (place the pizza, remove the pizza, rotate it, etc.) > > But, regret brings opportunity! Let’s make a verb: peelify? peely? peelunker? I believe the verb is actually [peel](http://www.merriam-webster.com/netdict/peel) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-pizza-peel/544549.md?page=2)