Tag: pizza peel

Here are some of the tools I use for making pizza at home. 

PIZZA STONE

Technically speaking, you CAN make pizza without a stone, but you will get the most authentic homemade pizza with a stone because of the heat it absorbs and generates. There are many out there, but here is one I like a lot by Pizzacraft. I really like the size — it’s 16.5″ round, though you can use rectangular as well.

PIZZA PEEL

First and foremost you need a pizza peel. This is what you build your pizza on and use to slide it in and out of the oven. For years, I used only a wooden one, but now I use both wooden and metal. The raw pizza dough sticks less to wood than to metal (even with the cornmeal on it), so I prefer the wood for building the initial pizza on. However, the metal is just so much easier to slide underneath the pizza once it’s cooking on the stone — in order to turn the pizza as well as to pull it out of the oven. You’d be fine just using the wood for everything, but I thought you might like to know my technique. 

IMPORTANT: Do NOT cut your pizza on the peel! Once you slide it out of the oven using the peel, transfer it to a large cutting board for cutting!

Metal Pizza Peel. My 1st choice is Pomodoro and the one I have (I like that the handle folds in for easier storage), but there are lots out there. Another choice would be 

Wood / Bamboo Pizza Peel. I like this Fiery Chef Bamboo Peel for the same reason as the Pomodoro metal one above. The handle folds in making it easy to store. However, if that’s not an issue for you, I do tend to like having one solid piece as a peel, such as this New Star peel. It just feels sturdier and more stable. 

PIZZA CUTTER

Whereas you can use a knife for cutting into thicker Sicilian-style pizzas or focaccia, you’ll be very happy using a proper pizza cutter wheel for Neapolitan-style. As above, I prefer all metal. 

BOWL SCRAPER

Perhaps not essential for you, but I like being able to use the scraper to get the dough out of the bowl (the dough scraper above is a little too big for that, and this bowl scraper is a little too small to manage the dough on the countertop). So…here’s a bowl scraper I would recommend. 

KITCHEN SCALE

Those of us in North American tend to measure rather than weigh our dry ingredients, but weighing is SOO much more accurate. In my recipes, I will always provide measurements in cups, but I really like being able to talk about weight in ounces, as well, especially when it comes to separating out the pizza dough / balls. So, do consider getting a kitchen scale. It will change baking for you. Here’s one I’ve had for years.  

…and of course, a pizza class! (Join my virtual cooking classes for fabulous recipes and a fun, inspiring, energetic hour!)