Creating a masterpiece demands the skill and right ingredients, and the right tools. From pizza stone to pizza cutter, you need these tools to make baking your favorite pie a breeze and safe since you will have to crank up the temperature of your pizza oven for crispy results.
If you are here, reading this post, you’ve figured out that you need a special tool to help launch the dough into your hot oven and retrieve it safely. A tuning peel is essential for hauling your pizza safely in one piece.
However, most people face issues using this indispensable tool when trying to scoop the dough from their countertop to the oven or retrieve it from the pizza stone.
Fortunately, this post covers how to use a turning peel and tips to ensure you get the most out of your new addition to your baking repertoire.
But before that…
What’s a Turning Peel?
At first glance, a pizza peel looks like a huge spatula, and, in some sense, it is. But unlike a spatula, this essential tool is designed for taking your pizza in and out of your pizza oven and not small food items.
This baking tool is not created equal. They are available in different handle lengths, blade shapes, weights, sizes, and build quality. The right-turning peel for you depends on your need. For instance, a long handle is perfect for a wood-fired pizza oven, while a short version is ideal for grills, indoor pizza ovens, etc.
In addition, some models allow you to cut your sumptuous, perfectly-baked pizza into pieces on it. Nonetheless, your pizza peel should be made from either metal or wood for reliable resilience to ensure it handles the high cranked-up temperatures of pizza ovens.
How To Use A Turning Peel: Step By Step Guide
Making a masterpiece starts with a seamless deployment of your pizza. While this is simple to do, it requires a slight learning curve before you can begin to peel like a seasoned chef.
Deploying your pie
- Step 1 – stretch and shape the dough to the size and shape of your pizza peel.
- Step 2 – Make a mixture with equal parts of semolina flour, cornmeal, and wheat flour. Dust the turning peel with the mixture. (it’s best to use wooden pizza peel because of its stick-free surface)
- Step 3 – Add your favorite toppings, cheese, and sauce carefully to prevent them from falling on your pizza peel, which will cause some sticky experience.
- Step 4 – this is where you need some enthusiasm. You need to slide the pizza off the tool in a single, quick, and smooth motion. The success of this step depends on how well and quickly you can get the pizza off the peel onto the pizza stone or oven.
Turning the pizza
For pizza ovens, it’s crucial that you rotate the pizza because of the uneven heat distribution caused by the flames. This is not an issue with the typical kitchen oven.
Once your pizza starts to cook in the pizza oven, you should rotate the pizza to ensure every part of it has that sumptuous crunchy char. Else, it will end up with a burnt, scorched crust.
In this case, a turning peel brings in extra functionality aside from transporting your pizza out and into the oven. It helps rotate the pizza for the best results. Also, it ensures users can do this from a safe distance away from the high oven temperature.
- Step 1 – grab the peel and try to lose the baked good from underneath
- Step 2 – slide the tool under one side of the pizza
- Step 3 – this next step is the tricky part. You have to lift and pull the tuning peel toward you for a quick rotation action. In simpler words, you have to move the spatula-like tool in a quick circular motion in the other direction.
Getting your pizza out
- Step 1 – get the peel underneath the perfectly baked pizza
- Step 2 – ensure the baked good is perfectly sitting on the peel’s blade before attempting to bring it out of the hot oven. We recommend using a metal peel for this retrieval process because of its thin blade and quick slide underneath the pizza.
Is A Turning Peel Worth It?
There are not many options available for turning or transporting your pizza efficiently and safely. Trying other means might increase your chances of getting burnt. If you’ve ever found yourself so close to a hot pizza oven, you’d agree with me that it’s not a comfortable place to be.
However, turning peels features a long handle to keep you away from the oven’s heat. Also, it’s one of the easiest and safest ways of turning pizza or other baked goods into a hot oven for better results.
On top of that, users can easily place the dough and remove the sumptuous pizza from the hot pizza stone. However, using the wrong tool might be counterproductive. For instance, square pizza peels are best suited for turning pizza.
Pro Tips
There are a couple of things you might want to know about peels to ensure you get the most out of the tool:
It’s best to create the pizza 一, shape/size the dough, and add sauce and favorite toppings 一 on the peel to allow you to get the dough onto the hot stone in one piece. Besides, it takes away the hassle of getting the peel underneath the dough without messing it up.
Another important thing to know is owning two types of turning peel, if possible, is the best way to go. The wooden peel is ideal for leaching the dough onto the hot stone because of its porous nature, while metal helps with retrieving the perfectly baked pizza.
What size turning peel do I need?
The size of the turning peel you need will depend on the size of your pizza. A small pizza, up to 12 inches in diameter, will require a 14-inch turning peel. For a medium-sized pizza between 12 and 16 inches in diameter, you’ll need a 16-inch turning peel. For large pizzas, up to 18 inches in diameter, you’ll need an 18-inch turning peel.
When choosing a turning peel for your kitchen, make sure you select one that is made from durable materials such as stainless steel or aluminum. Additionally, look for a model with a long handle so that you can maintain control and keep your hands away from the heat. Lastly, consider adding a layer of parchment paper to the end of the turning peel to help it slide more easily underneath your pizzas.
Conclusion
The turning peel is a great tool and comes in handy for transporting the pizza into the oven as well as rotating it for the best results. How to use a turning peel like a pro requires some learning curve. So, don’t forget to practice and use the right peel for the job.