Having the right tool for the job always makes the job far more likely to be successful and significantly easier. This is definitely true of making pizza. You’ll want to have the best pizza peel handy to be able to get your pizza in and out of your Big Green Egg easily without making a mess. It’s one of those tools that gets overlooked until you try to make your first pizza at home. Once you realize how unwieldy that pizza really is you’ll immediately see the benefit in spending a few dollars on a quality pizza paddle. We researched various pizza peels available, read the customer feedback, and narrowed down the contenders. Our research confirmed that the Ironwood Gourmet Napoli Pizza Peel was the best value. Continue reading to learn more.
Best Pizza Peel:
Ironwood Gourmet Napoli Pizza Peel
The Ironwood Gourmet Pizza Peel comes out on top due to its high quality for the for the money. This appropriately sized peel makes a very smart move in its design which is to not varnish the wood surface. The wood is simply treated with mineral oil. This will make it far more likely not to have pizzas stick to it while attempting to place your pizza in the Big Green Egg. It will also be able to hold cornmeal to its surface better which will make it even better at preventing sticky dough from adhering to the wood.
Other features that make this the best pizza peel are the quality acacia wood, metal reinforced hanging hole, and nicely tapered edge.
Last, the price is right. Pizza peels are generally very inexpensive unless you’re looking for a particularly long handled version. While this isn’t the cheapest peel on the market, it is far from the most expensive. For a few bucks more than the cheapest options you get a much more effective pizza peel.
Runner Up:
Pizzacraft Folding Bamboo Pizza Peel
The Pizzacraft Folding Bamboo Pizza Peel is a great alternative to our first pick if you want a little more compact option. The handle folds to allow it to fit in tighter spots much more easily.
The handle is plastic and the platform of the peel is made of bamboo. The handle includes a metal reinforced hole for hanging it on a hook which is a nice addition and proves the attention to detail that Pizzacraft applies to their products.
Like the Ironwood Pizza Peel, this peel is very competitively priced and very worth the few dollars more that the cheapest peels on the market go for. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a couple dollars less than our top choice.
The Pizzacraft peel is a solid choice for anyone looking for a compact pizza paddle.
Worth Considering:
New Star Foodservice Wooden Pizza Peel
Longer handled pizza peels begin to cost more money. This isn’t too surprising since the raw material costs go up and the handled needs to be designed for strength and durability. The New Star Foodservice Wooden Pizza Peel is a great pizza paddle for people that feel they would benefit from having a little more length to the handle.
This peel has a nice tapered edge and natural finish which is ideal for helping ensure that your pizza dough doesn’t stick to the surface.
This is a larger pizza paddle so it’s going to be more difficult to store. What makes this even more difficult is that it doesn’t have a hanging hole in the end of the handle.
If you have the extra room to store this larger paddle, it’s a really good value for a nice long handled pizza peel.
Additional Information:
Things To Keep In Mind
What is a pizza peel?
A pizza peel, also referred to as a pizza paddle, pizza shovel, or pizza spatula, is the perfect tool for placing pizza in an oven and removing it when the pizza has finished cooking. It’s also a convenient surface to prep your pizza on.
Why do I need a pizza peel?
If you’ve ever tried to bake pizza at home with a pizza stone and didn’t have a pizza peel handy, you know how important they are. There just isn’t any easy way to get the pizza onto the hot pizza stone or get it back out of the oven.
Why do I need a pizza stone?
Pizza stones help pizza crust cook properly by allowing moisture to wick away from the crust through the stone. Trying to cook a pizza on a metal pan just won’t cut it for getting a properly crispy crust. You can learn more about pizza stones by reading our article titled Cooking With A Pizza Stone.
Is wood or metal pizza peel better?
Wood is generally what makes the best pizza peel. Pizzas will be more prone to sticking to metal pizza peels than wooden ones. Metal pizza peels are nice in that they are very thin and can make scooping pizzas easier. A good wooden pizza peel will be designed with a good tapered edge which will make scooping pizzas as easy as a metal pizza peel.
How do you keep pizza from sticking to a pizza peel?
Sprinkling cornmeal on your pizza peel will help it to more easily release from the surface. It’s also to sprinkle your pizza stone well with cornmeal. This will make it easier to scoop.
How do you use a pizza peel?
- Sprinkle your peel with cornmeal prior laying your dough on the peel.
- The longer your dough sits on the pizza peel the more likely it will stick so be sure and have your toppings ready to go and place them quickly.
- You should slide your pizza peel back and forth periodically to help the dough stay released from the peel.
- When putting your pizza in your oven, quickly slide the peel out from under the pizza when it is above the pizza stone.
- Try to limit the amount of time your oven is open to retain as much heat as possible.
- Before removing your pizza from the oven, reapply cornmeal to the pizza peel.
- Work the edge of the peel under the edge of the pizza and quickly slide the peel under the pizza and then remove it from the oven.
Wrapping Up:
Best Pizza Peel
Making sure you have the right tool for the job is important for all jobs, including making pizza. Placing pizza in an incredibly hot Big Green Egg is very difficult without a pizza peel. The great news is you don’t have to spend much money to get the best pizza peel to make your pizza baking experience easy. A good peel really is a necessity. Hopefully you feel much more informed about what makes a good peel. Good luck and enjoy your next pizza baking experience.
