How to Use A pizza Peel

Suzanne writes:

Hi Albert,
I have a pizza stone but I need to get a peel. I am a
bit leary of them though as I don't know if I will be coordinated enough
to get the pizza on to the stone without sending it flying in to the
depths of my oven!

 Also, can I put the stone on my grill? will it damage
it or should i buy a stone for the grill and one for the oven? I would
appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks and Pizza on Earth. . .

My response:

Great suzzane.

Learning to use a peel is like anything else..it takes practice.

I make my dough on the counter. After I stretch it out, I make sure it has enough flour or cornmeal underneath it.. It needs to be able to slide so I can put the peel under the dough.

Then I put my toppings on the dough. I sprinkle a little corn meal or flour on the peel so it will slide underneath the pizza.

You need to use a quick jerking motion to get the pizza on the peel. It's kind of like "Newton's Law of Pizza " an object at rest tends to stay at rest"

You want your pizza dough to "stay at rest" when you slide the peel underneath.

Practice with a lightly topped pizza. Practice again. You will get the hang of it before you know it...

As far as putting your pizza stone on the grill...it should be OK as pizza stones are made to withstand high amounts of heat. I would check with the manufacturer.

There are some stones that are specifically made for a grill.

I hope this helps... Let me know how you make out using a peel...

pizza on your grill,

albert
the Pizza Promoter

P.S. In the Pizza Therapy Pizza Book, I go over three different method to grill pizza
The Pizza Therapy Pizza Book

P.P.S. Here are some great peels:



                                 
                     



















Old Stone Oven 4467 14-Inch by 16-Inch Baking Stone