So, you’ve got your pizza oven built, cured and ready to cook. You’ve loaded your favourie pizza toppings onto your fresh pizza dough and now it is time to put the pizza into the oven. But wait! How are you going to do this without burning yourself?

A pizza oven is an amazing invention but one thing is for sure; they get very hot. One surefire way to prevent any nasty accidents and safe pizza cooking is to use a pizza peel. These cooking accessories were designed to be used with pizza ovens and can come in extremely handy when making pizza at home. That being said, you will often see pizza peels being used in a professional capacity.

Pizza peels are one of the things that a lot of people don’t think to buy for their homemade pizza but in this article, we are going to be explaining what pizza peels are used for and why you should never use your pizza oven without one.

What Is A Pizza Peel Used For?

A pizza peel is a device used to put pizza into the oven without burning yourselfThey are also used to turn the pizza during cooking to make sure that everything cooks evenly.

Pizza peels are typically made from either wood or metal and each of these have their pros and cons, which we will look at in a little more detail later on. The metal peels come made from either aluminum or steel but there are iron ones available, although these are less common.

Whether they are made from steel, aluminum, wood or any other material, pizza peels generally have a long handle so that you can place your pizza in the oven without having to get too close to the heat.

One of the great things about pizza peels is that you can choose the size and shape. While a typical pizza peel will be around 15 inches in diameter, there are those that are larger and some with a smaller size. Furthermore, you can get both round and square pizza peels and depending on how you will be using them, each shape has its own purpose.

A square pizza peel is normally used for serving pizza and are often left in the oven during the baking process. They are usually seen to be more easy for the beginner pizza cook and allow you to remove the pizza and turn it.

A lot of people will use a square peel to construct their pizza before cooking it and this eliminates any problems with having to transport the food from one surface to another.

Conversely, a round pizza peel is typically used by a more experienced cook, you will normally see these being used in pizza restaurants. One of the biggest advantages is that while using this type of peel may not be as easy, once you have it down to a T, they are more versatile.

A round peel can be used to turn pizzas in the oven without taking them off the pizza stone. The pizza stone is extremely hot and will cook the pizza from the base upwards. When you place pizzas on a stone, you will typically get a much nicer crust and more crispy base. However, removing the pizzas from the stone during baking will halt the cooking process when what you really want is consistent heat. A round pizza peel helps massively with this.

Finally, we should talk about the perforated pizza peel. Once again, you can choose which size or shape you have but these ones are normally made from metal. The great thing about this sort of peel is that they will let any excess flour fall through the holes so that this doesn’t interfere with the cooking of the food.

They are often much easier to use and you will typically find that the pizza will slide straight off into the oven, ready to cook. This is because this type of peel reduces how much the pizza will stick and is often favoured by those working in a professional setting.

Is A Wooden Or Metal Pizza Peel Better?

We have mentioned that you can get pizza peels made from either wood or metal and in order to know which is best for you, it is important to understand the pros and cons of each type.

One of the best things about wooden peels is that they tend to look a lot nicer. If you are at all concerned about the aesthetics of your outdoor pizza kitchen then you might want to use a wooden peel. However, you should also keep in mind that your pizza is much more likely to stick to a wooden peel. However, this problem can be eliminated by using some sort of flour, such as rice flour to coat the surface before laying your pizza down. You can also use parchment paper to do this. Although this isn’t essential.

That being said, a wooden pizza peel is excellent for soaking up grease so when you use a pizza peel like this, the base of your pizza won’t be at all oily. Conversely, a metal pizza peel does not have the ability to soak up oil so it is vital that you use some sort of parchment paper or flour to prevent the raw dough from sticking. If you do not use parchment paper or flour, you may find that the pizza dough will not slide right off the peel into the oven and this can make using a pizza peel far less easy than it should be.

Another thing to consider is that wooden peels tend to be much heaver than a metal peel. This means that if you have to use one for long periods of time, you may find that you get worn out pretty quickly. A metal pizza peel is typically made from either steel or aluminium and these are both very lightweight, making it a lot less bulky and easier to handle.

But the best way to determine whether wooden peels or metal peels will suit your needs it to look at how easy they are to use. A wooden pizza peel is normally much thicker and this can make them a little tricky when used with certain types of pizza. You may also find that they do not reach the back of the oven as easily since they do not have a long stick-like handle like a metal peel.

Metal peels also tend to come in a variety of sizes; you can get short handled metal peels and those that have very long handles that are almost like a stick. These are great for reaching right to the back of the pizza oven. Furthermore, the steel and aluminum used to make these peels is always much thinner so they are easier to slide the pizza off the pizza stone or other baking surface.

That being said, a metal pizza peel is typically a lot less durable than wooden peels and you often find that the handle will weaken over time. The slippery aluminum or steel is also difficult to grip when compared to the excellent grip you get on a wood peel.

It is also important to look at whether or not the peel is easy to clean. As a general rule, metal is always going to be easier to clean than wood. But provided that you dust the peel with flour, cornmeal or something else to stop the dough from sticking, the clean-up shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

There are hybrid pizza peels which normally come with a metal surface and a wooden handle. These give you the benefit of a strong wooden grip as well as having the metal that allows the food to slide off much more easily.

In truth, there is not one type of pizza peel that is better than the other but you should consider which will be best for your needs. Weighing up the pros and cons is undoubtedly the best way to do this. You will need to think about the type of pizzas you will be making, the size of your pizza oven, your own strength and ability as well as whether you want something that won’t stick to the dough.

Is A Pizza Peel Necessary?

When it comes to making pizza at home, there are a lot of things you will need. Pizza ovens are becoming more popular and this leads many a home pizza cook to raise the question of whether they need everything that they are told they do.

In just the same way that a pizza stone isn’t necessary to make pizza at home, it does give you a much more authentic pizza. Your pizza peel is also not something that you need but it is certainly an item that will help in making authentic pizza.

Many people like to use these tools as they recreate the feel of a traditional pizza kitchen but you may also find that your peel, along with a pizza stone and authentic pizza oven will give you an overall better flavor and texture.

Furthermore, if you want to experience safer baking then using a pizza peel to put the pizza in the oven, turn it and take it back out will help you to achieve this.

You will likely find that baking pizza is far easier with a peel since you can make the pizza on the peel and put it onto the pizza stone without your toppings falling off the dough.

In short, while you might not need one, if you use a pizza peel, you’ll like have a much better time making pizza.

What Is A Pizza Peel Substitute?

If you don’t have a pizza peel, you might be wondering what you could use to peel pizza in its place. Furthermore, you should always make sure that you have an emergency utensil on hand should your favourite pizza peel break or malfunction in some way.

There are some great ideas for alternative pizza peels; take a look at the following;

Double a cutting board up as a pizza peelSimply use a piece of parchment paper to transfer the pizza into the oven and onto the pizza stone. What’s great about this is that you can leave the paper on the pizza stone but do remember that this won’t give you as crisp a base as the pizza stone won’t be able to transfer heat directly to the pizza.You could wrap a stiff sheet of cardboard in tin foil and use this to peel pizza into the oven. However, it is imperative than once the pizza is in the pizza oven and on the pizza stone, you remove the makeshift peel from the oven. These ovens get incredibly hot and regardless of how stiff it is, cardboard should never be allowed to get this hot.A baking sheet or cookie tray without a rim would work well as a pizza peel.

How To Stop Dough From Sticking To The Surface Of The Peel

A big gripe for people who make pizza in their pizza ovens is that they find the dough keeps sticking to the surface of the peel; this can be incredibly frustrating. However, you can prevent this by using something on the surface.

Pizza peels come in either a metal or wood design and you can have problems with pizzas sticking on both. You will want to use a natural ingredient that won’t affect the taste of your pizza but that will also be easy to clean.

For these reasons, a lot of people opt for cornmeal. Cornmeal is much more dense than flour and when you place it on the surface of the peel it will almost allow the dough to roll off onto the pizza stone.

However, it is also important to make sure that your dough is just right and not too wet, as sticky dough can pose more of a problem with sticking to the surface of the peel.

Conclusion

Many people love to make pizzas at home; there is something incredibly satisfying about making fresh dough and watching it sizzle and crisp in the oven, covered in your favourite toppings.

However, there is the issue of getting the pizza into your oven and onto the stone without burning yourself. After you make the pizza, you can use a pizza peel to place the food into the oven. Using this handy accessory will give you a more authentic experience and will often improve the taste and texture of the pizza after you cook it.

There are different types of peel, this includes the size, shape and material from which they are made and which you end up using will depend on several factors.

While a pizza peel or turning peel isn’t necessary, it can be extremely useful and will serve you well as you place your food into such a hot oven and when you need to take it back out.

You have followed your pizza dough recipe to the letter, you thought that everything had gone to plan. But then, as your start kneading the dough, you notice how sticky it is. Surely that isn’t right?

It can take some practice to be able to make the perfect pizza and one of the things that most home pizza chefs find challenging is getting the dough to the right consistency. However, many of them often find that they end up with sticky dough and this can be frustrating, to say the least.

Sticky pizza dough is going to cause problems but more often than not, it is easily solved. Typically, pizza dough becomes sticky when the flour to water ratio is not right. While dough does need a good amount of hydration, there is an important balance that you must stick to.

In this article, we are going to be exploring why you might end up with sticky pizza dough and giving you some tips to avoid this in the future.

Is Pizza Dough Meant To Be Sticky?

It can be a little tricky to get things just right when following a recipe for pizza dough. All pizza dough recipes will include water and this is vital for the hydration of the dough. If the dough does not receive enough hydration, this can result in a product that is far too dry.

But you need to get the dough to just the right consistency. Your dough should be slightly sticky however, you don’t want the dough to be so sticky that it sticks to your preparation surface or the pizza stone or pizza peel.

What Does It Mean When Dough Is Sticky?

Quite simple, if dough is too sticky, it means that there is too much water in the recipe. Now of course, water is one of the main ingredients in dough and it is imperative for its hydration. However, too much water can result in sticky pizza dough.

The problem is that a lot of people see that the dough is too sticky and will start adding lots more flour. While this can be a solution. It can also take away from the hydration and turn your problem into something completely opposite; dough that is too dry and crumbly.

That being said, while too much water is the main culprit, you might also find that the wrong type of flour can also make dough sticky. This is because different types of flour will create different levels of dough absorption where water is concerned.

You might think that using a traditional, finely milled Italian 00 flour will help you to make pizza dough that never goes wrong. But this isn’t necessarily the case.

As a rule, you need to use a stronger flour to make the dough for pizza as this will create a higher hydration pizza dough owing to its ability to absorb water a little bit better than other types.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to determine the strength of the flour as many flour manufacturers do not include this information on their packaging. Fortunately, there are many online guides that home bakers can follow to get things just like, like this one.

How Do You Fix Sticky Dough?

Before we start looking at all you will need to know to fix sticky dough, it is important to make you aware that there is a certain degree of stickiness where dough is concerned. This is as a result of the ingredients combining together and is important, to an extent.

As you are kneading the dough you are encouraging gluten development. Both yeast and flour contain gluten and when pizza doughs are kneaded, this gluten develops and makes the dough much stretchier, which is an important thing. However, it can also cause it to become sticky, and if you find yourself in a situation where your dough is sticking to your pizza stone, pan, pizza peel and anything else it touches, there is a way or two you can do to rescue it.

The Need To Knead

Many people find that the reason their pizza dough is too sticky is that they do not knead it for long enough. Once the dough is one your work surface and read to be kneaded, you must be prepared to spend some time on this part of the process.

You might be keen to get out the pizza stones and start cooking but it is vital that you don’t rush through everything when making pizza.

Most people knead by hand and this can take time. There are people who like to use a dough scraper to manipulate their dough but using your hands is more alike the traditional method.

Kneading by hand should be done for at least 15 minutes, but at times, it can take as long as half an hour. The best way to fix sticky dough is to knead it more. As you do this, the gluten will develop more and give you a much more elastic dough.

You can add flour to your kneading surface and this can help to make the dough less sticky.

Not only is this important for stopping the dough from sticking to your pizza stone, pizza peel or any other surface it touches, but it will also give you a much nicer pizza crust.

Humidity

For those who are in a particularly humid location, this moisture in the air can penetrate the dough making it stickier than if you were making it in a drier environment. This along with the liquid components of the dough like oil and water can cause the dough to be incredibly sticky.

While you may not be able to change the environment, you can try adding less liquid to the dough. Furthermore, always make sure to store your dough properly if you aren’t ready to use it. It is best to store the dough somewhere that is not humid like the fridge, allowing it to come back to room temperature when you are ready to cook.

dd More Flour

Out of all the reasons that dough becomes sticky, the biggest reason is that there is too much water. The dry ingredients like yeast and flour cannot absorb this and you may need to add more.

As a rule, the dough should have a hydration of about 60%, this means that if you are using 1000g of flour, you would need 600g of water.

Water Temparature

Before you can shape you pizza and put it onto the pizza stone for baking in the oven, you will need to have made sure that you have followed the recipe precisely. You will notice that all pizza recipes contain flour, water, oil, salt, yeast and sugar.

A lot of people make the mistake of adding cold water. Cold water is not great for pizza dough and you should always make sure that you use warm water. Warm water is much better for hydrating the yeast, cold water simply cannot manage this.

If you haven’t used warm water, this may be the one thing that means you have to start making the dough over again.

Pizza Is Sticking To The Pizza Stone

You’ve spent ages with your hands in the dough to make sure it is properly kneaded, you have adjusted the level of liquid in the pizza dough and now, as you come to put the pizza into the oven, you find it is sticking to the pizza stone.

Whether you use a fan oven or a traditional brick pizza oven, pizza stones are a great way to ensure even cooking and get that beautiful fluffy crust, However, all of us know the pain of lovingly crafting a pizza only to find that said pizza is stuck to the stone when it comes out of the oven.

You can use parchment paper on your stone but one of the best methods is to use cornmeal; something that a lot of home bakers have in their food store. This will stop the pizza from sticking but will not burn, which can be a problem when using flour on the stone.

Conclusion

Pizza is a hugely popular dish but making pizza dough is something of an art. But we all have to start somewhere and getting your pizza dough just right doesn’t have to be a chore.

Whether you find the pizza dough is sticking to the stone during cooking or isn’t stretching enough, there are some easy ways to solve this issue.

Pizza dough contains water but if you add too much, this can make the pizza dough sticky. Furthermore, using the wrong kind of pizza flour can affect how the dough absorbs the water. Your water should always be warm as pizza dough cannot develop gluten as well with cold water.

If you want to make pizzas in the comfort of your own home, one of the most important things to consider is how to store pizza dough. If you aren’t ready to bake your pizza dough right away, you will need to make sure that it is stored correctly so that is doesn’t go bad.

Pizza dough will keep in the freezer for up to three months and in the refrigerator for three days but at room temperature, you will need to make sure you get baking pretty quickly.

In this post, we are going to be looking at the best way to store pizza dough and giving you some tips on the various methods.

How Do You Refrigerate Homemade Pizza Dough?

One of the joys of making pizzas at home is that you can do much of the preparation ahead of time. Making the dough is one such example of this but if you don’t intend on baking it the same day, you must store the dough in the fridge.

When kept in the fridge, your dough will typically last for around three days so this is a good method if you want to make your pizza dough at the weekend ready to use during the week.

To start, you will need to follow the pizza dough recipe which will include flour, water, yeast, sugar, olive oil and salt. Some recipes may not include certain ingredients but it is up to you which recipe you follow. This recipe makes the most traditional pizza crust.

Once your dough is prepared, you can then split it into balls with a dough scraper. Make sure that you have kneaded the dough well and then get a plastic container, typically a bowl, to but the balls in. You must lightly coat the inside of your bowl with olive oil as this will prevent the dough ball from sticking.

Place your pizza dough balls inside the bowl and cover it with either some plastic wrap or a lid. If you are using plastic wrap, be sure to properly seal this around the container to prevent air from getting inside.

Now place the dough in the fridge. One of the benefits of keeping pizza dough in the fridge is that it will rise, so you don’t need to let it rise before you store it.

Pizza dough that is kept in the fridge should be used within three days to taste it at its best. If it is not, you will find that it doesn’t have as good flavor and the texture of the crust may be drier than you would like.

When you are ready to start baking, you should take the dough out of the fridge and let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before putting it into the oven. You can leave it for a little extra time but try not to leave it any longer than 1/2 an hour.

Leaving the dough to warm will allow you to knead a stretch it much more easily. You can then work the dough into the correct shape before baking. However, we would also suggest that you let the dough rest for 15 minutes first.

Can You Refrigerate Pizza Dough After it Rises?

The great thing about pizza dough is that you can pop it into the fridge at any point of the process. From the moment you begin creating your recipe, right through to after the dough has been baked, it can be kept in the fridge.

If you have let the dough rise at room temperature, you may then decide to chill it until you are ready to use it.

According to some of the best pizza chefs, putting the dough in the fridge after the first rise will give the best results. You can follow the same process that we discussed in the previous section but do remember to give the dough balls room to rise as it will expand.

After the dough has been in the fridge for a day, you will find that it is at its best for making pizza. This is because, at this point, the dough will have the most amount of flavor and texture. If you are looking to make pizza with a professional crust, it can help to use the dough after a day in the fridge.

When are ready to use it, reshape the dough and let it rise again. Then follow the same process as before, leaving the dough for around 15 – 30 minutes to come to room temperature. It will then be good to use.

How Long Can You Leave Pizza Dough To Rise?

When you make pizza, one of the most important parts of the process is to allow the dough to rise. You might hear this being called proofing or fermenting, but it is all the same thing.

The reason that this is so important is that, if you want to achieve a fluffy crust, the yeast must have time to react with the gluten in the dough. You will notice that all pizza dough recipes call for yeast and often sugar, along with flour and water of course. Some yeast needs to be dissolved in water whereas other types of yeast can be added directly into the flour and other dry ingredients; but all yeast acts in the same way.

Yeast is a living organism that needs to feed. When you knead the dough, you are creating a network of gluten structures that the yeast can feed on. During the rising process, the yeast ‘eats’ the sugar and creates air bubbles; this is what causes the dough to expand and is what creates that gorgeous fluffy crust.

So, after you have completed your dough recipe, you will need to leave it to rise but depending on where you place the dough will depend on how much time it will need.

You can leave the dough at room temperature in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and lined with a coating of olive oil or any other type of cooking oil. In this case, you should give it between 1 and 1/2 hours. It may take a little longer if the room is cool so don’t be afraid to give it a little extra time, if needs be. The dough should double in size and this is an easy way to tell when it is ready.

Alternatively, you can proof your pizza dough in the fridge. If you use this method, do be prepared to keep the dough there for longer as the cooler temperatures will slow down the proofing process. The dough will take at least 12 hours to proof. However, it is important to keep in mind that after a few days, the yeast will have run out of gluten to feed on and the dough will start to deteriorate.

Put the dough balls in to a container and follow the same process as before.

When the dough is ready for using, you can take it out and allow it to come to room temperature before putting it into the oven for baking.

Can You Freeze Pizza Dough?

If you don’t plan to use your dough for some time, or you have a lot of dough left over, it is entirely possible to store it in the freezer. This is a great method because you can separate the dough into balls and this is great if you wish to make one pizza at a time. Next time you come to use the dough, you can remove as much or as little as you need from the freezer and still have some for another day.

When you keep the dough in the freezer, it will stay good for up to three months. But it is important to store it correctly so that it is just like fresh dough when you thaw it.

You should separate the dough into balls and coat each of these in your favorite oil; this will stop them from sticking together in the freezer, making them easy to remove. To prevent sticking even more, you might place the dough into its own bag. You can use a freezer food bag but if you do not have a bag, you can use parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Make sure you remove all the air before you put the pizza dough in the freezer. It will be good to use for up to 3 months but after this time, the pizza dough may get freezer burn and this can effect the flavor of the pizza.

When you want to use the pizza dough, you should thaw it in the refrigerator. It is better to thaw overnight but as long as it has had around 12 hours, the pizza dough should be good.

After this, you should to follow the same process for dough that has been kept in the fridge, leaving it for 30 minutes at room temperature before working the dough.

Can I Store Pizza Dough In The Freezer After Cooking?

You can also make pizza and keep the finished pizza in your freezer. This is just as easy and can be executed just like freezing pizza dough, covering each pizza with wrap or in a container and allowing them to defrost when you want to use them. Frozen pizza should be used within two months.

Conclusion

Many people like to make pizza at home, it is easy to make and requires basic ingredients like flour, water, yeast and sugar; things that we all have in our kitchen cabinets.

However, it is vital that you treat your pizza dough with care and store it correctly before using it. This makes sure that your pizza always turns out perfect.

You can keep pizza dough in the fridge, freezer or at room temperature if you intend on using it directly after it rises. The good news is that pizza dough will keep for a few months when frozen so you can enjoy pizza long after making the dough!

What Makes A Great Stir Fry?

Stir fry recipes? I thought this was a pizza blog. Well it is, and that’s what the Pizzeria Pronto® Outdoor Pizza Oven and Pizzaque were originally made for – but we also found they can be used to make amazing stir-fry. The Pizza Oven Wok Kit is an inexpensive way to expand the capabilities of your pizza oven! You may be asking yourself, why we would make a kit for converting the pizza oven into a wok burner? 

We have talked a lot about the high heat that the pronto produces and its ability to replicate authentic flavors that would be found in a wood-fired oven. That intense heat is also needed when stir frying. The burner in our oven has a whopping 15,000 BTUs or in layman’s terms, our oven has a very powerful burner. You can preheat the wok until it starts smoking in less than 30 seconds. All you have to do is remove the lid from your oven and you are ready to cook an amazing stir fry on your outdoor oven! So let’s all say goodbye to mushy stir-fry vegetables and soggy noodles and hello to a meal that is fresher than those to-go orders you have been getting.

Tangerine Beef Recipe

Ingredients

2/3 lbs flank, skirt, or butchers steak sliced across the grain
2 tangerines
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
½ tablespoon of brown sugar
3 green onions white and pale green part cut into 1-inch pieces and greens sliced thin and kept separate

Instructions

Peel the tangerine trying to keep the peel in large pieces. Remove as much of the white from the peel as possible. This can be done by using a sharp knife cutting just below the white or you can use a butter knife to scrape it off. Once white has been removed slice into thin slices. Juice the tangerine flesh and add the soy sauce and brown sugar to it. Heat the wok on low and add the tangerine peel, sugar and ¼ cup of water. Cook until the liquid has evaporated but the sugars haven’t caramelized. Remove the peals from the wok and set aside. Clean the wok by adding some water to it and wiping clean with some paper towels. Heat the wok on high until it begins to smoke and add some vegetable oil. Add the sliced beef and let it sit for one minute without moving or until it begins to get some color. Add the whites of the green onion and cook for about another minute tossing a couple of times. Add the tangerine peel and the juice mixture and cook until liquid is thick and syrupy. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the green onion tops.

Szechuan Green Beans

Ingredients

1 lb of green beans
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tablespoon of julienned ginger
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of ground Szechuan peppercorns (can be replaced with 1 tablespoon of 5 spice)
5 small dried chili seeds removed and cut into rings

Instructions

Heat the wok on high until it begins to smoke and add a little bit of vegetable oil immediately followed by half the green beans. Allow mixture to sit for about a minute or until the beans get a little color and then give it a toss and allow to keep cooking until they are blistered. Remove the beans from the wok and set aside. Repeat this process with the rest of the beans. When the second set of beans are cooked and removed from the wok turn heat down to medium-low and add a little bit of oil and the ginger and garlic. Cook them 15 seconds and add the Szechuan peppercorns and chilies, cook for 5 seconds before adding the soy sauce. Add the beans back to the pan and cook tossing constantly until the soy sauce has reduced to almost nothing. Transfer beans to a bowl or plate and serve.

Try It With Your Own Wok Kit

 

            Pizzeria Pronto®  Pizza Oven Wok Kit

For More Alternative Recipes Check Out:

Homemade Pita Bread RecipeHow to cook perfect steak in the pronto!

This week’s PIZZA OF THE WEEK is made by Ante @antes-moments! Ante made a great looking pizza this week on his Pizzacraft® Pizza Stone! Great work Ante!

Thanks so much to everyone else submitting pizzas! I see you, keep baking it looks delicious! 

If you tried out Stir Fry on your Pronto® I would love to see on Instagram @_pizzacraft  or #pizzacraft. Next week will choose our favorite pizza or pita to feature right here on the blog!