A pizza peel makes it easier to transfer pizza onto a hot baking stone, rotate it during baking, and remove it when finished. While both wooden and metal pizza peels can do the job, each has advantages for a different part of the pizza-making process.

For use with the Mighty Pizza Stone, we recommend a short-handled wooden pizza peel for assembling and launching your pizza and a small round metal pizza peel for turning and removing it during baking.

Wooden Pizza Peel

Wood is particularly useful for assembling and launching an uncooked pizza. Raw pizza dough generally releases more easily from a properly prepared wooden surface than from a solid metal surface.

Before assembling your pizza, lightly dust the wooden peel with flour. Use only enough flour to prevent sticking—excess flour can fall onto the hot baking stone, burn, and create an unpleasant taste.

Assemble your pizza shortly before you are ready to bake it. The longer uncooked dough sits on the peel, the greater the chance that moisture will work through the flour and cause it to stick.

Before launching, hold the peel level and use a few short, quick back-and-forth movements to make sure the pizza slides freely. If part of the dough sticks, gently lift that area and sprinkle a small amount of flour underneath.

Keep your wooden peel dry and avoid using it as a cutting board. Cuts and scratches can make the surface less smooth and make pizzas more difficult to launch.

Metal Pizza Peel

A metal peel is thin, making it easier to slide underneath a pizza that is already baking. This makes it particularly useful for rotating the pizza during baking and removing it when finished.

Because grills and ovens can have hotter and cooler areas, rotating the pizza as needed can help produce more even browning.

For the Mighty Pizza Stone, a small round metal peel is particularly convenient for turning the pizza without requiring as much working space as a large rectangular peel.

Metal peels are also easy to clean and do not absorb moisture the way wood can.

So, Which Pizza Peel Is Better?

For our preferred MPS method, you don’t have to choose just one.

Use a wooden pizza peel for assembling and launching your uncooked pizza, and use a round metal pizza peel for rotating and removing the pizza during baking.

Using each peel for the job it does best makes handling your pizza easier from assembly through serving.

Tip: Choose peels that are appropriately sized for your pizza and baking stone, with handles that are comfortable for your particular grill or oven setup.