SuperPeel

[jdbower]

I had been using makeshift peels for a while now (sliding pizza off a plate or a cookie sheet) but I finally decided it's time to get serious. Rather than a traditional peel or making my own I decided to go with a Super Peel as previously mentioned in this thread. At a $35-40 street price it's a bit more expensive than many standard peels, but it's also got the surprisingly elusive flat bottomed shape I was looking for. My thoughts were that even if the "Super" aspect turned out to be not so super at least I'd still have a decent peel - albeit one with a slot cut into it.

The peel itself is pre-assembled and made from 1.5" slats of maple. The texture is nice and smooth and care is similar to a butcherblock - wipe clean with water (but don't soak it) and occasionally rub with mineral oil. The end is slightly beveled to make picking stuff up easy.

The Super part is a canvas-like material. There's a small pocket at the end where a wooden slat is inserted; this slat acts both as a holder for retaining clips as well as a handle for moving the canvas around. To assemble the peel simply push the slat up through the slot in the peel from the bottom. Wrap the canvas around the peel overlapping the slat. There are two nylon clips that slip over the end of the canvas and attach it to the slat. Don't over-tighten the canvas otherwise it won't slide right. The canvas installs and removes quickly and it's machine washable (but they recommend air drying or low heat tumble dry and it may require ironing to look pretty afterwords).

Using it takes a bit of practice. With the slat near the front of the peel, place the edge of the peel against the edge of what you want to pick up. Instead of the natural instinct to pull back on the slat you should hold the slat in position as you push the peel underneath. This will cause the canvas to slide around the peel and the peel to move under the object - pulling back on the slat would cause the canvas to pull the object onto the peel and this can cause pizza dough to stretch. Practice a bit with random objects to get the gist of how it works, but I would not recommend trying it with your cat (they don't like it much).

I tried it on a pizza tonight. First I rubbed some flour into the canvas (as recommended) and sprinkled it with a little cornmeal to give the dough a little extra crunch. I rolled out the dough on the counter top and then manually transferred it to the peel. After putting the toppings on you simply put the pizza where you want it to go and keep the slat in the same spot as you pull back the peel. What was once a tough job with some sticky dough became a trivial occurrence. They recommend removing the canvas to pick up the pizza to help keep the canvas clean, and once it's done the pizza shouldn't stick so it's not an issue.

So far the pro is that it's trivial to move even very sticky dough from the peel to the pizza stone. The con is that I feel as though I should wash the canvas after every use. Super Peel sells replacement parts so you don't need a whole new peel if you break the canvas belt (the belt is $6 including shipping). In a pinch or for something that will stain the belt you can also use wax paper or other improvised materials. And, of course, if you don't like it you can use it as an ordinary peel.

My current opinion is that if you're in the market for a new peel this is a great choice and so far I'm happy with my decision. If you've already got a peel and you have issues with dough sticking to it you may want to consider an upgrade. But if you've got a peel and you know how to use it I don't think you'd be missing anything.

[DennisLinkletter]

Any new toy is a great thing..

I've been eyeing one of those ever since my last pizza session where everything stuck to everything.. even if I knew how to use a peel or had one (I used a shiny piece of cardboard last time;-)

I'd want one of these because any new toy is a great thing..