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No matter how you slice it, pizza peels make the process of cooking crusty creations at home much easier. The best pizza peels are correctly sized to fit into your oven and feature a handle long enough to make the transfer in and out smooth. Since peel paddles come in both solid wood and metal, picking the right material will come down to your personal preference. To help guide your search, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Wood Vs. Metal Pizza Peel
Wood peels are more aesthetically pleasing, but beyond that, they have a functional advantage over metal: they are a better insulator, which means raw dough won't stick as easily to them. On the other hand, they are thicker and bulkier, so getting your pie to effortlessly slide on top may be more challenging.
Metal peels, which come in aluminum or stainless steel, are considered more durable and more low maintenance (wooden ones have to be more carefully washed). Plus, you can easily slip them right underneath even the thinnest of crusts. If there's a drawback, however, it's that dough will stick to them, so always remember to coat them with extra flour.
What Size Pizza Peel & Handle Do You Need?
Before you do anything else, measure the width of your oven's opening to ensure the peel you are eyeing will even fit. Next, consider that while your pizza creations are entirely your own, the average size "medium" pizza starts around 12 inches, so the most common paddles start at a 12-inches-wide, too.
Finally, handles are typically chosen by the depth of your oven. If you have an outdoor oven, consider a longer handle to keep your arms safer. For the average indoor oven, though, handles 11 inches and under will work well because they still give enough stability and control. And if you're short on storage space, you'll appreciate a model with a foldable handle.
Now that you have a better sense of what to look for, explore the best pizza peels below and get cooking!
Pro tip: You can up your pizza game even more with one of the best outdoor ovens.
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1A Metal Pizza Peel With A Folding Wooden Handle
- Paddle size: 12 x 14 inches
The thin edges of this durable yet lightweight aluminum peel make it easy to slide pizzas in and out of the oven. The 10-inch pine handle stays cooler than its metal counterparts and allows a good amount of maneuverability. The 12 by 14-inch pizza paddle will make a standard medium-sized pie. Together with the handle, this pizza peel is 24 inches long, but the convenient folding handle makes this one of the most compact tools to store away.
Praise from pizza enthusiasts: "We bought a pizza oven and the pan that came with it didn’t have a long handle so it was hard to turn pizza while in the fire. But with this one it is perfect! Being that my husband is Italian and can be picky he gives it 5 stars as well!! Very easy to clean and since the handle can fold down storage is no problem."
2A Smaller Folding Metal Peel That Comes With A Pro-Level Pizza Cutter
- Paddle size: 9.5 x 13 inches
This stainless steel option comes with a 14-inch rocking pizza cutter — just like the ones the pros use to slice up pies (though you can also use it to chop up onions or slice cakes). The smaller paddle is good for making personal-sized pizzas (about 6 to 8 inches), flat breads, and calzones in smaller ovens. The peel measures 22-inches-long when the handle is fully extended, but like with the pick above, the 9-inch rubber handle can be folded for storing it. With a 4.7-star rating among more than 400 reviews, this affordable pizza set comes highly recommended and would also make a great gift for a fellow foodie.
Praise from pizza enthusiasts: "I started making my own pizza dough a while ago, had been using an inverted cookie sheet to get the pizzas in the oven but decided to get a pizza peel. This one is great, I like that it folds up so that it fits in my cabinets. It's very sturdy and easy to keep looking good. When we have friends over, I feel like a pizza pro when I'm using this."
3A Large Wooden Peel With More Than 1,000 Five-Star Reviews
- Paddle size: 15 x 15 inches
This Pizza Royale peel has the biggest cooking surface of the bunch. Bamboo, like acacia, is a durable wood that can take some heat without breaking — it's also naturally antimicrobial. The peel is 23 inches long, and has a 7-inch handle featuring a hole for easy drying and hanging up once you're done cooking. The Pizza Royale pick is the most popular of the peels, with more than 1,000 perfect 5-star reviews.
Praise from pizza enthusiasts: "Just debuted this peel at our pizza party last night and everyone loved using it to make their pizza. We used some cornmeal after rolling out the pizza dough on the peel to make it easier to slide the pizza onto the stone in the oven. It worked like a charm. If you enjoy good pizza and you have a pizza stone this peel is recommended!"
4The Best For Outdoor Pizza Ovens: A Wide Metal Pizza Peel With An Extra-Long Handle
- Paddle size: 16 x 14 inches
If you have a deep, outdoor pizza oven that gets really hot, this American Metalcraft pizza slide will let you reach as far as you need to, without burning your forearms. The 38-inch wooden handle has a comfortable grip and the 14 by 16-inch aluminum paddle is big enough to grab. Altogether, this pizza peel is 54-inches-long, so it's not the easiest to store, but reviewers suggest drilling a hole in the handle to hang up on a wall.
Praise from pizza enthusiasts: "I love my pizza peel. No more burnt knuckles! I make my pizza right on the peel. If you have a problem with sticking, use either corn meal or parchment paper cut into a round (fool proof)."
5A Wood Peel That Would Also Make A Perfect Charcuterie Board
- Paddle size: Not provided by the manufacturer but Amazon users report it's approximately 11 x 11 inches
Made from beautiful and hardy 100% acacia wood, this Chef Pomodo pizza peel has been treated with food-grade mineral oil to make it even more resistant to warping and cracking. The 5-inch sturdy handle gives you more control when you're taking pizzas in and out of the oven and though it's about a half-an-inch thick, the tapered edge makes it that much easier to slide your crusty creations in and out of the oven more easily. Per the manufacturer, the peel can hold a 12-inch diameter pizza and the wood surface also makes for a sleek charcuterie board.
Praise from pizza enthusiasts: "Ordered this one since I didn't want a huge pizza peel taking up room in the kitchen; the 12" size matches the pieces of granite I use in my grill as pizza stones. The peel makes it much easier to get a floppy raw pizza on the stone than a cutting board does. Ordered a second so I can prep 2 pizzas at once!"
