Happy Father's Day "Nottingham" Pizza Party

Chief Bottlewasher surprised me with a pizza peel for Father's Day. Surprised, because we don't exchange gifts on made up holidays.

I use pizza stones but built the pizzas on cheap, thin aluminum cookie sheets and put those on the stones. Had decent browning on the bottom of the pies but no where near a pizza oven.

So, I had to use the peel for dinner tonight. But, I didn't have dough made up and I had run out of Instant Yeast for the quick rise dough recipe.

But, wait! Baker's yeast is just Saccharomyces cerevisiae and I've plenty of that in dry form in the brew fridge! Proof a packet of Nottingham and we're off.

Had decent rise and good bubble formation. Cooked at 550*F for 7 minutes on pre-heated stones, one round and one rectangle.

Turned out great and I can't wait to keep playing with the peel.

Looks great! Wish I was there.

What the hell is a pizza peel?

Homercidal said:

What the hell is a pizza peel?

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Well doyyyyyy... it's that...thingy... pictured above

The wooden flat mash paddle thing in pic.

It's what they use to slip the pies into and out of the Hot Frickin' Oven.

EDIT: This seems out of context because the post wouldn't load

Homercidal,

A baking peel:


I have an aluminum one, myself. Straight from my local restaurant supply.

Matt,

Excellent thinking on the fly, dude! I've used Nottingham in pretzels before.

flyangler18 said:

Excellent thinking on the fly, dude! I've used Nottingham in pretzels before.

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Little more expensive than bakers yeast, but I was in a pinch.

Be careful and don't really wash the peel. You can wipe it off but don't let it absorb too much water. I learned from experience that they will very easily warp and get a HUGE split down the middle.

They are great for things other than just pizza. I use them to get pans and stuff out of the over that I have trouble getting a grip on with a towel or oven mit.

Working in a pizza kitchen when I was in high school made me truly appreciate a good pizza peel. I have one hanging in the kitchen. Looks like good pizza!