How to Use a Pizza Peel

The peel is the bridge between your counter and a hot oven. Most “pizza disasters” happen at the launch, and almost all of them come from one problem: the dough stuck to the peel. Here is how to avoid it.

Loading the peel

1. Dust the peel first. A light, even layer of flour or semolina on the peel surface acts like tiny ball bearings under the dough. Semolina is especially good because it does not burn as quickly.
2. Build fast, or build on the peel. The longer wet dough sits on the peel, the more it grabs. If you can, stretch the base, put it on the peel, then top it quickly.
3. Test the slide before you top heavily. Give the peel a gentle shake. The dough should move freely. If it sticks, lift the edge and dust more flour underneath.

Launching into the oven

1. Line up the front edge of the peel with the back of the stone or oven floor.
2. Use a confident, smooth forward-then-back motion: push the pizza toward the back, then pull the peel out from under it in one move.
3. Hesitation is the enemy. A quick, committed motion launches cleanly; a slow one drags the toppings.

Retrieving the pizza

Slide the peel fully under the cooked pizza, all the way to the far edge, then lift. A perforated peel helps here too — less surface contact means it slips under more easily.

Why perforated peels help

A perforated peel has holes across the surface. They let excess flour fall away before it can burn in the oven, and they reduce suction between the dough and the metal, so launches are cleaner. The Gamalou 12” Perforated Pizza Peel uses a raised-ridge design for the same reason — less dough contact, smoother release.

If your pizza keeps sticking

See our guide on how to keep pizza from sticking for the full list of causes and fixes.