Semolina or corn meal + flour and technique. My first few times making pizza I couldn't figure out how to keep it from sticking and would end up swearing at the pizza the whole time I was trying to get it in the oven. Once I figured out the technique—make sure your dough is developed enough, heavily dust the peel, don't stretch the dough on the peel, shake it from time to time to make sure the pizza is still loose, etc.—it didn't really matter if I used anything other than flour.
I use flour and semolina, but at different times - kinda.
When I pull the wooden peel out of cupboard, I sprinkle it with flour, rub it around and then "bang" it off onto my work surface with the rest of the flour. This sort of dries up the peel.
Then I sprinkle semolina (lightly) on to the peel before I place my stretched dough on it.
After a couple pies, I sometimes do the flour thing again if the peel is looking wet/greasy...
Glad to hear someone else that rubs the peel, you never see anyone in video's doing this. I believe it does help and it does dry up the peel. Also, for the people that are slicing the pizza on the peel.... please stop, use a pizza pan or a cutting board!
Agree. Semolina works substantially better than flour and even cornmeal for me. Plus it takes forever to burn, so even in the ooni I don't need to worry about it. Use sparingly though, I'm sure if you have big piles of it in your oven that won't be great.
Also I tend to have sticking problems if I let the pizza sit on the peel for more than a minute or two. No need to rush in making the pizza, just be conscious of how much time it spends on the peel. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Also recommend a wooden peel for launching, metal peel for retrieval. That way the wooden peel stays perfectly dry for less stickage.
I love this method for the oven. Now I wish I could use it in the outdoor charcoal pizza oven I got for cheap. I don't think the parchment paper will last too long with that much heat and flame.
I really like the texture of the corn meal. Shouldn't be big enough pieces to notice that they're hard or get stuck in your teeth though... Not sure what's going on there
Semolina flour or corn meal works for me.
Also, don't be afraid to use more flour on the dough.
Lastly, once the sauce is on the dough, you have to work fast with the remaining toppings.
I was gonna comment this, too. No matter what you put under the dough, it starts to absorb it while you're topping, so it gradually becomes more and more likely to stick
I'm team parchment paper. It just works.
I've tried flour and semolina and all that and sometimes I could get it right and other times I'd end up with a mis-shaped pizza that was really frustrating to launch.
Tried parchment paper and it's just so easy. I have the parchment paper on the peel and after I shape I just put the dough on top, add my toppings, and toss it onto the steel in the oven. Works flawlessly every single time. After a minute or so I lift the pizza slightly and the parchment slides right out.
Me too. I let the pizza cook for a minute or two and then use my turning peel to lift the pizza slightly. Then slide the parchment right out.
Your pizza looks soooo good!
Two things.
1. I dust the wooden peel I use for launching with semolina flour which work like little ball bearings and help the raw dough slide off.
2. Second, I never use my launching peel for pizza retrieval since any oil or moisture can cause sticking later on. I use a small metal baking sheet to scoop pizzas out because I don't want to buy a second peel.
Looks like a great pizza btw!
Bob's red mill is a brand that a lot of places carry. might be $5-10 for a small bag. corn meal is cheaper and more widely available- it smells a little bit like burnt pop corn after ( one reason why you don't want to use too much, or leave it too long without cleaning)
you also don't want to use too much semolina/corn meal because it will interfere with the pizza's contact with the stone.
some purists insist on semolina because tradition- some say corn meal emparts flavor, I can't say I notice a flavor from it.
I have a wooden “launching peel” and an aluminum “retrieval peel”. I use semolina flour on my launching peel, and usually pop it in the freezer between pizzas so it’s always nice a cold
Seconding a screen. I’ve switched to a two stage cook (first with screen 1-2 mins, second to crisp/color 2ish minutes) as well at lower temperature (Gozney). I’m getting better undercarriages and an unexpected side effect for me was more consistently round pizzas.
I’m fairly new to using a pizza oven but so far I’ve found two techniques that work. A screen like u/cruedi mentioned (which is like a cookie sheet with 1000s of holes) that you can build your pizza on and then place the whole thing directly on the stone, wait for the dough to begin to harden and sorta shake the pizza off of and slip out the screen to continue cooking the pizza directly on the stone. The other method I’ve used is sprinkling polenta/cornmeal directly on the peel, this keeps the dough from sticking (most times). Good luck!
Go to a local restaurant supply store or search “pizza screen” on Amazon. As a purist, I hate screens, but as a home pizza fan, I appreciate the ability to creat the largest pizza possible so I can cook fewer pizzas.
[Yep. ](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Uncoated-16-Steel-Pizza-Pan-Screen-Crisper-Large-Gray/520059059?wl13=5959&selectedSellerId=0)It is possible to stick to the screen also, they take a little bit of seasoning but they are stupid easy to use. I've also used these to open bake in an oven, screen on oven rack, without a steel with surprisingly good results.
USE RICE FLOUR! Shocking how this isn't anywhere on this thread. Semolina and cornmeal are gritty, burn, and taste bitter. Rice flour doesn't, and your pies slide right off.
Edit - Wheat flour also burns.
I use Rice flour too, but my question would be, what kind of a peel do you have? I am using an aluminum one and if I am not fast enough, the dough starts to stick.
Generous semolina dusting and be mindful that it’s time dependent. The longer the dough sits on the peel the more it will stick. I minimize contact time between the dough and peel as much as possible.
Yes definitely be mindful of it. Give the dough a shake on the peel before any toppings go on. That’ll be a good indicator if you properly applied the semolina or corn meal
I use corn meal, but I think I will try this tonight. My current go to is pretty sticky, and I had an accident last week with toppings all over my stone :(.
I do the same thing, and just want to add that for some reason it never occurred to me to use tongs for a long time but I find them super helpful for pizza/paper movement! Also, they sell precut squares of parchment paper which I find extra convenient.
Can't upvote this enough. Dusted the daylights out of my peel. 50% of the time it slid right off. The other 50% of the time the pie was destroyed. Just angered me to the max. Fine I'll try parchment paper. Now I cut the parchment into about a 12" square. Toss the dough, and make the pie on the parchment paper on the counter. Peel slides under the parchment effortlessly.
Now, I did discover parchment paper is flammable if to close to the fire. I use a Roccbox. Discovered this the first few times with large pieces of parchment. Now I just cut to the size of the peel.
Once the pie has been on the stone for about 20 seconds, I gently lift the edge of the dough, grab the corner of the parchment and it slides right out.
Parchment for the win.
I put a dusting of flour on the peel and then after I stretch the dough, I sprinkle corn meal onto the dough and press it in a bit. I then flip the dough when I put it onto the peel and put my sauce and cheese on afterward. Not sure if this is the "correct" method but it works for me.
Also, and I only discovered the after making pizzas for a year, launch angle is very important. I used to be at a 15 or 20 degree slope and I wanted gravity to assist as I basically slid the pizza down onto the steel. This is wrong. Now my peel is almost parallel with the steel. I reach into the oven with the peel and position it exactly where the pizza will land on the stone and shake the back 2" of pizza off the peel onto the steel. That "grabs" the steel and then I'm able to easily slide the peel out from under the pizza. I hope that makes sense.
Lots of advice for semolina, which is good. But in my experience I always get the best results from *semola* which is basically a finer-milled version of semolina. It's even less sticky, and I personally prefer the texture.
Pro tip: blow under the pizza it'll make a air bubble. Mfer will slide right off. You need to be careful not to make it crash in on itself and don't full launch until you flatten I out again. It takes a little practice.
Make sure it is shaking at every step of the way. Rub your flour on your peel. Spread your dough however you do and then may it down on the peel. Shake it to make sure it moves. If it sticks any where, lift that area up and toss some more flour there..shake. add sauce. Shake. Look. More flour if necessary. Cheese. Shake. Etc.
I used to have this problem. Like _badly_.
1. First of all, don’t be afraid to drop the hydration level. These gonzos around here will insist you _absolutely need_ like 70% hydration or your pizza’s garbage, but nothing is further from the truth. Try using a recipe with 60% hydration (i.e. 600g water for 1000g flour). Especially for Neapolitan, even 55% hydration falls within regulation, so don’t let people bully you into trying to knead sticky dough.
2. Like others are saying, use semolina. Rub it on your pizza peel, and cover your doughballs with it.
3. Of the above things don’t do the trick, try my “nuclear option”. When you form your doughballs, roll them in semolina before putting them in containers for the second rise. This will make it so you don’t need to use as much semolina when you stretch the pizzas.
Side note about hydration: some folks around here literally lie about the hydration they use when they brag about their 80% or 90% hydration pizza dough. Just ignore them - they’re idiots.
Work quickly and use semolina flour or corn meal. Do a test "shake" before launching into oven.
Parchment paper works too, but it adds wrinkles on the bottom of the crust. You shape or roll dough on paper, slide into oven off of the peel, then in a few minutes you can pull the paper out from under the pie.
I usually make between 6-12 pizza's in one sitting and I hate to start over again on each pizza. I prefer to make base pizza's (margherita's) all at once. I found a simple trick to prevent the pizza's sticking to the surface and peel. What I do:
Take some (big) cardboard boxes, for example from shopping big items. Make sure they are somewhat sturdy, but they dont have to be very thick. Cut them into square pieces of about 35 x 35 cm (14" x 14") and store them dry and clean.
When you are ready to make some pizza, grab a cutout for each pizza you are going to make. Sprinkle them with some semola. You don't have to overdo it. When you stretch your pizza bases, put them on the cutouts. When all bases are in place, go ahead with the sauce and other toppings until they are ready for the oven. You now have ALL of your pizzas ready to be baked.
Take your peel and put it on the table/countertop (without any flour/semola). Grab one of your pizza's and simply slide them off the cutout onto the peel. They come loose and never stick (in my experience). Directly move the pizza on the peel to the oven and slide it in. This works without issues 99% of the time. When the pizza is done, put it back on the countertop and repeat the above.
I love this method because the workload is incredibly low after all of the pizzas are prepared on the cutouts. After this, you just need to manage the oven and that's it!
https://preview.redd.it/0fjfpsh952yc1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50925d9619d6f782e1e3237067c177c4c2b823b7
I use one of those fabric belt peel which works really well for me. But before just adding semola and shaking the peel while making the pizza helped a lot.
Parchment- then on to a 1/4 inch steel plate.,bake 480- 9-10 min and pull paper and pizza on to cutting board. No cleanup on steel plate and crispy and delicious.
https://preview.redd.it/j78nlbs9d3yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=065240f12d8fea0df12e0d969978af2ab4ec78e1
I have tried this little trick that works for me. I use cornmeal/ flour mix BUT……. Place your dough on the peel, slide your dough onto the stone, pre bake your pizza dough for about 4-5 minutes, take out and add your toppings, then I butter the crust, shove it back on the stone. 😊😊😊convection bake.
I used to use wood peels but now I'm more partial to a perforated metal peel. After my dough is stretched on the countertop, I sprinkle some semolina and set the pizza on top of that. Make my pizza, slide under it with the metal peel, bang it in the counter a couple times to get rid of extra flour, then I'm ready to go.
I don't think I've biffed a transfer yet like this. I've done it on granite countertops and metal countertops that I have outside by the Ooni. Only downside is if you're making 16" pies, a perforated metal peel can be hard to find. I paid a decent amount for one on the Webstaurant Store, but I'm very happy with it.
Haha it was from the early days of pizza making. Not even my finest. I’m much more conservative about toppings on pizza. I try not to overload it as above.
https://preview.redd.it/cqwn9yupc5yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=264ea374610b3ff521dc608b9f99489496311c3b
I give the dough ball a light dusting of flour before I stretch it out. Coat the peel in a thin layer of flour or semolina flour before you lay the dough down. Give the peel a shake before you start topping to look for sticky spots, it's harder to fix when it is topped. I will usually shake it in between topping layers (especially after adding the sauce as it adds quite a bit of weight) and apply flour where it sticks.
Semolina or cornmeal on the peel, but also do the hockey puck test before you launch. Meaning, see off it’ll slide around on the peel before you launch it into the oven. This trick has saved a lot of my dollar bills from going into the sweat jar.
To minimize mess and the amount of stuff added to the crust, I use parchment. Works great every time.
That, plus I used to get pizza from a place that used WAY too much semolina, and it detracted from the pizza. A lot.
Dust up the dough when pulling. Don’t make it on the peel. Semolina the peel. Toss dough on peel. Quickly build pizza. Give a good shake on the peel so it’s loose. Then quickly push the peel forward and pull back fast into cooking service.
Stretch your dough in fine semolina or 00 flour or mix of them. Remove flour, stretch. Add toppings, sprinkle flour on peel, pinch pizza up, slide peel under. Pizza should move when you jiggle it. Then it's ready to be launched, pit peel on desired spot, angle it and in one quick motion move peel away
A bit of semolina, also you have to get the sauce and toppings on the dough very quickly.
If the pizza sits on the peel too long it will start to stick.
A lot of people use semolina flour and I have a question about that. Are there different types, and if so, which to use? I bought some but I find it quite “rough”. Are there some versions that are “finer” than others?
Use less hydration in your dough. Wet dough is sticky no matter how much bench flour you use. Or work quicker. Or a cheat is to put the uncooked pizza on parchment and place it on stone for a minute or 2 and then pull the parchment out. Don't use cornmeal unless you like your pizza tasting like dominos
Going into the oven make sure the peel is dry, the dough is dry and sprinkle a little of your flour on the peel before you spread the skin to start assembly. Wipe down any drips of sauce etc
The problem is that you have a lot of toppings on that beautiful pizza--they are going to weigh down and add moisture to any dough, even in the short time from the counter to the oven.
Not authentic, but parbake the dough before you add the toppings. This means throw/pull/shape your dough, put a very light amount of semolina or flour on the peel, put the dough on, swirl it around to ensure no sticky points, and put it on the stone, alone, with no toppings. In my pizza oven, I leave it in there for about 45 to 60 seconds--assuming longer in a traditional oven. This will solidify the dough and when you pull it out of the oven, it should be soft and floppy like naan. Put it on a wood cutting board while it lets some of the steam evaporate, top it and put it back on the peel and back in the oven to cook the rest of the way. With the bottom now in solid shape, you should have a much easier time getting it on the stone without toppings flying everywhere and you will eliminate any problems with the dough not cooking all the way through..
buy a metal peel with many holes. put semola on it to make it dry and knock it off. put the stuff FAST on your pizza. the longer it takes the more the chance the dough gets sticky.
Flour and speed. You want your dough properly floured before you start with sauce and toppings. You also want to coat your peel with a thin layer of flour. Also, as soon as you put the sauce on, a timer starts. The moisture from that space is slowly going to moisten the underside of the dough. So you have to have everything ready before you put the sauce on and then put it all on quick and immediately get the pizza on the stone. At least that's what I have learned after working in a pizza shop. Some people prefer using semolina. I'm not a fan of it taste/texture wise.
I use semolina and I’ve used cornmeal in the past both work pretty well. However, I’m not a huge fan of cornmeals texture anymore.
Make sure prior to putting the dough on the peel you have all ur toppings ready. After each topping I recommend shaking the peel a little to ensure the pizza is still sliding.
Try to avoid getting any sort of moisture/pizza sauce on the peel because that could also make ur launch much more difficult.
Perforated peel is the way to go. I never have issues with dough sticking since switching from a solid peel. Also confident quick moves help. I make the pizza on the worktop and then a quick slide underneath to get it on the peel. The less time the dough stays on the peel the easier it will come off too
I use a 50/50 mixture of seminola and OO flour on my wooden peel, I don't need much and I never have a sticking problem. My pizzas are up to 19" diameter with no issues. I'll attach a picture that shows an 18" crust on the peel, if you zoom you can see the amount I put on, right front corner of the peel
I've found a wooden peels to be quite fussy and hit or miss. With just a small amount of flour my pies slide right on and off of my aluminum peel (and never stick to the baking steel either).
The fact that people are wasting parchment paper on pizza should tell you all you need to know about wooden peels.
EDIT: I should note that my dough is never as stretchy as the folklore/documentation suggests it should be. I can't really window pane it. It is either 100% white whole wheat or sometimes a mix or whole wheat and some kind of pizza flour. I think the non-standard nature of my dough might render it less likely to stick to a peel or baking surface?
EDIT 2: I actually miss the cornmeal I no longer need now that I have a baking steel.
I use Bob’s Red Mill white rice flour. You don’t need too much. Tried farina like they use at Frankie Pepe’s but the dough came out just too crunchy/tough when I tried it.
Also, I don’t bog down the dough with toppings right away. I typically just transfer the stretched dough to the dusted peel, add the sauce, give a slight shake, then transfer to a hot steel for a par bake. Maybe like 4 to 6 minutes. Then I add toppings and back onto the steel. Sometimes I hit with the broiler briefly.
My oven only fits a 14 inch deep steel, so I adjusted the dough recipe to make pies on the smaller side.
Semolina or something for friction reduction and the KEY is to try to have the pizza on the peel for as little time as you can manage, the less time it has to settle the less it’ll stick in my experience.
This has been something I have been trying to perfect for a long time still not perfect but here are the things I think about:
1. The most recent finding is that if I stretch the dough to full size and THEN get it in contact with a light flower dusting. Edit: this is not worded perfectly i have an idea in my mind but can not put it to the page)
2. Corn meal as ball bearings.
3. I am constantly doing a little shimmy shake on my peel to test and make sure its still sliding.
4.Put the toppings on the pizza quickly and immediately into the oven. no stretched and topped dough sitting on the peel for a long amount of time.
It’s a struggle for me too. I use semolina and still fuck it up sometimes. I did just buy a bamboo peel to see if it works better than the metal one I had.
Coldish, flour-covered dough that goes on the peel at the last second. Don’t prep a pizza and just have it sit around.
Also if your dough is too thin in spots the toppings will run through and stick.
I’m all for using cornmeal, it makes it slide easily and adds a hint of flavor. Have to admit I’ve set off the smoke detector more than once and have to vacuum the oven monthly! 😂 I’ve tried the parchment paper for some 80% hydration pies and it works well, but with the steel being 560-570 degrees it got brittle and flakey, maybe I’m using a low budget paper? But after the few attempts I went back to ole faithful cornmeal.
Dust that MFer with semolina. I’ve also seen more skilled pizzamen than me use an empty squeeze bottle to blow semolina from the edge under the stretched pizza if it’s already on the peel. Neat little trick.
I use a wood peel, 12inch, I flour it well then stretch the outer crust to where it’s just hanging off the peel. Now when you slap it on the stone the stone makes contact with the dough and more or less sticks. And as long as you got flour on that wooded peel it’ll slide off nice.
Semolina or rice flour mixed 50/50 with wheat flour it's what I normally do. That and give the peel a shake every minute or so to keep the dough from settling in and sticking.
1- most important once u put the sauce or ingredients with a lot of humidity u gotta be fast cause that humidity is gonna get through and make the dough stick
2- dont be afraid to use flour even when u are stretching it if it fells like its getting a bit sticky again use more flour
3- use semolina or spolverina instead of flour
4- shake the pizza on top of the peel before the launch to see if it is moving properly and it didn't stick , in the case it did stick try to spot where and why then fix it and if it didn't stick great just launch it
5- technique is important when people say shake it off thats one way to make a mess becouse if it sticks just a bit but not enough for u to notice inmmediatly and u dont use the necessary force u will just launch some of your ingredients into the hot stone/break the pizza and make a mess. Instead be confident place your peel on the stone and pull with around 60% of your strength
Semolina was a godsend for me on this and I love the added texture too.
Semolina or corn meal + flour and technique. My first few times making pizza I couldn't figure out how to keep it from sticking and would end up swearing at the pizza the whole time I was trying to get it in the oven. Once I figured out the technique—make sure your dough is developed enough, heavily dust the peel, don't stretch the dough on the peel, shake it from time to time to make sure the pizza is still loose, etc.—it didn't really matter if I used anything other than flour.
This is the answer. Do not recommend going alone with semolina or corn meal. Answer is to use all three (wheat flour)
I use flour and semolina, but at different times - kinda. When I pull the wooden peel out of cupboard, I sprinkle it with flour, rub it around and then "bang" it off onto my work surface with the rest of the flour. This sort of dries up the peel. Then I sprinkle semolina (lightly) on to the peel before I place my stretched dough on it. After a couple pies, I sometimes do the flour thing again if the peel is looking wet/greasy...
Glad to hear someone else that rubs the peel, you never see anyone in video's doing this. I believe it does help and it does dry up the peel. Also, for the people that are slicing the pizza on the peel.... please stop, use a pizza pan or a cutting board!
Wooden peel is key
This is exactly what I do and find it works extremely well.
Same. You just have to remember to clean the stone between pizzas. Burnt semolina isn’t tasty. Edit: clean!
Scrub with water only. Then put in the oven at 100°C for half an hour to evaporate the water and prevent mold
Between every pizza? Nah. Just scrape it off with your peel.
Agree. Semolina works substantially better than flour and even cornmeal for me. Plus it takes forever to burn, so even in the ooni I don't need to worry about it. Use sparingly though, I'm sure if you have big piles of it in your oven that won't be great. Also I tend to have sticking problems if I let the pizza sit on the peel for more than a minute or two. No need to rush in making the pizza, just be conscious of how much time it spends on the peel. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Also recommend a wooden peel for launching, metal peel for retrieval. That way the wooden peel stays perfectly dry for less stickage.
I learned the hard way to not pre-make pizzas until the previous one is one minute away from done
Follow the path young padawan.
This is the way.
Semolina is also good to make pasta. 100g/1 egg
I put parchment paper on my peel to transfer to my steel. I remove the parchment paper after 2 and a half minutes when I turn my pizza.
easiest mess free way for sure!
I love this method for the oven. Now I wish I could use it in the outdoor charcoal pizza oven I got for cheap. I don't think the parchment paper will last too long with that much heat and flame.
I cut the corners off of the parchment paper. That helps.
Started doing this recently. It’s very nice.
I do this as well
Idk why I hadn’t thought of this. Thank you!
I do this too, i dont enjoy the taste of semolina, dominos base taste of semolina to me.
This is the way I go for larger pies. It’s too hard to get the semolina right for it to slide when I’m making larger/heavier pizza.
I remember my pizza making buddy saying that putting semola on the peel instead of flour works like a 'ball bearing'. Never tested it though.
Cornmeal works pretty well to.
This is what I use. Dust the entire peel surface.
Thirded here, it's always cornmeal for me
Corn meal sticks to the dough and gets too hard to chew and stuck in your teeth. I’m a fan of rice flour.
I really like the texture of the corn meal. Shouldn't be big enough pieces to notice that they're hard or get stuck in your teeth though... Not sure what's going on there
Semolina flour or corn meal works for me. Also, don't be afraid to use more flour on the dough. Lastly, once the sauce is on the dough, you have to work fast with the remaining toppings.
Ok this is my problem. I take way too long building trying to make it pretty
You can take a little longer if you give it a jiggle between toppings, eg add sauce, jiggle, add cheese, jiggle, add other stuff, jiggle and launch.
Try par baking (put the dough in a std pan for a few minutes in the oven), then put it on the peel, prepare as long as you like etc.
I was gonna comment this, too. No matter what you put under the dough, it starts to absorb it while you're topping, so it gradually becomes more and more likely to stick
I use corn meal. Don't need too much.
I'm team parchment paper. It just works. I've tried flour and semolina and all that and sometimes I could get it right and other times I'd end up with a mis-shaped pizza that was really frustrating to launch. Tried parchment paper and it's just so easy. I have the parchment paper on the peel and after I shape I just put the dough on top, add my toppings, and toss it onto the steel in the oven. Works flawlessly every single time. After a minute or so I lift the pizza slightly and the parchment slides right out.
Me too. I let the pizza cook for a minute or two and then use my turning peel to lift the pizza slightly. Then slide the parchment right out. Your pizza looks soooo good!
Thank you! Hopefully this works
I initially tried flour, but switched to cornmeal.
Two things. 1. I dust the wooden peel I use for launching with semolina flour which work like little ball bearings and help the raw dough slide off. 2. Second, I never use my launching peel for pizza retrieval since any oil or moisture can cause sticking later on. I use a small metal baking sheet to scoop pizzas out because I don't want to buy a second peel. Looks like a great pizza btw!
Thank you! Is it easy to find semolina at your local grocery store ?
It will be with all the flours in the baking aisle. You can freeze it so it doesn't go bad before you can use it all.
this is a hot tip! I'll throw my bag in the freezer b/c we've had the same one for a while
Does it go bad? I just keep mine in the pantry in a ziplock bag and haven't had any issues.
Bob's red mill is a brand that a lot of places carry. might be $5-10 for a small bag. corn meal is cheaper and more widely available- it smells a little bit like burnt pop corn after ( one reason why you don't want to use too much, or leave it too long without cleaning) you also don't want to use too much semolina/corn meal because it will interfere with the pizza's contact with the stone. some purists insist on semolina because tradition- some say corn meal emparts flavor, I can't say I notice a flavor from it.
I have a wooden “launching peel” and an aluminum “retrieval peel”. I use semolina flour on my launching peel, and usually pop it in the freezer between pizzas so it’s always nice a cold
I use a wooden peel to launch and a metal one to retrieve.
I started using a screen, but flour will help as well
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Seconding a screen. I’ve switched to a two stage cook (first with screen 1-2 mins, second to crisp/color 2ish minutes) as well at lower temperature (Gozney). I’m getting better undercarriages and an unexpected side effect for me was more consistently round pizzas.
A screen? Never heard of that
I’m fairly new to using a pizza oven but so far I’ve found two techniques that work. A screen like u/cruedi mentioned (which is like a cookie sheet with 1000s of holes) that you can build your pizza on and then place the whole thing directly on the stone, wait for the dough to begin to harden and sorta shake the pizza off of and slip out the screen to continue cooking the pizza directly on the stone. The other method I’ve used is sprinkling polenta/cornmeal directly on the peel, this keeps the dough from sticking (most times). Good luck!
I’ve had trouble with the pizza sticking to the steel too. Mostly with really wet doughs. There is always parchment paper too.
Go to a local restaurant supply store or search “pizza screen” on Amazon. As a purist, I hate screens, but as a home pizza fan, I appreciate the ability to creat the largest pizza possible so I can cook fewer pizzas.
[Yep. ](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Uncoated-16-Steel-Pizza-Pan-Screen-Crisper-Large-Gray/520059059?wl13=5959&selectedSellerId=0)It is possible to stick to the screen also, they take a little bit of seasoning but they are stupid easy to use. I've also used these to open bake in an oven, screen on oven rack, without a steel with surprisingly good results.
Screen's work great, IMO.
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Are you saying place full pizza with parchment onto the stone/steel
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USE RICE FLOUR! Shocking how this isn't anywhere on this thread. Semolina and cornmeal are gritty, burn, and taste bitter. Rice flour doesn't, and your pies slide right off. Edit - Wheat flour also burns.
Yes! Rice flour is best. I'm very surprised this comment is not at the top.
It burns at the right temp. But Rice flour is the answer.
I use Rice flour too, but my question would be, what kind of a peel do you have? I am using an aluminum one and if I am not fast enough, the dough starts to stick.
Generous semolina dusting and be mindful that it’s time dependent. The longer the dough sits on the peel the more it will stick. I minimize contact time between the dough and peel as much as possible.
Im guilty of taking too long adorning the pizza once on the peel
Also give the peel a little shake back and forth every now and then while assembling.
Thanks. I’m going to follow your advice. I always panic because it never glides back and forth on the peel as it does in the videos
Yes definitely be mindful of it. Give the dough a shake on the peel before any toppings go on. That’ll be a good indicator if you properly applied the semolina or corn meal
Parchment paper is the way to go. No more sticking and no more burnt flower/semolina on the bottom of the pizza. To me it’s a win win
Parchment paper
To clarify, do you place parchment paper atop the peel ? Then slide it onto the stone/steel?
Put the parchment paper on the peel, then slide it in. It's what I do. Works great. I remove the parchment paper about halfway through the cook.
I use corn meal, but I think I will try this tonight. My current go to is pretty sticky, and I had an accident last week with toppings all over my stone :(.
The parchment paper method is the simplest method for home oven pizza, IMO. It's pretty foolproof.
Messy calzone club :/
I do the same thing, and just want to add that for some reason it never occurred to me to use tongs for a long time but I find them super helpful for pizza/paper movement! Also, they sell precut squares of parchment paper which I find extra convenient.
Yes and then you can either cook entirely with parchment or remove it after a couple of minutes
Can't upvote this enough. Dusted the daylights out of my peel. 50% of the time it slid right off. The other 50% of the time the pie was destroyed. Just angered me to the max. Fine I'll try parchment paper. Now I cut the parchment into about a 12" square. Toss the dough, and make the pie on the parchment paper on the counter. Peel slides under the parchment effortlessly. Now, I did discover parchment paper is flammable if to close to the fire. I use a Roccbox. Discovered this the first few times with large pieces of parchment. Now I just cut to the size of the peel. Once the pie has been on the stone for about 20 seconds, I gently lift the edge of the dough, grab the corner of the parchment and it slides right out. Parchment for the win.
I put a dusting of flour on the peel and then after I stretch the dough, I sprinkle corn meal onto the dough and press it in a bit. I then flip the dough when I put it onto the peel and put my sauce and cheese on afterward. Not sure if this is the "correct" method but it works for me. Also, and I only discovered the after making pizzas for a year, launch angle is very important. I used to be at a 15 or 20 degree slope and I wanted gravity to assist as I basically slid the pizza down onto the steel. This is wrong. Now my peel is almost parallel with the steel. I reach into the oven with the peel and position it exactly where the pizza will land on the stone and shake the back 2" of pizza off the peel onto the steel. That "grabs" the steel and then I'm able to easily slide the peel out from under the pizza. I hope that makes sense.
I use baking paper. I stretch my dough onto a sheet of baking paper and then slide it in and out of the paddle without any effort.
Lots of advice for semolina, which is good. But in my experience I always get the best results from *semola* which is basically a finer-milled version of semolina. It's even less sticky, and I personally prefer the texture.
Pro tip: blow under the pizza it'll make a air bubble. Mfer will slide right off. You need to be careful not to make it crash in on itself and don't full launch until you flatten I out again. It takes a little practice.
Looks amazing
Make sure it is shaking at every step of the way. Rub your flour on your peel. Spread your dough however you do and then may it down on the peel. Shake it to make sure it moves. If it sticks any where, lift that area up and toss some more flour there..shake. add sauce. Shake. Look. More flour if necessary. Cheese. Shake. Etc.
Good god this pizza looks absolutely delicious
Haha it was! Just took to much effort to slide it off the peel!
Bro please give a recipe. That dough/crust looks amazing
I used to have this problem. Like _badly_. 1. First of all, don’t be afraid to drop the hydration level. These gonzos around here will insist you _absolutely need_ like 70% hydration or your pizza’s garbage, but nothing is further from the truth. Try using a recipe with 60% hydration (i.e. 600g water for 1000g flour). Especially for Neapolitan, even 55% hydration falls within regulation, so don’t let people bully you into trying to knead sticky dough. 2. Like others are saying, use semolina. Rub it on your pizza peel, and cover your doughballs with it. 3. Of the above things don’t do the trick, try my “nuclear option”. When you form your doughballs, roll them in semolina before putting them in containers for the second rise. This will make it so you don’t need to use as much semolina when you stretch the pizzas. Side note about hydration: some folks around here literally lie about the hydration they use when they brag about their 80% or 90% hydration pizza dough. Just ignore them - they’re idiots.
Work quickly and use semolina flour or corn meal. Do a test "shake" before launching into oven. Parchment paper works too, but it adds wrinkles on the bottom of the crust. You shape or roll dough on paper, slide into oven off of the peel, then in a few minutes you can pull the paper out from under the pie.
It's those nasty olives that re your problem, get rid of those and she'll slide like butter!
Fuck this looks fantastic
Duck fat ✌🏿
I usually make between 6-12 pizza's in one sitting and I hate to start over again on each pizza. I prefer to make base pizza's (margherita's) all at once. I found a simple trick to prevent the pizza's sticking to the surface and peel. What I do: Take some (big) cardboard boxes, for example from shopping big items. Make sure they are somewhat sturdy, but they dont have to be very thick. Cut them into square pieces of about 35 x 35 cm (14" x 14") and store them dry and clean. When you are ready to make some pizza, grab a cutout for each pizza you are going to make. Sprinkle them with some semola. You don't have to overdo it. When you stretch your pizza bases, put them on the cutouts. When all bases are in place, go ahead with the sauce and other toppings until they are ready for the oven. You now have ALL of your pizzas ready to be baked. Take your peel and put it on the table/countertop (without any flour/semola). Grab one of your pizza's and simply slide them off the cutout onto the peel. They come loose and never stick (in my experience). Directly move the pizza on the peel to the oven and slide it in. This works without issues 99% of the time. When the pizza is done, put it back on the countertop and repeat the above. I love this method because the workload is incredibly low after all of the pizzas are prepared on the cutouts. After this, you just need to manage the oven and that's it! https://preview.redd.it/0fjfpsh952yc1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50925d9619d6f782e1e3237067c177c4c2b823b7
Also a clean peel is key!
This looks  So good!
I use one of those fabric belt peel which works really well for me. But before just adding semola and shaking the peel while making the pizza helped a lot.
Well I don't I understand many of these words being used for pizza?? What is the peel and why do you shake it? And what the heck is sticking?
Look very nice, parchment paper works the best
Buddy this looks tasty
😎
Parchment- then on to a 1/4 inch steel plate.,bake 480- 9-10 min and pull paper and pizza on to cutting board. No cleanup on steel plate and crispy and delicious. https://preview.redd.it/j78nlbs9d3yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=065240f12d8fea0df12e0d969978af2ab4ec78e1
I have tried this little trick that works for me. I use cornmeal/ flour mix BUT……. Place your dough on the peel, slide your dough onto the stone, pre bake your pizza dough for about 4-5 minutes, take out and add your toppings, then I butter the crust, shove it back on the stone. 😊😊😊convection bake.
 Pizza 🍕 🤤🤤🤤
Don’t use a peel
I used to use wood peels but now I'm more partial to a perforated metal peel. After my dough is stretched on the countertop, I sprinkle some semolina and set the pizza on top of that. Make my pizza, slide under it with the metal peel, bang it in the counter a couple times to get rid of extra flour, then I'm ready to go. I don't think I've biffed a transfer yet like this. I've done it on granite countertops and metal countertops that I have outside by the Ooni. Only downside is if you're making 16" pies, a perforated metal peel can be hard to find. I paid a decent amount for one on the Webstaurant Store, but I'm very happy with it.
Can also use a large stainless paddle to help slide off
That mf looks so good I hope these guys get you the help you needed cuz this pie looks great fam👌🏾👍🏾
Haha it was from the early days of pizza making. Not even my finest. I’m much more conservative about toppings on pizza. I try not to overload it as above. https://preview.redd.it/cqwn9yupc5yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=264ea374610b3ff521dc608b9f99489496311c3b
I tried Semolina but found that parchment paper works best for me.
I give the dough ball a light dusting of flour before I stretch it out. Coat the peel in a thin layer of flour or semolina flour before you lay the dough down. Give the peel a shake before you start topping to look for sticky spots, it's harder to fix when it is topped. I will usually shake it in between topping layers (especially after adding the sauce as it adds quite a bit of weight) and apply flour where it sticks.
Semolina or cornmeal on the peel, but also do the hockey puck test before you launch. Meaning, see off it’ll slide around on the peel before you launch it into the oven. This trick has saved a lot of my dollar bills from going into the sweat jar.
Use parchment paper or sprinkle cornmeal or semolina flour on the pizza peel before placing the dough to prevent sticking.
Sticking or not, you'll figure that out... Pizza looks good!
To minimize mess and the amount of stuff added to the crust, I use parchment. Works great every time. That, plus I used to get pizza from a place that used WAY too much semolina, and it detracted from the pizza. A lot.
There should be a sticky for this topic. It has been answered 500 times.
> sticky I see what you did there
Dust up the dough when pulling. Don’t make it on the peel. Semolina the peel. Toss dough on peel. Quickly build pizza. Give a good shake on the peel so it’s loose. Then quickly push the peel forward and pull back fast into cooking service.
Use corn meal underneath the dough
Stretch your dough in fine semolina or 00 flour or mix of them. Remove flour, stretch. Add toppings, sprinkle flour on peel, pinch pizza up, slide peel under. Pizza should move when you jiggle it. Then it's ready to be launched, pit peel on desired spot, angle it and in one quick motion move peel away
Use a wooden peel for loading.
A bit of semolina, also you have to get the sauce and toppings on the dough very quickly. If the pizza sits on the peel too long it will start to stick.
50/50 mix of semolina and normal flour
Semolina or corn meal. And not so much toppings to weigh it (and you) down
Parchment paper in a pinch
A lot of people use semolina flour and I have a question about that. Are there different types, and if so, which to use? I bought some but I find it quite “rough”. Are there some versions that are “finer” than others?
Cornmeal and a bit of flour!!! Make sure it's completely dry before laying down your dough.
Good gluten development
Proper fermentation, hydration and shaping are also key factors related to this. Experiment with different dough recipes and processes. Also semolina.
Cornmeal?
Use less hydration in your dough. Wet dough is sticky no matter how much bench flour you use. Or work quicker. Or a cheat is to put the uncooked pizza on parchment and place it on stone for a minute or 2 and then pull the parchment out. Don't use cornmeal unless you like your pizza tasting like dominos
Going into the oven make sure the peel is dry, the dough is dry and sprinkle a little of your flour on the peel before you spread the skin to start assembly. Wipe down any drips of sauce etc
The problem is that you have a lot of toppings on that beautiful pizza--they are going to weigh down and add moisture to any dough, even in the short time from the counter to the oven. Not authentic, but parbake the dough before you add the toppings. This means throw/pull/shape your dough, put a very light amount of semolina or flour on the peel, put the dough on, swirl it around to ensure no sticky points, and put it on the stone, alone, with no toppings. In my pizza oven, I leave it in there for about 45 to 60 seconds--assuming longer in a traditional oven. This will solidify the dough and when you pull it out of the oven, it should be soft and floppy like naan. Put it on a wood cutting board while it lets some of the steam evaporate, top it and put it back on the peel and back in the oven to cook the rest of the way. With the bottom now in solid shape, you should have a much easier time getting it on the stone without toppings flying everywhere and you will eliminate any problems with the dough not cooking all the way through..
buy a metal peel with many holes. put semola on it to make it dry and knock it off. put the stuff FAST on your pizza. the longer it takes the more the chance the dough gets sticky.
Man. That pizza looks HELLA good
Peel dust is the way. Don’t just use semolina.
Just a pinch of cornmeal and lots of practice with a peel
Flour and speed. You want your dough properly floured before you start with sauce and toppings. You also want to coat your peel with a thin layer of flour. Also, as soon as you put the sauce on, a timer starts. The moisture from that space is slowly going to moisten the underside of the dough. So you have to have everything ready before you put the sauce on and then put it all on quick and immediately get the pizza on the stone. At least that's what I have learned after working in a pizza shop. Some people prefer using semolina. I'm not a fan of it taste/texture wise.
I use semolina and I’ve used cornmeal in the past both work pretty well. However, I’m not a huge fan of cornmeals texture anymore. Make sure prior to putting the dough on the peel you have all ur toppings ready. After each topping I recommend shaking the peel a little to ensure the pizza is still sliding. Try to avoid getting any sort of moisture/pizza sauce on the peel because that could also make ur launch much more difficult.
Do folks find a big difference between a steel peel and a wooden peel? Still sing a steel one. For sure prone to sticking if with lots of dusting.
Perforated peel is the way to go. I never have issues with dough sticking since switching from a solid peel. Also confident quick moves help. I make the pizza on the worktop and then a quick slide underneath to get it on the peel. The less time the dough stays on the peel the easier it will come off too
I used to use large granule yeast for that when I was cooking pizza for the farmer's market here. I had a lot around...works well, tastes good!
I use a 50/50 mixture of seminola and OO flour on my wooden peel, I don't need much and I never have a sticking problem. My pizzas are up to 19" diameter with no issues. I'll attach a picture that shows an 18" crust on the peel, if you zoom you can see the amount I put on, right front corner of the peel
I've found a wooden peels to be quite fussy and hit or miss. With just a small amount of flour my pies slide right on and off of my aluminum peel (and never stick to the baking steel either). The fact that people are wasting parchment paper on pizza should tell you all you need to know about wooden peels. EDIT: I should note that my dough is never as stretchy as the folklore/documentation suggests it should be. I can't really window pane it. It is either 100% white whole wheat or sometimes a mix or whole wheat and some kind of pizza flour. I think the non-standard nature of my dough might render it less likely to stick to a peel or baking surface? EDIT 2: I actually miss the cornmeal I no longer need now that I have a baking steel.
Plenty of flour, and a sprinkle or two of cornmeal. Works for me every time.
Used only corn meal at big daddy's pizza. Works like a charm. No flour needed just plenty of Corn meal
I use Bob’s Red Mill white rice flour. You don’t need too much. Tried farina like they use at Frankie Pepe’s but the dough came out just too crunchy/tough when I tried it. Also, I don’t bog down the dough with toppings right away. I typically just transfer the stretched dough to the dusted peel, add the sauce, give a slight shake, then transfer to a hot steel for a par bake. Maybe like 4 to 6 minutes. Then I add toppings and back onto the steel. Sometimes I hit with the broiler briefly. My oven only fits a 14 inch deep steel, so I adjusted the dough recipe to make pies on the smaller side.
Semolina or something for friction reduction and the KEY is to try to have the pizza on the peel for as little time as you can manage, the less time it has to settle the less it’ll stick in my experience.
This has been something I have been trying to perfect for a long time still not perfect but here are the things I think about: 1. The most recent finding is that if I stretch the dough to full size and THEN get it in contact with a light flower dusting. Edit: this is not worded perfectly i have an idea in my mind but can not put it to the page) 2. Corn meal as ball bearings. 3. I am constantly doing a little shimmy shake on my peel to test and make sure its still sliding. 4.Put the toppings on the pizza quickly and immediately into the oven. no stretched and topped dough sitting on the peel for a long amount of time.
Bit of cornflour on the bottom
An irresponsible amount of semolina.
It’s a struggle for me too. I use semolina and still fuck it up sometimes. I did just buy a bamboo peel to see if it works better than the metal one I had.
If you don't like Semolina texture try half of it with OO flour
Use a cast-iron pizza pan
Sand. not the good stuff, use the stuff in those tubes people have in the beds of their rusted out pick ups.
Coldish, flour-covered dough that goes on the peel at the last second. Don’t prep a pizza and just have it sit around. Also if your dough is too thin in spots the toppings will run through and stick.
Use a screen
We use corn meal mostly and the trick is to build your pizza on the peel and periodically shake it as your building to keep it from sticking.
Semolina
Coarse semolina
flour / corn meal mix
Plenty of rice flour.
A circle of parchment the same size as the pizza does the trick. It's covered, so it survives intact and can be used again.
Anyone else on team flour and air? I blow under my dough to make it's separated from the peel before launching.
Parchment paper
Parchment paper
I’m all for using cornmeal, it makes it slide easily and adds a hint of flavor. Have to admit I’ve set off the smoke detector more than once and have to vacuum the oven monthly! 😂 I’ve tried the parchment paper for some 80% hydration pies and it works well, but with the steel being 560-570 degrees it got brittle and flakey, maybe I’m using a low budget paper? But after the few attempts I went back to ole faithful cornmeal.
It’s the easiest.
Semolina Flour
Good looking piece you have there
I’ve learned to go lighter on the topics. Also no more olives
I put foil and some oil on the bottom. One minute in the oven I pull out the foil and let it cook
Im a cornmeal man myself, hasnt failed me yet
Flour
Corn meal
Parchment paper
I use cornmeal,it works just fine for me. I feel the less time on the peel,the better .
Corn meal for me.
Semolina, a lot of it
Cornmeal. I like it bc it doesn’t burn as fast as flour imo
I use corn meal
I oil my peel and then use semolina.
Dust that MFer with semolina. I’ve also seen more skilled pizzamen than me use an empty squeeze bottle to blow semolina from the edge under the stretched pizza if it’s already on the peel. Neat little trick.
I use a wood peel, 12inch, I flour it well then stretch the outer crust to where it’s just hanging off the peel. Now when you slap it on the stone the stone makes contact with the dough and more or less sticks. And as long as you got flour on that wooded peel it’ll slide off nice.
Semolina or rice flour mixed 50/50 with wheat flour it's what I normally do. That and give the peel a shake every minute or so to keep the dough from settling in and sticking.
Man this is a tough one, I don’t think it’s been asked before. Wood peel.
Wondra
Use semolina flour
I just rub regular flour into the grain of my wooden peel. I normally use a 77-80% dough and even that slides right off 🤷
1:3 ratio semolina and flour for dusting. Works like a charm.
1- most important once u put the sauce or ingredients with a lot of humidity u gotta be fast cause that humidity is gonna get through and make the dough stick 2- dont be afraid to use flour even when u are stretching it if it fells like its getting a bit sticky again use more flour 3- use semolina or spolverina instead of flour 4- shake the pizza on top of the peel before the launch to see if it is moving properly and it didn't stick , in the case it did stick try to spot where and why then fix it and if it didn't stick great just launch it 5- technique is important when people say shake it off thats one way to make a mess becouse if it sticks just a bit but not enough for u to notice inmmediatly and u dont use the necessary force u will just launch some of your ingredients into the hot stone/break the pizza and make a mess. Instead be confident place your peel on the stone and pull with around 60% of your strength
Semolina or cornmeal
Shlould never stick.
Pepperoni and green olives my go to!
Flavortown
Corn meal….Semolina.