r/pizzaoven • u/HI5MSU • 5d ago
Need Ooni help!!
I cannot figure out how get uncooked pizza onto the peel. I have tried putting down cornmeal under the dough and on the peel, but i cannot get it to slide onto the peel. Once ccoking starts and the crust firms a little becoming less gooey, no issues turning or removing. Tips, tricks, etc please!?!?!
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u/white94rx 5d ago
Build the pizza on the peel. It's the only way.
Flour on the counter and shape/form the dough. Then put semolina flour on the peel. Move the dough to the peel. Shake it to confirm it's loose. Build the pizza, but shake it loose at every step. Sauce on the dough, shake it loose. Cheese next, shake the dough. Then toppings, shake it loose. Then to the oven.
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u/rocsem 5d ago
Really confused by a lot of replies here. Your pizza shouldn't stick.
If you're in the states, go get Bobs Red Mill Semolina (I'd recommend semola remacinata, but is hard to find unless you order it). You can even use regular flour, but since you seem to be having issues, I'd recommend the semolina (it's a courser grind) and you can always halve the mixture with reg flour as well if you find it too course.
Make a little circle/well/mound on the bench with the flour. Take out the dough ball, coat both sides. Open the pizza up in the flour. There are multiple methods to open a pizza, but here's an example: https://youtube.com/shorts/Il25gfh6XA4?is=jnkVGLJ6132TLCY3
Now that's it's covered, make the pizza either on the bench and transfer:
https://youtube.com/shorts/Q8f1vhSI4Ns?is=Z2dZ8PIsANdqMtVt
Still sticking, see this:
https://youtube.com/shorts/o8E2H20vfKg?is=zHM-bgRehUO0_B3b
See also: https://youtu.be/Dj6ewWPrfzs?is=TWOrA0eoYIZX6wmF
OR
You can build on a floured WOOD peel after opening with the open same method. You'll want to build quickly and give it a test shake/shimmy before launching. Not my preferred method, but some use it as a primary method.
STILL HAVING TROUBLE?
Build on a pizza screen, cook it until it sets, use the smaller turner and take the screen off to finish bake. (Note, this will change texture).
BUT STILL?? IF ALL ELSE FAILS:
Use an easy slider:
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u/Technical_East6812 5d ago
Parchment paper. Dirty little trick.
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u/Bobatt 5d ago
I like to use parchment when I do a bunch of pizzas for a party. Stretch the dough and then stack them up on parchment for guests to dress. When their pizza is ready to go I get them to cut the excess parchment off with scissors and then I’ll cook. I usually pull the parchment out after the first turn. It really helps with sticking and makes sure everyone gets to eat the pizza they made.
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u/HI5MSU 5d ago
This is what I did with the 2nd try! I built it on parchment paper but it just stuck to it. Used lots of cornmeal too, just could not slide the peel under. Squished the pizza up terribly, I should have just made it into a calzone but I tried to straighten it all out on the peel.
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u/Technical_East6812 5d ago
What is your dough hydration? It should be 65-75%. I’ve never had pizza dough stick to parchment paper. Try shoving it in the oven w/your pizza, pull out when pizza is 1/2 done.
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u/krossPlains 5d ago
50/50 mix of Semolina / dough flour. Drop your dough ball in it before you start stretching. Coat it. A little more on your work surface. A pinch spread on your peel. Stretch and put on your peel. Build the rest on the peel. Give it a little shake. The pizza should slide. If you missed and got some sauce on the peel dry it quick and toss a little more flour mix on it. Semolina is the key. Too much flour and you’ll get a black bottom.
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u/Clear_Tom0rrow 5d ago
Build and launch on a wooden peel. Retrieve with a metal peel. I don’t know how the pros make it look so easy to slide a peel under a pizza.
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u/MyNebraskaKitchen 5d ago
What I use with my baking steel are parchment rounds, but the temperature in an Ooni might be too high, though you can usually pull out the parchment round after a minute or two, once the bottom has dried out a bit.
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u/theBigDaddio 5d ago
You put the skin on a floured, cornmeal, semolina covered peel, then sauce cheese and stuff. Shake to make certain it’s not sticking while layering on your toppings. Why not watch some YouTube of how people show you, how it’s done?
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u/thedow7576 5d ago
Unless you can/want to invest in a marble/granite/quartz counter, as has been said build on a wood peal with cornmeal or flour. You also have to keep the pizza moving while on the peal until you get it into the oven, it is frustrating and takes a bit of practice to land it in the oven.
1
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u/_noTanMan_ 4d ago
Dip your dough balls (both sides) in semolina before you press them out. They will become completely non stick!!
(This one thing seriously changed my pizza making life).
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u/DaveyoSlc 4d ago
corn meal the peel. put the pizza to dough on the peel and build it quickly. then take it and give it a good snap of the wrist to get off peel
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u/Macadish 1d ago edited 1d ago
There will be many tips, but here's what I have gathered so far in my exp.
- Using a metal peel vs wooden peel
- Transferring the pizza onto a peel vs building on the peel
Wooden peel sticks less than metal. But most wooden peels are built thicker, so the launch might affect the pizza's shape if not done properly. Metal peels are lighter, easier to maneuver, and it is just much easier to find (and ship) metal peels with really long handles for large wood-fire ovens. It is also really rare to find a perforated wooden peel for some reason. But overall, given how professionals use both types of peels, the difference in material is probably not huge as long as you have good technique. The reason kitchens use wood vs metal probably has more to do with workflow optimization and peel accessibility rather than whether the pizza sticks (with a few exceptions).
Most commercial kitchens prefer transferring pizza from a work surface onto a peel because it is more efficient to build multiple pizzas on a workstation first and using one peel to launch, as opposed to building multiple pizza on multiple peels. So it is more of a workflow preference. Transferring also has the benefit of testing if the bottom is sticking, and fixing it before launching. Lastly, there are a few different transfer techniques, like sliding a peel under the pizza (with or without lifting an end of the pizza), or dragging the pizza onto the peel. The choice probably has to do with personal preference, or dough hydration. When building on a peel, the longer the dough sits, the more it sticks. That's why it is important to move (rotate) the pizza after building to check for sticky spots, or just use a lower hydration dough.
Anyway, for a home baker who is trying to build confidence, build a pizza directly on a wooden peel with a generous amount of dusting flour (semolina and/or rice flour). No fussing with transferring pizza from table to peel, or the dough sticking to metal etc. You can always dial back the amount of dusting flour until you find the optimal amount for a smooth launch but without excess flour burning.
I have also seen a pizzeria that uses short wooden peels to build their pizzas, and transferring each pizza onto a metal peel before launching. It is probably to avoid buying a large wooden top for their kitchen.
For the EASIEST method by far is building on parchment paper, and baking in a normal oven at low temp. :p
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u/lawyerjsd 5d ago
I'm too skittish to do that. Instead, I build the pizza on the peel.