Reviews you can trust.
See why.The Best Baking Peels
Are flashy, innovative peels better than basic models?
By Last Updated Feb. 2, 2021. Appears in Cook's Illustrated March/April 2005, America's Test Kitchen TV Season 18: Summer Cookout
Top Picks
What You Need To Know
We often use baking peels to move pizza, bread, and other baked goods into, out of, and within hot ovens. Since we last tested them, our winning peel, the innovative EXO Polymer Sealed Super Peel, has changed. It’s now made from a different kind of wood and has a new polymer coating, ostensibly to make it more moisture-proof. EXO also released a new peel with a larger, thinner aluminum blade. Eager to see how these two new Super Peels measured up, we tested them alongside three other peels (one wood, one metal, and one wood-fiber composite) for a total of five products priced from about $10.00 to about $60.00, using them to make thin-crust pizza and rustic Italian bread. In keeping with what we’d learned in our previous testing, we selected peels with blades (the flat, spatula-like part) at least 14 inches wide, allowing us to accommodate large loaves comfortably, and handles that were about 8 inches long, giving us just enough distance from the heat of the oven without sacrificing control.
When baking, we use a peel for three specific tasks. First, we unload raw dough onto a hot baking stone in the oven. This is one of the riskier steps in the baking process, since delicate, carefully formed loaves and pizza rounds can lose their shape if they stick to the peel or get shaken off it too vigorously. Next, we rotate the bread or pizza in the oven to ensure even baking. And finally, we remove the baked items from the oven.
No peel excelled at all three tasks. The wood peel was very good at unloading the dough. Once it was lightly sprinkled with flour, even the stickiest dough slipped right off when we gave the peel’s handle a quick jerk, though occasionally perfect pizza rounds became a bit oblong when we were too forceful. Even better were the two Super Peels, which were fitted with innovative cotton conveyor belts that were practically nonstick once dusted with flour, allowing us to unroll the thinnest and most fragile pizzas without misshaping them.
Unfortunately, none of these models were great at in-oven rotation. The wood peel was too thick to get up and under breads and pizzas easily—a design flaw that also made it hard to remove these foods when fully baked. And while you could technically pick up and rotate the half-baked breads and pizzas with the conveyer belts on the Super Peels, it took a little more time than we’d prefer. In addition, at 16 inches wide, the large aluminum Super Peel was a bit too big to maneuver comfortably within a standard home oven. That said, both did a reasonable—if slightly time-consuming—job of removing the finished goods.
By contrast, the metal and wood-fiber composite blades were much mor...
Everything We Tested
Recommended
- Removing: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Rotating: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Unloading: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
Fitted with an innovative cloth conveyor belt, this peel excelled at unloading raw dough without misshaping it and was surprisingly effective when it came to removing the finished breads and pizzas as well. Because it’s on the thick side, though, it wasn’t great at rotating half-baked food, and it takes a little practice to set it up and to learn how to use it comfortably. While we didn’t notice a performance difference in the new wood used to make the peel, we did appreciate its new polymer coating, which guards against moisture in case you wash your peel (or get a lot of sauce on it) often.
- Removing: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Rotating: 2 stars out of 3.
- Unloading: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
We liked the composite version of our overall winner. Because it uses the same conveyor-belt system, it excels at unloading raw dough. And because the whole peel is made from a single plank of thin composite, it does a fairly good job of getting under baked goods for rotating and removal. Our quibbles? It’s a bit fussy to set up and clean, and its thin handle isn’t very comfortable to hold.
- Removing: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Rotating: 1 stars out of 3.
- Unloading: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
Dusted with a little flour, this solid wood peel did a great job of unloading pizzas and breads onto the baking stones. And it had a nice, thick handle that was comfortable to hold. Because its blade is thick, it isn’t great at rotating or removing baked goods; you’ll want to use tongs to help nudge food back onto it.
- Removing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Rotating: 3 stars out of 3.
- Unloading: 1 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
Essentially a large, very thin metal spatula, this wood-handled aluminum peel did an excellent job of sliding under baked goods to rotate or remove them. But that metal surface required lots of flour to unload the raw dough without misshaping it, and it was a little tricky to guess just how much flour was needed each time.
- Removing: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Rotating: 1 stars out of 3.
- Unloading: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
This solid wooden peel was comfortable to hold and easy to use right out of the box. It did a very good job of unloading dough, though it sometimes misshaped pizza slightly if we shook the handle too vigorously. Because it was so thick, however, it wasn’t great at rotating half-baked dough or removing the finished product without an assist from tongs.
Recommended with reservations
- Removing: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Rotating: 1 stars out of 3.
- Unloading: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
Like its older sibling, this aluminum-bladed Super Peel had a bit of a learning curve but was great at unloading dough and removing the finished product. Unfortunately, its larger size made it unwieldy and awkward to maneuver around the tight quarters of the oven for midbake rotations. And its conveyor belt was designed slightly differently than our winner’s, forming a loop that seemed a little too big for the blade, slipping off the edges of the peel and needing frequent adjustment.
Not Recommended
- Removing: 2 stars out of 3.
- Rotating: 2 stars out of 3.
- Unloading: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
With a relatively thin blade, this composite peel did a fair job of rotating and removing baked goods. But because its handle and blade were thin and flimsy, it was uncomfortable to hold and dug into our hands, especially when lifting the heavy, 3-pound rustic Italian bread. And it required quite a bit of flour (and skill) to safely unload raw dough.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Miye Bromberg
Miye is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. She covers booze, blades, and gadgets of questionable value.
0 Comments
