Customer Reviews

Epicurean 23-by-14-Inch Pizza Peel, Natural

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This peel costs about twice as much as aluminum peels, and about 50% more than wood. I think it's worth it:

1) Smoother than wood so the pizza slides easier. I was afraid aluminum would scratch my counters.
2) Dishwasher safe / NSF approved
3) Much lighter than wood - my wife can easily sling a 14" pie with it.
4) Much thinner than wood and short handled design means it stows more easily - space is at a premium in our kitchen.
5) Looks nice - we serve right off the peel - The aluminum ones don't look as nice and typically have long handles which can be a hazard when serving.

I have to admit that at first I felt the price wasn't justified as it's an "engineered" material. After using it for a year it's clear that the material they use is very good. Some reviews mention a chemical smell. I'm very sensitive to these smells but have not been able to detect any. Perhaps they got a bad batch? Note: I've never run it through the dishwasher, as it really doesn't fit.

We've been making homemade pizza once a week for several years. Here are my top tips:

1) Check out "Good Eats" Season 3 Episode 9 "Flat is Beautiful" for an instructional video. YouTube is your friend.
2) A Pizza stone is best and the only way to get super thin crust pizza (my favorite) I have a traditional stone, my sister uses a cast iron griddle as a "stone" with excellent results. Pan pizza in a cast iron skillet works really well too (no peel or stone needed) - use oil with no cornmeal.
3) Use the hottest setting on your oven (ours is 500F)and pre-heat for AT LEAST 30 minutes. I checked with some pizza shops and they are all > 650F. This gives a crispier crust without burning the cheese. You want the stone in one of the lower racks - not the top rack.
4) Brush or spray a thin layer of olive oil on top of the crust before the sauce. This helps keep the crust from getting soggy.
5) Corn meal only - no oil - on the bottom. Get stuff which is fairly coarse. It acts like little ball bearings. Something like Masa Harina is too fine. No oil - it will smoke and set off your alarms. If your smoke alarms tend to go off, crack a window in a different room and turn on your kitchen exhaust fan.
6) Build your pizza directly on the peel. No matter how much corn meal you use you will not be able to slide the peel under smoothly if you build the pizza on the counter.
7) Give your peel a good shake to confirm that the pizza isn't sticking before you put the toppings on (After the sauce and cheese). If it's sticking at all, use a spatula to lift up the edges of the pizza and put some more corn meal down, then shake again. If you have to shake it hard after you've put the toppings on, they will get all over the place.
8) You can make pita bread with any extra pizza dough. Roll it out super thin (~1/8") and throw onto a hot stone. Check it in 2 minutes or so and flip over after it has puffed up. Be careful, they cook VERY QUICK!

We use the Kitchenaid stand mixer pizza dough recipe, but double the salt and olive oil. Alton Brown (Good Eats) also has a great recipe (note - he calls for Kosher Salt, which is less dense than table salt - if you use a tablespoon of table salt, it will be too much)

Bon appetit!

If you've found this review helpful, please let me know!

As a novice pizza maker, one of the best tools I've found so far is the pizza peel. This allows you the ability to place the pizza on to the hot stone, giving you the correct searing of the crust (as opposed to using a pan, which results in a soft bottom for your pizza).

Prior to purchasing this peel, I bought a cheaper wooden one from Amazon. It worked fairly well, and looked attractive hanging in the kitchen. However, it couldn't be placed in the dishwasher, and (probably due to lack of proper oiling, etc. on my part) it cracked after a few months of use.

This surface costs more, but I think will be worth it in the long run. The ability to put it in the dishwasher alone is worth the cost delta to me. Also, being able to run the pizza cutter over it without fear of cracking the board is a nice plus also.

The other distinct advantage is that this surface seems to have a lot less friction than the wood, making it easier to slide the pre-cooked dough off after it's loaded up - an operation I find to be a little tricky. I'd advise using PLENTY of flour to assist in this (regardless of whatever peel you buy), but I think you'll find this Epicurean peel easier to use than wood in this regard.

I bought this item because it was dishwasher safe and could serve as a cutting surface, but did not know what to expect. After receiving and using the peel, I could not be happier. After receiving the peel, we washed it in the dishwasher, and when the cycle finished we took it out and discovered no warping, and it was ready for use. We typically sprinkle corn meal on the top of the peel, roll the dough out on the meal, and then slide it onto the hot stone in the oven. I had no trouble doing this, and I had no trouble sliding the dough back onto the peel after 8 minutes in the oven. I kept the dough on the peel while I loaded it with toppings, and slid it back in. About 10 minutes later I was able to place the peel under the pizza and slide the heavy pizza back onto the peel. Since cutting on the peel is safe I sliced and served our dinner, with very successful results.

Five stars though I ding it for the color - I have the "natural" color and saw the "slate" at a friend's

"Natural" looks better (to me) for the following reasons:

1) "Slate" shows wear a lot more than the lighter color.

2) "Slate" is VERY dark so unless you have black granite countertops, it really stands out - and not in a good way.

3) "Slate" looks dirty with corn meal and stuff on it - think of a black car - it looks dirty as soon as any dust gets on it.

Below is my review of the "Natural" color

This peel costs about twice as much as aluminum peels, and about 50% more than wood. I think it's worth it:

1) Smoother than wood so the pizza slides easier. I was afraid aluminum would scratch my counters.
2) Dishwasher safe / NSF approved
3) Much lighter than wood - my wife can easily sling a 14" pie with it.
4) Much thinner than wood and short handled design means it stows more easily - space is at a premium in our kitchen.
5) Looks nice - we serve right off the peel - The aluminum ones don't look as nice and typically have long handles which can be a hazard when serving.

I have to admit that at first I felt the price wasn't justified as it's an "engineered" material. After using it for a year it's clear that the material they use is very good. Other reviews mention a chemical smell, but I'm very sensitive these smells I have not been able to detect any. Perhaps they got a bad batch?

We've been making homemade pizza once a week for several years. Here are my top tips:

1) Check out "Good Eats" Season 3 Episode 9 "Flat is Beautiful" for an instructional video. YouTube is your friend.
2) A Pizza stone is best and the only way to get super thin crust pizza (my favorite) I have a traditional stone, my sister uses a cast iron griddle as a "stone" with excellent results. Pan pizza in a cast iron skillet works really well too (no peel or stone needed) - use oil with no cornmeal.
3) Use the hottest setting on your oven (ours is 500F)and pre-heat for AT LEAST 30 minutes. I checked with some pizza shops and they are all > 650F. This gives a crispier crust without burning the cheese. Also, you want your stone on one of the lower racks in the oven.
4) Brush or spray a thin layer of olive oil on top of the crust before the sauce. This helps keep the crust from getting soggy.
5) Corn meal only - no oil - on the bottom. Get stuff which is fairly coarse. It acts like little ball bearings. Something like Masa Harina is too fine. No oil - it will smoke and set off your alarms. If your smoke alarms tend to go off, crack a window in a different room and turn on your kitchen exhaust fan.
6) Build your pizza directly on the peel. No matter how much corn meal you use you will not be able to slide the peel under smoothly if you build the pizza on the counter.
7) Give your peel a good shake to confirm that the pizza isn't sticking before you put the toppings on (After the sauce and cheese). If it's sticking at all, use a spatula to lift up the edges of the pizza and put some more corn meal down, then shake again. If you have to shake it hard after you've put the toppings on, they will get all over the place.
8) You can make pita bread with any extra pizza dough. Roll it out super thin (~1/8") and throw onto a hot stone. Check it in 2 minutes or so and flip over after it has puffed up. Be careful, they cook VERY QUICK!

We use the Kitchenaid stand mixer pizza dough recipe, but double the salt and olive oil. Alton Brown (Good Eats) also has a great recipe (note - he calls for Kosher Salt, which is less dense than table salt - if you use a tablespoon of table salt, it will be too much)

Bon appetit!

If you've found this review helpful, please let me know!

I bake my own bread and this was a gift. After it's initial washing the peel emitted a strong odor of Formaldehyde. After visiting their website which vaguely addressed the smell, I emailed them asking if it contained formaldehyde. Their response only advised me to see their website and said they were certified by the "National Sanitary Foundation"(which means nothing). "Epicurean® cutting surfaces are made up of layers of paper that are then soaked with phenolic resin and cured to create a solid sheet." Wouldn't you know that another name for phenolic resins is phenol-formaldehyde polymer!
I'm returning this item because I do not want my food in contact with toxins. I'll stick to the traditional wood peel.

This pizza peel emits a strong chemical odor when wet. When I removed my pizza from the oven, I left it on the peel to cool and serve at the table. My pizza dough absorbed the odor from the peel, making the meal unpleasant. Otherwise, this peel is a good size and shape, and easy to clean. Unfortunately, I will be returning it and purchasing one made of 100% wood.

I had read the reviews before buying, but it seemed like only a few mentioned the smell, so I figured I'd take my chances. Well, it definitely smells. I'm not a scientist and I haven't contacted the company, but I did want to share with others, that if you care about these sort of things, or have a sensitive nose, a portion of this pizza peel definitely has a strong "dissected frog"-like aroma. It's pretty gross. Due to this, I haven't used it, nor have I washed it (which, I've read, can make the smell worse). I have pin-pointed the odor (on the one I received) to come directly from the engraved "Epicurean" logo. The rest of it only smells very faintly. If I wasn't thinking of using one side as a cutting surface and the other side as a pizza peel, I might be able to overlook this issue. However, I'm concerned that the more it is cut into, the more it will smell. Of course, then my concern grows from a bad odor to, "what the heck may be leaching into my food?" It's really a shame, because I love all the other aspects of thing, Renewable Resource, Made in USA (less transportation than imported items), light, NSF-Certified, Good Size, and generally great reviews. So, 5 stars for those redeeming qualities, but minus 2 stars for such a strong formaldehyde-like odor.

I've found many great products by reading the competition's reviews, so if you're thinking about the Epicurean, but are concerned about the possibility of the odor, here's my two cents:

Despite the origins of the odor (formaldehyde or not), I'm quite picky about these sorts of things, so I think I am going to somewhat-reluctantly return this otherwise nice item and replace it with the Totally Bamboo pizza peel. It currently only has 1 review, however, other Totally Bamboo items seem to get high stars. Even though it is imported, it does seem to be otherwise eco-conscious. Oh, and there's no complaints of it smelling funny, and the description specifically states that it is formaldehyde-free. Hmmm...


I rely on reviews here at Amazon, to help me make informed buying choices. I hope this review has helped you in the same manner. If you voted this as helpful, I Thank You!

I bought this pizza peel from another store (Williams-Sonoma) based on the strong reviews I've read. Sadly, I found that whenever the surface gets damp, it starts off-gassing a gluey resin odor. I've washed it several times, to no avail. Even worse, the odor gets on the food!

Much better than Wood!
Won't warp, split or splinter. Could be very slightly larger, but big peels are hard to find (unless they're metal). Works really well with the Artisan breads; we just like to do two small loaves at once. But, for larger breads and single loaves, it's perfect. Cutting board from Epi is my next purchase.

The pizza peel is very functional, unfortunately the smell of formaldehyde is just too much to bear. It is most noticeable when washing with warm water or leaving a hot pizza on it to cool. You can smell it on the bottom of a slice, yuck. Not too mention the possible health implications, if in fact this chemical was used to manufacture the peel. I'm surprised it has not been banned! What a waste of money...