Ironwood Gourmet Napoli Pizza Peel

This is a 'wooden' Pizza Peel. Years ago, when I worked at one of the best Pizza Restaurants I've ever known, we always used a large wooden Pizza Peel to make the Pizza on, and then, deliver it to the oven, and then we used a thin metal Pizza Peel to remove the Pizzas from the oven when they were done. One person can be making the next pizza on the 'wooden' one while another person is removing them from the oven with the metal one. The wooden ones lent themselves well to the initial task of Pizza creation and delivering them to the oven, while the thinner metal ones lent themselves well to more easily removing the Pizzas from the oven. Keep in mind that, in those days, we were using the old huge stone slab gas fired pizza ovens (I'm thinking they were the best kind, although, maybe not quite as energy efficient as the newer ones, they still delivered a really good traditionally cooked pizza crust). When I went shopping for Pizza Peels, I really liked the looks of this one. The 'wooden' appearance reminded me of 'Old Times'. So I gave it a try. When it arrived, it was a bit smaller than I had pictured in my head. However, it is really an appropriate size for my kitchen, and my oven. (I don't have the old kind of oven, where you could get 12 or 13 pizza's in there at a time, or where you could create an incredibly huge pizza.) The largest pizza I've ever created in my house was with one of the Lodge Cast Iron Pizza pans, which is a pretty big pizza. I was able to create one of comparable size with this Peel. So, I'm happy with that. The instructions for this Pizza Peel was a bit difficult to read (my old eyes don't read such small print anymore.) But I did get through most of it. They suggested acquiring some of the manufacturer's 'Butcher Block Oil', which opened a whole new line of subject matter for me, and I promptly attacked Google Search with the 'Butcher Block Oil' search line. I found a couple of particularly good articles on how to deal with 'Butcher Blocks', as well as several other types of wood based food prep instruments. What I found out was that while there are a number of really good 'oils' that would work with wooden food prep items, many of the oils could possibly create allergenic reactions in some people. But the one that seems to 'float to the top' (so to speak) is good old food grade mineral oil.. One of the websites went to the trouble to explain that any kind of wood is an excellent absorbent. That's what wood does for its whole life. It absorbs moisture from the ground and surroundings. So if you are using wood in your kitchen, that wood still wants to do the same thing. Absorb moisture. So, the key is to get some food grade type of oil and let it absorb that rather than all the moisture from your foods that you are preparing. Well, I bought a bottle of mineral oil off of Amazon's website, and then the next day, my loving wife (who excels at this, BTW ... ) got a bottle of the same stuff at Walmart for about a tenth of the price, leaving me feel like an idiot (Again! :o) ... duh!). (You can find mineral oil in the pharmacy area, where it is commonly used as a laxative). Well, I spent my last weekend, starting Friday night, feeding my wooden Pizza Peel a whole bunch of mineral oil. It was thirsty! ... And on Sunday, I made my first Pizza with it. It was just right for size, and having done my research (spelled, reading the reviews on Amazon), I used a piece of 'Parchment Paper'. That combination worked like a 'champ'. However, I believe I could have used 'flour' or 'corn starch' and obtained the same result (at least from the perspective of the Pizza Peel) by moving the Pizza from the Peel to the Oven. (I'm just using parchment paper to protect my Pizza Stone from stains). There is a bit of 'technique' for moving the Pizza from the Peel to the Oven using flour or corn starch, and it takes a bit of practice, but once you've done it a few times, you quickly become a pro. You lightly shake the well floured Peel side to side very slightly, until the unbaked Pizza loosens its bonds from the board. Then you shuffle the Pizza into the oven and onto the stone. It's been years since I've done that, but I know it can be done. Having made Pizza's at home for like nearly 40 years, I can tell you that this one turned out the best. It wasn't all due to this Pizza Peel, but it did play it's part very well. So, I've made a special place for it to hang on my wall in the kitchen when it's not in use. (By the way, [that is ... "BTW" for the 'texter generation'], the handle has a very nicely done metal insert through the handle for hanging it). I really like the beauty and utility of this Peel, and look forward to creating my next Pizza. When you get yours, be sure to feed it some oil. Google "Butcher Block Oil" and find out more. Hope you have as much fun as we did.