Pizza Peel

[CillaB]

Okay, I'm stumped. In my many years of cooking I've never heard of a pizza peel. What is it? Is there more than one kind?
I recently purchased a pizza stone and my usually successful dough was a disaster trying to get it onto the preheated stone. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif Before I abandon the stone, I'd like to try the peel that several of you have mentioned.
Thanks.

[lorilei]

COOK's ENCYCLOPEDIA:

peel:

2. A flat, smooth, shovel-like tool used to slide pizzas and yeast breads onto a BAKING STONE or BAKING SHEET in an oven. Also called a pizza peel and baker's peel, this implement is made of hardwood and can usually be found in gourmet specialty shops.

[RunnerKim]

It's basically a wood "cutting board" with a handle and the lip of the cutting board is thinner.

It makes a huge difference in transferring your pizza to the stone. Rub in a little flour or cornmeal put the shaped dough on the peel, quickly top with your ingredients and then position the peel close to the back of the pre-heated stone and use quick jerking movements (don't be timid) to move the pizza to the stone. Try to keep the peel flat - don't angle it too much or all your ingredients will fall off. It's often useful to jerk the peel and slide the dough around to make sure its not sticking before putting on toppings. When you get your peel pick a simple pizza to try first - perhaps Pizza Margherita (little olive oil, sliced tomatos and mozzeralla - once out of the oven add fresh basil and oregano).

Good luck,
Kim