Pizza: Pizza Tools and Equipment

Home pizza ovens are more popular than ever. Today you can buy a simple countertop model, a full blown custom built-in wood burning pizza oven, or pick from a number of options in between.

Pizza stones are made from natural clay. They distribute heat evenly and extract moisture, which results in a crisp crust. The stone must be heated before cooking for about 30 minutes to ensure proper cooking of the crust. Since the stones are porous, they will also absorb soap, so they should only be washed with warm water. Use a knife or food scraper to remove pieces of pizza left on the stone, then wash with water and dry.

Another option for baking pizzas is a pizza screen. These have holes in them, allowing the dough to cook from the bottom, resulting in a crisp crust. Since they require no heating time like a stone, the screen allows the pizza to cook more quickly. Unlike the stone, the pizza can be assembled directly on the screen since it does not have to first be pre-heated.

A pizza peel is useful to assemble the pizza on and transfer to a stone. Pizza stones cannot easily be removed from the oven because of the heat. It is also impossible to assemble the pizza on the stone since it must be heated thoroughly before cooking. The peel helps keep the pizza from sticking to the counter as well. The pizza easily slides from the peel to the stone and back again once finished baking. Be sure to use plenty of cornmeal or flour to prevent sticking.

A pizza wheel is a handy tool for cutting a pizza, without shifting the toppings around. It can be a useful tool in the kitchen for cutting a variety of other foods as well, such as casseroles, quesadillas and desserts.

Another type of cutter is the pizza knife. Some may find that this works better for keeping the toppings in place since it does not slide along the pizza. To use this cutter, simply place it in the area to be cut and rock in a back and forth motion. These cutters can also be used to chop vegetables and mince herbs.