I got a couple new things for my kitchen….I thought I’d let you know if they were a success or a fail.
First up, I ordered a Pizza Peel. It looks tiny in the photo but it is not. It’s big.
See? Here’s a picture of me holding it with a pizza on it.
Yep, that’s Karl photobombing me with his GIANT Zucchini from the garden.
In the past I thought these Pizza Peels to be for show or only for a wood fire oven. Then I watched this video….
For the record, I didn’t think my pizza “sucked”. I only wanted to be making the best pizza EVER so I listened to the video. So we were in quarantine and I was on a rabbit trail and I ended up taking up a couple of the tips in the video. I started preheating my stone in the oven (not for the hour she suggests-but maybe a half hour) and I started using the pizza peel.
The verdict:
The kids LOVED the pizza more than ever. I did too. The crust was amazing.
Here is why you need the peel. If the stone is in the oven heating, you can’t make the pizza on the stone. So you make it on the peel and slide it onto the stone. When the pizza is done, I use the peel again to get the pizza out.
We put a cold from the cupboard pizza pan on the table and then slide the pizza onto it. I love this as then we don’t have the hot stone (on pan) onto the table. This day Karl was the pizza cutter guy and he could hold onto the pan and cut the pizza-no hot pad needed.
The biggest win of the whole “buying the pizza peel” was definitely the better tasting pizza by having the stone heat in the oven first. It was well worth the $25. We only have to eat pizza at home once for it to pay itself off!! You can find the peel HERE on Amazon.
I want to try the stone and peel with some artisan bread next…YUM!!
Another thing I got for the kitchen…these Magnetic knobs.
My idea for these was to make the pans I have work as covers when I’m using the new griddle I got for the stove.
The premise is that I was suppose to be able to magnetize them to the back of the pan and then it turns into a cover…
Then I could use it to place over something on the griddle to steam it.
Here’s my review of them…meh. Apparently most of my pans aren’t the right metal for the magnets in the knobs to magnetize to. I only found this ONE pan of all of my pans that they worked with…so I’m taking this one as a fail. They were HERE on Amazon.
I bought new silicone lids for my pyrex containers.
Find them HERE on Amazon. Here’s the story on them. When we moved from the farm to the house here in town, we threw out ALL of the tupperware and rubbermaid type containers. We made the decision to only go with pyrex. I was nervous about it because I didn’t think we could have them and not break them. Kramer planned to take them back and forth to work and I was sure there was no way he could keep them decent. Well…he did. We only broke one…the lids however, have taken a beating. Many are like this…
I’ve bought replacement lids in the past and have appreciated that option but this time when I went to order some, I found the silicone lids instead. They are about double the price…but I’m loving them and am very happy with them.
These are supposed to be dishwasher friendly and that’s a good thing.
I also bought a set of these…Silicone lids.
It was one of those time where I went to Amazon and it said “others also purchased these”…When I saw they could cover watermelon and an open can of veggies I was happy for the prospect.
I got them and have been using them a month or so and have liked them. I am trying to be better about being better about not using so much saran wrap and such. These have been handy. I found them HERE on Amazon.
If you lose this post and want to refer to one of the items later, no fear. My Amazon Kitchen store can be found HERE and it’s always on the blog at the top tab that says Jo Recommends.
I love my pizza peel. I have a wooden one like in the video. I use it for sourdough bread too.
I have the same problem with Pyres lids. I don’t think they should go in the dishwasher. I think that’s what makes them brittle and crack. I have one set of Pyrex storage bowls and an identical set of Anchor Hocking bowls. I haven’t had any problems with the Anchor Hocking ones and the lids fit both sets.
What is the diameter of the silicone lids for the watermelon? That’s a really good idea if it isn’t too small.
We made pizza just last night! We make the pies on cookie sheets (Airbake brand, no lip) lined with parchment paper. The pizza stone gets preheated with the oven. Once the oven is up to temperature, we slide the parchment paper with the pizza on it onto the stone. When the pie is done, the paper and pizza slide right back onto the cookie sheet. Yes, we throw out the parchment paper, but we don’t have to deal with cornmeal to keep the pizza off the stone. And once it’s lol, the stone is a breeze to clean. However, the crust isn’t as crisp as most takeout pizza.
I predict you will love bread cooked on your stone. I know I do! Happy to see the option for new lids. I also use pyrex and I’ve noticed some cracks. Thanks!
The pizza peel intrigues me. I have always used a stone. I have a wooden paddle that I put corn meal on the paddle and on the stone. My issue is getting the pizza back out of the oven. I use a cookie sheet, but mine are the air bake kind and not flat. Looks like I could use the paddle for that.
I’m curious about the parchment paper that I could see. At what point do you use the paper? Are you building your pizza on the paper? Thanks for any info you can pass on!
In my opinion, Pyrex lids are a disgrace to the company. The replacement lids I bought I always hand washed and they are breaking like the ones I had put in the dishwasher. I’m glad to know about the silicone ones.
If you have to bake at a lower temperature (above 425 my knobs melted), try baking on a cast iron griddle or the bottom of a cast iron skillet; that worked even better than the stone. I form the pizza on parchment lightly sprinkled with cornmeal, using my fingers dipped into olive oil with garlic. I transfer it with a thin cookie sheet. After 5 minutes of baking, I remove the parchment and finish baking it.
In answer to Jill’s question about parchment paper, I have some information. I roll out the pizza dough on a piece of parchment paper laid on top of the pizza peel, then add all the toppings. When I have it all prepared, I slide the pizza, with the parchment paper under it, onto the preheated pizza stone. I leave the paper there for about half of the cooking time….it will start to brown. Then I just slip the parchment paper out from under the pizza (it will pull out easily), then let the pizza finish cooking directly on the pizza stone. When done, slip the peel back underneath the pizza and pull out of the oven, leaving the stone in to cool down. It was so much easier than trying to use cornmeal!
I had some of those rubbery covers and I finally pitched them. I tore one trying to get it on my 9x`13 pan. I could never get the others to stay put. I am also going with the glass dishes. I don’t have to transfer stuff to a different dish to reheat in the oven. I’ll look into the stone!