Peels

These are long-handled, flat shovels used for moving food around the base of the oven and bringing cooked dishes toward the oven door so you don’t have to reach in and run the risk of burning yourself. You can also use them to move burning logs.

It is useful to have three peels, all about 1m/3ft long:

Use a wooden peel for putting uncooked bread into the oven and for reaching in to take the bread out once it is cooked. The wood is gentler on the dough and bread — it is less likely than a metal peel to cut into the uncooked dough. You can use a metal peel for putting bread into the oven and taking it out, although it is more likely to stick to the dough than a wooden one.