Norpro 5681 Pizza Peel And Paddle

Although I gave this for a present I thought it looked very good when I opened it. Nice and big to slide a pizza onto. I think it fits a 10 inch pizza. Lovely too as a serving tray.

This is my first peel as I've just started breadmaking. I didn't want to spend a lot and I have little experience with different types of woods other than what a person in a city would have so below is just my (simple) opinion based on the use I've had from my peel over the last few months.

Also, I've just noticed there's a Bamboo version - Norpro 5683 Bamboo Pizza Paddle which I'm sure Amazon didn't offer before so I thought I would mention it in case the wood-hardness is of some importance.
The dimensions for the pine are not given but the Bamboo dimensions are stated as: "Measures approximately 14 by 23-1/2 by 1 inches" which is what I would say the pine is.

I'll state the cons first:
- The description suggests the peel can be used as a cutting board but since pine is quite soft, it very easily dents and bread knives cut deep into the wood (I try not to use it as a cutting board now).
- The pine is untreated (which I do like) so unless you know basic 'wood care' you may want to opt for the more harder bamboo wood (I don't think it's coated but they do suggest rubbing oil in the description).
- The peel is a little too thick so retrieving breads/pizzas needs a utensil to get the peel under and then an oven glove to stop the bread/pizza from being pushed to the back of the oven.
- The peel is BIG. A little difficult when placing two bread 'boules'/'balls' (- it's just a name for the shape of the bread, it's still bread) on a single stone separately. Also storage might be a little difficult as the shape means it can't be stored with other boards.

Pros:
- I've not had any problems with the untreated wood. I did rub a thin layer of vegetable oil first and let it soak in/sit for a while. I also use fine semolina under breads/pizzas for transferring to/from the oven as well as wipe down the peel or give it a quick wash and dry (if need be) after use.
- Retrieving breads/pizzas isn't as big a deal as it looks. I've not burnt myself and no pizza has been pushed into the oven fan... yet.
- As a pizza peel, I've found it does the job perfectly. The size is quite reassuring for the family sized pizzas. I initially thought it might be heavy for my puny arms but I've not noticed it (maybe I'm too hungry/excited about the food being baked). When baking bread boules, I just place the first one a little further back and with a quick jerking action, the second is easily placed so the size hasn't been such an issue.
- There is a leather 'tie' so you can hang the board up which is what I've resorted to, only, I've not found the right spot for it yet.

I would have gone with the bamboo had it been available as I don't currently own a bread board so I would be a lot happier cutting on the harder bamboo peel than the soft pine one.
Generally speaking though, I'm happy with the pine version and always use it when I bake with baking stones (which is a real pleasure, gives good ovenspring and the pizza bases are brilliant!). The 'wood care' is quick and using semolina makes the 'jerk action' much easier when placing food onto the stones.
If I continue with my breadmaking with more extravagant shapes, I 'may' consider a smaller, metal peel but for the present time, this one is good value for money. Both the pine and bamboo peels seem to be around the same price too (pine £13.97, bamboo £13.93 - at this current time).