Pizza stretching Prep surface options

[nic82m]

Hi Members, I'm pretty new to pizza making, I'm trying to master Napolitana style pizza (See Photo) My current kitchen counter is melamine and I'm finding it difficult to stretch pizza and keep the semolina to a minimum otherwise it ends up in my Ooni oven and burns. I'm considering getting a wooden surface to stretch and prep pizza. I came across this Pasta Board > https://homemakeit.com.au/products/wood-pasta-board

Apparently this wooden board can even be washed in cold water. I'm making pizzas about once per week. Just wondering if this board could be suitable for my use. Appreciate any feedback.

[Pizza_Not_War]

Pastry Baking Mat 28x20 Inch - Larger Silicone Baking Pastry Mat for Rolling Dough,Non Silp Silicon Dough Sheet Mat with Measurement,Perfect for Making Pie,Pizza

Easier to deal with and roll up when not in use.

[Timpanogos Slim]

I use a large, textured UHMW-PE cutting board. But i do need something solid, since I'm scooping it off of the stretching surface fully dressed.

I've considered switching to a wooden board or possibly one of the fiber composites.

[HansB]

That one should work. I have had one similar to that for years.

https://tableboards.com/shop?olsPage=products%2Fpastry-bread-board

[TXCraig1]

I like wood and use an oak table.

[jenea]

I bought a 18x18 Ceramic floor tile from home depot, cost me about $4. light and easy enough to store under my sink next to my cutting boards. great for stretching pizza with a little bench flour and cleans up quick and easy. and I figured its cheap enough that wen it breaks I wont be upset. I have a wood peel I use for loading into and out of the oven and a cheap cutting board for cutting the pizza. I never cut pizza on my peel

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMaster-Portland-Stone-Beige-18-in-x-18-in-Glazed-Ceramic-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-17-44-sq-ft-case-PT011818HD1PV/205897841

john

[stevenfstein]

agree with the pastry mat, been using one for almost 3 years. Easy to use and clean. A little semolina or whatever your bench flour is. Here is a link to the one I got.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01ACUA8HC/?tag=pmak-20

Best... Steve

[kori]

I bought a 18x18 Ceramic floor tile from home depot, cost me about $4. light and easy enough to store under my sink next to my cutting boards. great for stretching pizza with a little bench flour and cleans up quick and easy. and I figured its cheap enough that wen it breaks I wont be upset. I have a wood peel I use for loading into and out of the oven and a cheap cutting board for cutting the pizza. I never cut pizza on my peel

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMaster-Portland-Stone-Beige-18-in-x-18-in-Glazed-Ceramic-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-17-44-sq-ft-case-PT011818HD1PV/205897841

john

Is there no issue with the tile sliding around on the counter when working with the dough? Or do you put it on top of something to avoid that issue?

I'm in the same boat as the OP, I have a textured melamine counter and its no very user friendly, results in having to use more bench flour.

[Timpanogos Slim]

Is there no issue with the tile sliding around on the counter when working with the dough? Or do you put it on top of something to avoid that issue?

I'm in the same boat as the OP, I have a textured melamine counter and its no very user friendly, results in having to use more bench flour.

textured melamine must be similar to what i grew up calling formica in the US, which is a brand name, pretty sure.

Some people put a damp towel under a cutting board or sheet pan to keep it from sliding excessively. There's also that slightly tacky shelf liner material.

With the right adhesive you could glue some pads of dycem type silicone pad to the underside of a tile and then it would pretty much stick to any clean surface. dycem is a dust magnet but you can wash it with soap and water and it regains it's stickiness. I use it as a watchmaking surface liner - dropped parts just stand on it at whatever angle they were at when they impacted it.

[kori]

textured melamine must be similar to what i grew up calling formica in the US, which is a brand name, pretty sure.

Some people put a damp towel under a cutting board or sheet pan to keep it from sliding excessively. There's also that slightly tacky shelf liner material.

With the right adhesive you could glue some pads of dycem type silicone pad to the underside of a tile and then it would pretty much stick to any clean surface. dycem is a dust magnet but you can wash it with soap and water and it regains it's stickiness. I use it as a watchmaking surface liner - dropped parts just stand on it at whatever angle they were at when they impacted it.

I'm not sure if "textured melamine" is the proper term or not. Basically its a laminated counter top but instead of feeling smooth when you run your hand across, it has a slight texture feel to it, not smooth unfortunately.

Glueing rubber pads of some sort would probably do the trick.

[Timpanogos Slim]

I'm not sure if "textured melamine" is the proper term or not. Basically its a laminated counter top but instead of feeling smooth when you run your hand across, it has a slight texture feel to it, not smooth unfortunately.

Glueing rubber pads of some sort would probably do the trick.

Vinyl laminate over particleboard is also a (terrible) countertop option

[jenea]

Is there no issue with the tile sliding around on the counter when working with the dough? Or do you put it on top of something to avoid that issue?

I'm in the same boat as the OP, I have a textured melamine counter and its no very user friendly, results in having to use more bench flour.

I use one of the silicone baking mats that some people use for their stretching. just put the tile on top of it and it stays plenty still for stretching. now if you are going to use it for hand mixing, then yeh it can slide. if the mat gets flour on it then it does become slick. i just clean when it gets that way. then with a little water, very little, on the mat the tile stays put. oh, yeh, use a glossy tile, not one with texture.

I tried the mat for stretching but I liked the larger size of the tile and the easy cleanup.

[JeffShoaf]

30 years ago (or so), my parents had granite countertops instead. They cut the opening for the double sink on site and my pop kept the slab of granite that came out. I found it in his shop while looking for something else shortly after I got serious about making pizzas; he hadn't done anything with it before he passed away. It makes a great semi-portable pizza stretching surface. I keep it on a table downstairs to use when I'm baking in my outdoor oven; I just use my kitchen granite countertop upstairs when using the Breville oven that's in my kitchen. The slab is big enough for 4 or more 14" pizzas so I can be opening and stretching a pizza while someone else tops another.

I have one of the silicone mats someone else linked that I used to use; the circles with diameters marked on it were nice when I was starting out but I'd rather use the granite since I can use less bench flour.

I'm planning on making a wooden frame with carrying handles for slab at some point; it does slide around some in use so I'll put some short rubber feet on the frame when I make it.

[kori]

I use one of the silicone baking mats that some people use for their stretching. just put the tile on top of it and it stays plenty still for stretching. now if you are going to use it for hand mixing, then yeh it can slide. if the mat gets flour on it then it does become slick. i just clean when it gets that way. then with a little water, very little, on the mat the tile stays put. oh, yeh, use a glossy tile, not one with texture.

I tried the mat for stretching but I liked the larger size of the tile and the easy cleanup.

Cool, thanks.

[kori]

...slab of granite...

This was actually my other thought, there's a place I'm going to check out next time I head to the city that cuts/sells custom counters, tiles ect... maybe I can score a cut out or end piece for a decent price.

[Timpanogos Slim]

This was actually my other thought, there's a place I'm going to check out next time I head to the city that cuts/sells custom counters, tiles ect... maybe I can score a cut out or end piece for a decent price.

I have a friend in the granite counter tops business.

It's an interesting industry from the perspective that they keep the raw inventory outside in the parking lot because it's too damn heavy to steal.

The waste is a burden to remove from the facility as well, but because of that they may not be particularly gentle with it.

Absolutely hit them up for a sink cutout. They might not have a whole one, or they may point out large pieces that they despair of ever selling at a profit that you can have for free or almost free.

My friend has a large quantity of prefab pieces that turned out to be a bad business decision. He quoted me $50 to cover wear and tear on the equipment to make custom cuts to some pieces of it.

anybody who is gonna be in the wasatch front wants a piece of granite? hit me up.

[Limbo]

Pastry Baking Mat 28x20 Inch - Larger Silicone Baking Pastry Mat for Rolling Dough,Non Silp Silicon Dough Sheet Mat with Measurement,Perfect for Making Pie,Pizza

Easier to deal with and roll up when not in use.

This 

[kori]

Well I had to head into the city today so I stopped in at the counter top/tile store and things couldn't have worked out any better. I told the salesman what I was looking, he said "I've got the perfect thing for you, follow me." He handed me a nice shiny 17.5"x17"x3/4" slab of quartz, he then said "it's yours, we are throwing this out today it's from our display."

Free, no charge! I couldn't have been happier.

[Timpanogos Slim]

Well I had to head into the city today so I stopped in at the counter top/tile store and things couldn't have worked out any better. I told the salesman what I was looking, he said "I've got the perfect thing for you, follow me." He handed me a nice shiny 17.5"x17"x3/4" slab of quartz, he then said "it's yours, we are throwing this out today it's from our display."

Free, no charge! I couldn't have been happier.

Yeah, masonry waste is a burden to dispose of.

Hope it works great for you

[scott r]

YESS!!!   thats so great.