5 PCS Large Pizza Stone Set,Heavy Duty 16″ Pizza Stone for Oven and Grill with Handle Rack,Pizza Peel(OAK), Pizza Cutter Rocker & Cooking Paper,Large Baking Stone for Pizza, Bread

Got this to add to my current 13” stone and a slew of quarry tiles I use to line the entirety of the top rack in my oven. I have ~12” and ~18” peels already, and with this one coming in at about 15.5”, it gives me all the flexibility I need with my gas oven. Someday I hope to have a nice wood fired outdoor oven, but this trio of stones and peels will tide me over just fine.A couple minor niggles that prevented a 5 star rating. First, the peel. It looks gorgeous. But. It is far too thick. And. The handle is a bit stubby. And it’s kinda heavy. When I’m making a larger pie, sometimes it can get pretty weighty. My 18” peel has a 16” handle and the 12 incher’s 8”. This guy has right around 5” and it is heavier than my big one. Meaning you don’t have very good leverage for pulling those heavier pizzas outta the oven. Pretty sure my current paddles/peels are made from basswood or something similarly light and strong. This one is glued up with edge and finger joints so it should be plenty strong. Might have to fire up the belt sander to recontour it to take out some of the heft and get a more functional front edge profile.The pizza rocker-cutter is similarly aesthetically pleasing. It could be a bit longer so you don’t have to make multiple passes to slice your pie. I already have an all stainless steel rocker that measures over 14”. Maybe cheaper buying options with just the stone? Or stone and peel?The included parchment paper actually defeats the purpose of the stone since it does not let moisture through. I’ve used parchment to make a sort of ciabatta bread recently, but I always pull it off halfway through the baking time to let all that water out for the proper texture. It would be extremely ill-advised to try to do the same with a pizza. Well, unless you *like* second degree cheesy burns on your hands and forearms.For anyone new to the home pizza game, just get a carton of cornmeal. White, yellow- doesn’t matter. I would love to find a nicely textured blue cornmeal just for the fun of it. Whichever color you use, it really won’t add much flavor at all. Be sure to liberally cover the peel with it. They’re the “ball bearings” that are going to help your pizza slide right onto the stone.Another tip, gleaned from my share of cluckups, is to absolutely have ALL your ingredients sliced, shredded, rolled, drained, cubed or whathaveyou and at the ready. Maybe even rehearse how the ingredients are getting laid on the pie. Sometimes I like to add a very thin layer of olive oil before slathering the sauce on if my dough feels a little too wet, if I stretched it a bit too thin (and I’m too lazy/ hungry to start over) or if it’s been hanging out too long and the yeast might be exhausted to keep the sauce from soaking in too much. Especially if your oven can’t get over 500° F.There’s no such thing as too much pizza in my world. So experiment to your heart’s desire. Find a dough recipe that works for you and your oven. Brew some beer and wash down your creations with it even. Enjoy!