Pizza tonda and pizza alla pala

[cinghiale]

I received an email this morning from Gambero Rosso adveristing one cooking class for la pizza alla pala and one for la pizza tonda. Other than the obvious difference in shape, do they differ from one another in any other respect?

[hathor]

In the interest of the common good....take the class and let us know!

[divina]

Where I live in Chianti, pizza pala is a long pizza .

using the longer wooden "pala" like for taking breads out of the oven.

I was also tempted by the class!

[cinghiale]

Yeah, I found these lovely photos and was curious if the elongated guys are prepared differently. Pala means blade. Isn't a pala also used to remove tonde from the oven? Or, is it that the shape of the pie resembles a blade? Also, pala is pretty similar to peel, the oddly named (at least in the U.S.) tool used to remove pizza from the oven.

Edited February 23, 2008 by cinghiale (log)

[divina]

Thanks for the help in English!

yes the pala is the peel!!

as you can immagine it is easier to get them in and out with a long narrow peel instead of the round ones.