Slice–Serious Eats Gift Guide: Pizza-Making at Home
The pizza stone/peel combo would definitely make a pizza lover's eyes light up. I'd suggest skipping the department-store-grade version and tracking down a commercial one. I might be harder on them than most people so take this for what it's worth, but no matter how careful I was with stones I bought from your typical retail-type places, they would eventually split. Granted, I once had it on the floor of an oven set on broil, but at least two others broke under what I'd consider typical use conditions (middle shelf, 500°F).
Stones sold at Target (or Ross, TJ Maxx, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, etc.) are generally made of ceramic, and while they're probably fine for cooking up one pizza at 350°F, they can't take the abuse a serious pizza freak can lay down.
So I bought one from Ace Mart (no affiliation). It's made of Cordierite and can definitely take the heat. I've never heard the awful pinging sound my ceramic ones used to make, and nowadays I routinely have the oven set to broil for the duration of Pizza Night (which can last 4 hours or more). The cost is comparable to ceramic versions.
Regarding the metal peel vs. wood peel, dough tends to stick less to wood peels so they're good for building pies on. I use a wood peel for building and a metal peel for all duties after the initial launch.
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