每次回家路上，看到pizza店裡的師父甩pizza皮，總覺得他們好厲害，讓我來甩大概不是皮飛來飛去就是被甩破。

　所以兩天前看到報紙上這篇講甩pizza皮的訣竅時，就貼過來這裡當剪報。

　（新聞電子化最大的好處是，網路上有影片檔，和報紙上的分解動作一起看就很清楚了。）

　原來，之所以要甩皮，是因為pizza皮成形後，中央會比周圍厚，所以得靠旋轉時的離心力讓皮變均勻。這樣做pizza，從麵糰到灑料進烤箱，平均只要45秒，桿皮的過程也只要20秒。

　（這當然是指有經驗的師父啦！我們這種小角色怎麼可能在20秒內甩好一張皮！）

　至於麵皮能甩的起來的秘訣，是用高筋麵粉揉麵，且用冷藏兩天後回溫的麵糰，這種麵團比較有韌性，不容易被甩破。

　（如果是接麵皮時五指朝上向麵團施展鷹爪功又是另一回事了。XD）

　皮甩出的高度和成果無關。

　我是很想玩啦，可是又有那種可能會滿廚房追著晚餐跑的預感，而且食物很貴不可以浪費！！如果有人想試請自己照影片做，分解步驟看這裡。

　新聞裡的pizza皮食譜如下：（Peter Reinhardt, "American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza"）

        材料：

                高筋麵粉五杯

                糖一又二分之一湯匙

                鹽二茶匙

                快速酵母（instant yeast）一又二分之一茶匙

                橄欖油或植物油三湯匙

                水（室溫）一又三分之四杯

        做法：

1.         將手或湯匙沾濕，將所有材料在大碗裡混合，直到麵團開始成形（約四分鐘）。將麵團靜置五分鐘，再繼續揉麵直到麵團柔軟有黏性且不沾手（約兩到三分鐘），視麵團情況用湯匙加水或麵粉。。

2.         將麵團分成三等份，捏成球型，刷上橄欖油，放進密封袋中，室靜置溫十五分鐘，再將麵團冷藏一天。做pizza兩小時前拿出回溫，不用的麵團可冷凍三個月。

3.         若是當日要用的麵團，刷上油後室溫靜置一小時，壓平重新揉成球型，再放回密封袋冷藏至少兩小時，麵團回溫兩小時後即可使用。

Seattle PI

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/365622_pizzacrust04.html
With these tips you should be able to throw a pizza crust like a pro 

Last updated June 3, 2008 5:35 p.m. PT

By REBEKAH DENN
P-I FOOD WRITER

I've always found it easy to make pizza dough at home -- easy, as long as I wanted a crust that baked up thick, puffy and irregularly shaped. Forming an even, flat, thin circle of dough has been an entirely different ball of dough.

The novice status of my crust was thrown, so to speak, in my face when I picked up pizza at Pagliacci. I jealously watched staffers take just seconds to transform a ball of dough seemingly much like mine into a twirling dervish, then into a supple, flat, even, 17-inch blank palette. The process looked as smooth, inevitable and unattainable as a magic trick.

Fortunately, Jeff Woodruff, Pagliacci's director of operations and a pizza thrower since 1995, is willing to share some training secrets.

First, throwing technique is not all that matters. The dough itself is key, and Pagliacci's is like mine only in appearance. While I was using a dough recipe that took just three hours from start to finish, the store's dough isn't used until it is two or three days old. This provides time for the gluten strands holding it together to properly develop, giving it a different structure and strength. Also, the Pagliacci dough is made from high-gluten flour (further improving the texture), not the all-purpose stuff in my pizza pantry. Woodruff said the sort of recipe I use would be "almost impossible" to toss. It's also crucial, Woodruff noted, for the dough to be at room temperature: It can't be manipulated properly if it's chilled.

And the technique? On the bright side, throwing pizza "is kind of an art form," Woodruff said. Every baker develops a personal style.

No matter what, though, the process is speedy. He said it's a point of pride for experienced employees to toss, sauce and top a pizza -- and put it in the oven -- in 45 seconds. Tossing alone can be done in about 20 seconds.

Trust me, that speed isn't attained on the first try. On my first toss under Woodruff's guidance, the dough shot through the air, flipped and landed in an awkward hang, my fingers clutching the sagging mess by a misshapen edge. Jumping into the air when I tossed the dough, as if shooting a basket, didn't help my cause -- the tossing hand is really the only part of the body that should be in motion.

My second toss was more controlled, but failed laughably in a different way: I plunged my fingers right through the crust, the consequence of lifting my catching hand in a high-five motion rather than using the back of my hand to meet the dough. At least I wasn't alone: Another beginner got whacked in the head with floury dough on her first attempt.

It can take months, Woodruff assured us, for new employees to become proficient enough to "throw out" -- toss crust after crust after crust without a break -- on a busy Friday night. It took Woodruff himself "honestly, a long time" to master the toss. Or so he said.

The most important trick, I've found in the weeks since his demonstration, is hands-on practice.

The Pagliacci recipe is proprietary, but here's a two-day recipe from dough master Peter Reinhardt developed to produce a tasty, tossable dough:

NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA DOUGH

MAKES 3 12-OUNCE DOUGH BALLS

• 5 cups (22.5 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour

• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar or honey

• 2 teaspoons table salt or 3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

• 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil or solid vegetable shortening

• 1 3/4 cups room-temperature water (70 degrees F)

With a large metal spoon, stir together all the ingredients in a 4-quart bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer until combined.

If mixing with an electric mixer, fit it with a dough hook and mix on low speed about 4 minutes, or until all the flour gathers to form a coarse ball. Let the dough rest 5 minutes, then mix again on medium-low speed for an additional 2 minutes, or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and sticks just a little to the bottom. If the dough is too soft and sticky to hold its shape, mix in more flour by the tablespoonful; if it is too stiff or dry, mix in more water by the tablespoonful. The dough should pass the windowpane test. (Note: That's a term of the author's meaning that you should be able to stretch a small piece of dough until it is translucent but does not rip.)

If mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the spoon into room-temperature water and use it much like a dough hook, working the dough vigorously into a coarse ball as you rotate the bowl with your other hand. Mix until all the flour is incorporated into the ball, about 4 minutes; the dough will begin to strengthen. When this occurs, let the dough rest 5 minutes and resume mixing for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is slightly sticky, soft and supple. If the dough is too soft and sticky to hold its shape, mix in more flour by the tablespoonful; if it is too stiff or dry, mix in more water by the tablespoonful. The dough should pass the windowpane test.

Immediately divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Round each piece into a ball and brush or rub each ball with olive or vegetable oil. Place each ball inside its own zippered freezer bag. Let the balls sit at room temperature in the bags for 15 minutes, then put them in the refrigerator overnight or freeze any pieces you will not be using the next day. (Or, if you are making pizzas on the same day, let the dough balls sit at room temperature in the bags for 1 hour, remove them from the bags, punch them down, reshape them into balls, return them to the bags, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.)

The next day (or later the same day if refrigerated only 2 hours), remove the balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to roll them out, to take off the chill and to relax the gluten. At this point, you can hold any balls you don't want to use right away in the refrigerator for another day, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

From "American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza," by Peter Reinhardt

PIZZA PERFECT

• Throwing the dough high in the air does not help -- it's the force of the spin, not the height, that makes a difference. Try to keep the dough parallel to the floor when it's in the air (most newbies send it flying at about a 60-degree angle).

• Be gentle when bringing your left hand up to meet the dough, and make sure you use the back of the hand. Sticking your fingers in the air is a sure way to pierce the dough. Aim for catching it slightly off-center, not right in the middle.

P-I food writer Rebekah Denn can be reached at 206-448-8117 or rebekahdenn@seattlepi.com. Read her Devouring sEATtle blog at blog.seattlepi.com/devouringseattle.

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