Author Topic: Mozzarella for Neapolitan Pizza  (Read 1911 times)

henrikpoa

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Mozzarella for Neapolitan Pizza
« on: November 03, 2014, 08:49:27 AM »
Hello everyone in here. this will be my first topic on this forum :)

I live in Sweden and here i cant buy fresh mozzarella for my neapolitan pies which are coocked for 1 minute in an 950 degrees Wood fired oven.
Therefore i have to make it myself.
I have made attempts with mrskk, linuxboys, hidri and fankhauser recipies as well as the italian one posted in here. Thank you so far for the amounts of info here.
My results are pretty good so far but offcourse not perfec which is my goal for this Project. I use aproffesonal PH meer for my atempts.

My problems so far are:
1. When coocked on the pizza in 950 F the mozzarella on the pie comes out almost a Little grainy. Same feeling you get if the curd is mashed and left in hot water for too long. Unmelted mozzarella is ok in taste though. The mozzarella i put on the pie is 1/5 inch thick and 1 inch long like thin pommes frites. If i compare with store bought italian mozzarella bough in brine water, my mozzarella melts faster on the pie and if you chew on it it almost falss apart like it is over acidified.
2. It Browns more than supermaket mozzarella.

Normally to get the best results i buy mozzarella from italy in small plastic bags that containes brine. I cant use dry mozzarella since its to dry. I need soemting in between so i drain the supermaket mozzarella for some time. Ill post a pixture of the melt of mozzarella in brine so you can see what iam after with my homemade mozzarella.

My routine is to stretch mozzarella at around 5,05-5,1 PH. It is really well coocked Before stretch and almost to slippery to stretch. Maby to coocked? Also I store the mozzarella wrapped in platsic foil and to be used the next day. I leave it out in room temp.

Questions:
1: Wheat are the can be the reasons for grainy and fast melt?
2: Will leaving the mozzarella out in room temp after stretch for 24 hours lower the PH som much the cheese will become over acidified when melted on pizza? I have never measured PH day after.
3: I need a real percentage starter mix that lowers the browning. I know in probably need helveticus, bulgaris, and thermofilus but in what ratios? 1 part Helveticus and Bulgaris and 4 parts TS? Foir example.

Hoping for good answeres since my brain will soon explode :)
Any thoughts on mozzarella on pizza are welcome.

This forum is awsome!!!

henrikpoa

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Re: Mozzarella for Neapolitan Pizza
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2014, 09:45:30 AM »
Also i forgot to ask.

Are there any benfits of using mesophil Cultures in making mozzarella like Lactococcus lactis?

Thank you.

waynejones

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Re: Mozzarella for Neapolitan Pizza
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2015, 01:59:07 PM »
I can't respond to your cheese question but I can tell you that you make a perfect Neapolitan pizza. Pizza is my #1 food group and I am in the process of building a wood fired oven for pizza, breads and meats.
Beautiful oven.
Just a question, have you tried working with a 750 degree oven instead of 950?
Good luck!

Wayne

Offline awakephd

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Re: Mozzarella for Neapolitan Pizza
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2015, 03:20:52 PM »
Henrikpoa,

I missed this post earlier, but fortunately Wayne's reply has brought it back to the top.

I am not an expert on mozzarella; like most on this forum, I have found it to be a challenging cheese to make, so my remarks may not be very accurate. But that said, 5.0-5.1 sounds too low to me on the pH. Try 5.2-5.3 and see if you get better results.

You can also control how much moisture the curd loses by changing the cut size, amount of stirring, and temperature -- try adjusting those variables and see if you get what you are looking for.

In the meantime ... I'd gladly eat one of your delicious-looking pizzas, grainy mozzarella included!
-- Andy