I think we need to back up a bit again :-)
There are 2 kinds of cultures, broadly speaking:
- Lactic acid bacteria
- Rind molds/yeasts
The lactic acid bacteria *must* be added to the milk in basically the first step. This acidifies the milk over time and is a crucial part of making cheese.
The rind molds and yeasts can either be added to the milk ahead of time, can be added to the curds, or can be mixed with a bit of water and sprayed on to the final cheese. By far, the easiest is simply to add it to the milk. The only downside is that you need more of it. But you need so little of the mold/yeast culture that for an individual a single purchase of it is practically going to last your lifetime. For a large producer (i.e. making thousands of cheeses a week), you can save some money by spraying it on. Spraying can also sometimes result is slightly better initial coverage, but in practice it doesn't really make much difference.
The only mold culture I would consider adding to the curds is blue mold (p. roqueforti). My father does it that way. Personally, I just add it to the milk. Adding it to the curds is just an extra step and I haven't seen any benefit to doing it. I would never do this for p. candidum or geotrichum because you want that growing on the outside. Just add it to the milk. I *sometimes* spray that on if I'm making a lot of bloomy rinds. For example, I have had periods where I will make one literally every week. In that case, it's convenient to add some to a bit of water (I actually use 1% brine) and spray each cheese. The spray will last a few weeks. it means I don't need to measure anything :-) But really, it's only convenient if you are doing it *very* often.
Flow chart:
- Warm milk to 32 C
- Add cultures (both acidifying and rind ones) and calcium chloride to milk
- Wait 20-30 *minutes* (NOT hours!)
- Add rennet (you want 1 drop per liter or 4 drops per gallon, normally)
- Wait 12-20 hours -- 8 hours is *way* too soon. 16 hours is typical, but it depends on your room temp
- Cut curds vertically only. 2 inch squares is about right
- Wait 1 hour
- Ladle curds either directly into a mold or into cheese cloth. Basically look at the curds. Are the firm? If so, directly into the mold. If not, then into the cheese cloth.
- Let it drain for 8 hours at room temperature
- Flip if it's in the mold. Put it in the mold if it's in the cheese cloth. Pack it nice and tightly
- Wait another 8 hours at room temperature
- Flip
- Keep waiting and flipping until you think the cheese is firm enough, not sticky to the touch and doesn't "slump" when you take it out of the mold and let it sit for a while. It might take several days. Or it might not.
- Weigh the cheese. Measure out 0.75% of the weight of the cheese of salt. That is, if the cheese is 400 grams, then you should weigh out 3 grams of salt. Sprinkle it on the top side of the cheese and the sides.
- Wait 8 hours at room temperature
- Flip the cheese and sprinkle the same amount of salt on the other side and sides of the cheese.
- Wait 8 hours at room temperature
- Get a plastic box, 3 times the volume of the cheese. If the cheese is about 400 grams, then you need a box about 1.3 liters. Or if it's about a pound, then you need a box that is 3 pints in volue.
- Get a mat (I use a bamboo sushi mat cut to size) that will hold the cheese up off the bottom of the plastic box and put it in the box. Put the cheese on top. Close the lid. Put it in a cool place (ideally at 13 C or 55 F)
- Every single day, open the box. Take the mat and cheese out. Flip the cheese. Dry out the box so that it is bone dry. Put the cheese back in the box.
- When you have full white mold coverage on the outside, then move the box into the normal fridge
- Keep flipping it and drying out the box every single day
- Eat when the cheese is soft enough for your preference
Does neufchatel involve making curd?
There are 2 kinds of curd. There are rennet coagulated curds. There are acid coagulated curds. They are different.
People often thing that adding acid to milk and adding rennet to milk makes the same kind of curds. This is incorrect. They are chemically different and work differently.
Neufchatel is a "lactic cheese". This means it is primarily coagulated by acid (the acid produced by the acid producing cultures). A *little bit* of rennet is added because this helps the curd drain more easily. However, it is primarily an acid coagulated cheese. Because the acid is being produced over a long period of time (12-20 hours), the curds will be so small that you can't see them. Because there is a little bit of rennet, some of the milk will be coagulated due to the rennet. So you will kind of have a mix.
But, to answer the question I think you meant to ask: No. You do not make rennet curds, cut them, cook them, drain them and then press the cheese. That's not how this cheese is made. This is basically making yogurt (or actually cultured butter milk), draining all the whey out of it and forming it into a cheese.
And while I've never read Tim Smith's book, I can understand your frustration. Almost all of the information available on cheese making, in books, videos and the internet is crap. It's misleading most of the time and just plain wrong probably more than 50% of the time. I can't even guarantee that the information I'm giving you isn't crap!
It takes time, effort and experience to make good cheese. It's not a thing where you can simply follow a recipe and hope for a good result. You have to understand the process and work out processes that work in your situation.
In terms of the types of molds, I would not jump to hoop molds and especially not pyramid types. That's actually more difficult. Just use a cheap basket for these lactic style cheeses. It's totally fine if it's rectangular. In fact, there is a new style of lactic cheese called "pave" which is all the rage these days in Italy, apparently. It's square :-) I buy baskets from the equivalent of the dollar store.
