Question: How do I avoid mushy cheese on home made pizza?

August 25, 2010

Answers

Barnaby Dorfman's picture

Three suggestions, first...limit the amount of sauce, that's the main source of moisture. Second, turn up the heat, it's OK to bake a Pizza at over 400 degrees. Three, make the crust thinner, that's your other source of moisture.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Anonymous's picture

Routines save time, and tempers. Friday nights are always pizza-movie nights?We always keep the basic ingredients for pizza on hand ? flour and yeast for the dough, mozzarella, and tomatoes (fresh, dried, or canned sauce, depending on the season). All other toppings vary with the garden and personal tastes. Picky children get to control the topping on their own austere quadrant, while the adventurous may stake out another, piling on anything from smoked eggplant to carmelized onions, fresh herbs, and spinach. Because it?s a routine, our pizzas come together without any fuss as we gather in the kitchen to decompress, have a glass of wine if we are of age, and talk about everybody?s week. I never have to think about what?s for dinners on Fridays.

Chris Paulk's picture

Try using harder cheeses. Instead of a fresh mozzarella- look for a smoked one. Use hard grated cheeses like romano and pecorino and lesson the amount of cheese you use.

Curt's picture

Mushy anything is caused from too much moisture. Pizza moisture, as pointed out above, comes from sauce, dough, cheese, vegetables and meats. The drier the ingredients are the drier the pizza will be. Bake a pizza at a high temperature 400-425 degrees...and ALWAYS pre-heat the oven. Pre-cook and drain anything like ground beef, sausage or other meats. Onions, tomatoes and other vegetables contain a lot of water and should be either pre-cooked or put on the pizza after it has baked. Grate cheese. Put your sauce in a strainer before putting it on your pizza. If it's chunky (with tomato pieces) blend it until it's smooth then put it on evenly. Depending on how thick you want your pizza dough....you may want to pre-bake it to give it a bit of a crust before topping. Too many ingredients equal a mushy pizza...that's why those 'double crust' pizzas, especially the ones from Papa Murphay's don't every seem to get done in the middle. Pizza stones that are pre-heated in your oven work well too.