Pizza Today - September 2021 - 41

The type of cheese you decide to use can
really make or break a pizza. It can add tons
flavor and texture depending on what direction
you want to take. Certain cheeses, such
as ricotta, can be paired with a wide range of
things. It's creamy, light texture is a fantastic
vehicle for everything from seasonal fruits
and greens to garlic, caramelized onions, olives
and salty meats. Then there are cheeses
with more distinct flavors like the blue
veined variety. They pair great with sweet or
slightly salty things. Think prosciutto, dried
cherries and fig jams. Here are a few of my
current favorite pies:
* Stracciatella, mozzarella, peaches, arugula,
prosciutto and extra virgin olive oil
* Roquefort, mozzarella, honey and pistachios
with fresh flowers
* Cotija, mozzarella, Anaheim green
chiles, fresh corn, red onion and cilantro
* Manchego, mozzarella, Iberico ham and
olives
* Ricotta, spinach, garlic, olive oil, basil,
mozzarella, Pecorino and Castelveltrano
olives
Before deciding on a cheese to use, it's
important to understand what makes each
type of cheese unique. Moisture levels play
an important role since cheese is categorized
by its firmness. Higher moisture
content results in a softer cheese and lower
moisture content results in a firmer, densely
packed cheese. While there are thousands
of types of cheese, they can be broken down
into six categories: fresh cheese, soft cheese,
semi-soft cheese, semi-firm cheese, hard
cheese and blue-veined cheese.
A few important things to keep in
mind when choosing a cheese:
* Type of milk. Milk is always the base
of cheese but what animal it comes from
drastically changes the flavor of it. Cow's
milk tends to have a creamy, sweet flavor
and is usually the mildest. Sheep's milk
is tangier and grassy, and goat's milk has
a gamey flavor to it without the buttery
sweetness of cow's milk.
* Aging. Depending on how long
cheese is aged can radically change its
flavor. A perfect example is Parmigiano
Reggiano. While all true DOP versions of
this cheese have a sharp, complex flavor, a
12-month Parmigiano Reggiano will be
lighter in flavor and smoother in texture
than a 36-month-old wheel. The longer it's
aged the more intense the favor and more
granular the texture becomes.
* Country of Origin. Many cheeses
can only bear a certain name if they are
produced in a certain region using strictly
controlled methods. Manchego is a good
example of this. It is produced from the
milk of the Manchego sheep in La Mancha
wilderness of Central Spain.
* Best Uses. Especially when it comes
to pizza, I like to use different cheeses at
different stages making a pie. Certain ones
are fantastic base cheese and others the
perfect finishers.
Deciding when to add a cheese will also
affect how it interacts with other ingredients.
If you want the flavors to meld with
your base, then add them before the pie
goes in the oven. However, if you're looking
to have them round out the pizza or shine
on their own, add them after they come out
of the oven. One of my favorite finishing
cheeses is Stracciatella. I love this post-bake
because you can really discern the creamy,
rich flavor and texture as opposed to adding
it before where those elements are simply
baked out. Another is Piave. Piave is an
Italian cow's milk cheese kind of similar to
Parmigiano Reggiano but with a smoother,
nutty flavor. Pecorino is also a great finisher.
I know a lot of pizza makers who finish
every single pizza with this hard cheese. It
rounds out the pizza and adds a little sharp
flavor that perks your taste buds and combines
really well with tomato sauce. Then
there are some cheeses which go great at
any stage: Gorgonzola, goat cheese, ricotta
and feta.
So, what are great base cheeses? Mozzarella
is of course my top pick. Not only
because it is the classic pizza cheese, but a
mozzarella offers up the perfect flavor and
texture to build upon. It is creamy with
a slight hit of saltiness that allows you to
build upon without getting in the way of
other more dominant flavors. With mozzarella
as a base, you can make everything
from a Street Corn Pie to S'mores Dessert
Pizza.
When choosing a mozzarella for your
base there are a few different options. You
can go with straight up whole milk, my
personal preference. Whole milk mozzarella
offers a rich, creamy mouth feel with
a little extra grease. Personally, I think it
bakes better on the pizza and I love how it
mixes with our sauce. Part skim has a lower
butterfat content, melts evenly and has a
fantastic stretch. So, if you're looking for the
Insta-worthy cheese pull, part-skim is for
you. Then there is what a lot of cheese companies
identify as East Coast blend which is
comprised of 50 percent whole milk and
50 percent part-skim.
Blends are also a great option. Some of
the more popular are mozzarella and provolone,
mozzarella and Asiago, and mozzarella
and cheddar. Different regional pizza styles
use specific base cheeses or blends which
will change the base flavor profile.
Detroit pizza uses Wisconsin Brick
cheese. It is a semi-soft cheese with a high
fat content that is similar to cheddar with
a mild flavor. Coal-fired or New Havenstyle
pizza traditionally uses dry mozzarella.
On St. Louis style pies, it is typical to find
Provel, which is a processed white cheese
consisting of cheddar, Swiss and provolone.
Neapolitan pizza is made with fresh mozzarella
or Buffalo mozzarella.
As you can see, it's always fun to experiment
outside of your comfort zone. Find
whatever base cheese you love and build
your pizza from there. You have countless
options. Don't be afraid to reach out to local
cheese makers, it's most likely just as good
as any imported cheese depending on what
you're looking for and where you're located.
SUMMER CORN PIE
This pizza features Cotija cheese, which
is a Mexican cow's milk cheese. It is crumbly,
salty, moist and very addictive.
400 grams dough ball
230 grams shredded mozzarella
80 grams fresh red onion
80 grams shucked fresh corn kernels,
tossed in the chili powder below
Pinch of ancho chili powder
80 grams roasted Anaheim green chilies,
de-seeded and diced
150 grams Cotija cheese
60 grams cilantro leaves, chopped
Stretch dough ball in to a 16 " crust.
Evenly distribute mozzarella.
Sprinkle on onion, corn and chilies.
Bake at 625 degrees F for 7 minutes
or until crust is gold brown. Take out of
oven and top with Cotija cheese and fresh
cilantro. Eat and enjoy! n
AUDREY KELLY is the owner and
pizzaiola at Audrey Jane's Pizza Garage in
Boulder, CO.
SEPTEMBER 2021 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 41
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Pizza Today - September 2021

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