Using Pre-Grated Mozzarella Cheese in an Outdoor Pizza Oven

Check out this video which shows pre-grated mozzarella being cooked in a high-heat Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven!

OONI US SHOP HERE:

Pre-grated Mozzarella cheese sold in re-sealable packets contains potato starch and this will change the dynamic of the pizza cook in high heat ovens.

Subscribe to YouTube for Free!

Pizza Ovens

High heat pizza ovens cook dry and moist cheese in very different ways – this is the first of a set of videos where we test out different types of cheese in these pizza ovens!

I’ve been using moist, soft Mozzarella cheese from a packet for a good while now from my local supermarket. But it’s not the pre-grated dry mozzarella. It’s what I refer to as buffalo style mozzarella – a ball of cheese that sits in its own water to keep it soft and moist.

And the reason why I use this very moist mozzarella and not pre-grated is shown in the video above: pre-grated mozzarella cooks super fast in high heat pizza ovens.

This means that pre-grated mozzarella will cook on top of your pizza before the base and the crust. There are a few things you can do to stop the cheese from burning on your pizza:

Keep the gas pizza oven on its lowest flame setting.
Or cook your pizza super fast on the highest flame setting – this is harder and tricky but can be done!
Freeze your pre-grated cheese before you sprinkle it on your pizza
Add the pre-grated cheese on mid-way through the pizza cook.

^

DRY MOZZARELLA CHEESE THAT CONTAINS STARCH WILL COOK A LOT FASTER THAN A MOIST MOZZARELLA CHEESE IN A HIGH HEAT PIZZA OVEN

^

MOIST MOZZARELLA CHEESE IS PERFECT FOR PIZZA AND WILL COOK AT THE SAME SPEED AS YOUR PIZZA BASE AND CRUSTS

However, if you can get your hands on the buffalo-style mozzarella cheese ball in water from your local supermarket and if you haven’t used it, give it a try. You may never want to use pre-grated mozzarella again on your pizza!

They are normally located next to each other on the cheese shelf and are reasonable priced in the UK.

The pre-grated mozzarella cheese can overcook in a high-heat pizza oven. Using an alternative mozzarella cheese that has higher moisture or just using the tips listed in this article, will prevent the cheese from overcooking on top and before your pizza dough cooks.

I’ve created a Pizza for Beginners YouTube playlist that gives some great tips to help you with your learning to cook pizza journey!

Enjoy your Pizza Cooking!

OONI UK SHOP HERE: