Any tips on making cheese on pizza stretch more ?

[lordramki]

Hi all,

Is there a way you can control the stretch of mozarella on pizza ? Does grating mozzarella make is less stretchy  ? Does cooking it at high heat make it less stretchy ? I use an electric oven for baking pizzas and cheese on my pizzas always have little or no stretch at all. Baking a pizza with a s----t-----r----e----t----c----h--y cheese still remains a dream.

[Randy]

It is most likely the cheese you are using.  Kraft and other bagged shredded cheese has little stretch,  Try Poly-O and shredded your own.  Also do not cook the pizza until the cheese is brown.

[lordramki]

Thanks. But apart from the cheese, do other factors control the stretch ? I'd love to know which of the following gives a stretchy cheese.

1.Grating/Shredding/slicing
2. Store bought / home made mozarella
3. Long baking at a low temp / short baking at a high temp
4. Baking all at once / Par baking the crust and then adding topping and cheese
5. Plain mozarella / Mozarella and Cheddar mix

[abc]

regarding 5. which is a cheese mix.... provolone is generally more stretchy than mozz and can have a more sharp flavor.  frankly it's not rarely a combo used for pizzas.

generally, when cheese is in its molten state it's most stretchable.  if you've dressed your pie w/ enough cheese and slice through it, the cheese from adjacent slices ooze to recombine with each other as your roller runs through it.  When you pull a slice out, you cause the stretch affect.

pizza commercials from those chain shops always demonstrate amazing stringy sensations...  too bad at least for me, living in a big market w/ expensive rents and stingy franchise owners, if I buy chain pizza I don't experience stretch on their pies.

[gschwim]

Mix it with Spandex?

[Johnny the Gent]

Mix it with Spandex?

   That could make it more stretchy, and depending on the fat content of the cheese, maybe even more sexy!

Ok, seriously.  Is the cheese put on at room temp or cold right out of the fridge?  Perhaps the temperature may be a factor?

[SLICEofSLOMON]

Hi All,

I thought I'd chime in on this. Stretch absolutely has something to do with the quality of the cheese. Grande has the best stretch on the market, best flow and highest temperature bake-off qualities before browning. Polly-o comes in second and after that, mileage varies. If you want to get the most stretch from your cheese, don't freeze it and and don't shred it into tiny shreds. The bigger the shred or dice, the less likely the cheese will burn and it will increase its melting qualities. Another trick to getting great stretch and less burn off is to put the cheese down first and dab the sauce over (very little sauce like for a Napoletana or a Lombardi or Patsy style pie) I slice my cheese and put down the slices, which gives me a really creamy cheese melt, that doesn't burn in the wood-burning oven.

The temperature of the cheese has little to do with its ability to stretch, however it is preferable to work with cold cheese. Freezing mozzarella messes up its melting capacity--owing to the loss of moisture during the freezing process. Whole milk mozzarella stretches and melts better than part skim--but that varies per brand too Grande's part skim melts better than most of the whole milk mozzarellas on the market.

I've conducted zillions of these tests over the years, so I've had plenty of good and bad experiences 

Evelyne

[abc]

that's a shame, i know i have to freeze my cheese otherwise it's too much to keep in the fridge... some of my bricks last over 4 months when i buy bulk.  i wouldn't think you could keep it merely in the fridge for that many months.

[gottabedapan]

that's a shame, i know i have to freeze my cheese otherwise it's too much to keep in the fridge... some of my bricks last over 4 months when i buy bulk.  i wouldn't think you could keep it merely in the fridge for that many months.

Get a FoodSaver or other vacuum sealer and cut your bricks up into smaller pieces. It won't stop the ripening, but it will slow it down and prevent spoilage.

[abc]

Hi All,

 Another trick to getting great stretch and less burn off is to put the cheese down first and dab the sauce over (very little sauce like for a Napoletana or a Lombardi or Patsy style pie) I slice my cheese and put down the slices, which gives me a really creamy cheese melt, that doesn't burn in the wood-burning oven.


Evelyne

Hello Evelyne... this is not the first time I'm reading your post, but now I'm replying to it...  what do you use to slice your cheese?  I've got primarily Grande in my fridge these days.... do you use a soft cheese knife?   I'm really thinking about getting one of those home version deli meat slicers.  it would allow me to slice cheese in sheets and lay a dough quite nicely.... or slice a stack of mozz slices, then cross slice them again to get a uniform batch of nice noodle like mozz. for topping on sauce, like generic nyc pizza.

[DNA Dan]

I thought I'd chime in on this. Stretch absolutely has something to do with the quality of the cheese. Grande has the best stretch on the market, best flow and highest temperature bake-off qualities before browning. Polly-o comes in second and after that, mileage varies.

I recently got my hands on some Polly-O low moisture whole milk mozz. I must say I was completely disappointed. I have had better stretch using Sargento cheeses from the grocery store. I don't think Polly-o comes in second to Grande in terms of stretch because I have had far inferior cheeses that have more stretch. Why ? I can't say. Perhaps they have some "substitute" in them.

Whole milk mozzarella stretches and melts better than part skim--but that varies per brand too Grande's part skim melts better than most of the whole milk mozzarellas on the market.

Is this true for Polly-O? Because the whole milk I bought was garbage. Since you have a lot of experience with cheeses, I'd like to ask a question I hope you can answer. Commercial pizza cheese seems like it's a completely different animal compared to a lot of cheeses I have tasted. Is there some "fake" cheese substiture that many commercial places are using? Their cheese is almost like bubble gum in your mouth. I have NEVER had that experence from any cheese I have purchased retail.