Homemade Mozzarella Cheese With A Creamy Surprise Filling
Have you ever in your life met someone who DIDN'T like pizza? That's right, because just like unicorns and people who insist sugar-free chocolate tastes great, they either don't exist or they just haven't had the good stuff yet. No matter which kind of pizza you prefer, everyone can agree that a no-frills classic with tomato sauce and mozzarella is hard to beat. But have you ever had the pleasure of sampling burrata cheese? With a mozzarella shell and a creamy center that we've tweaked with ricotta cheese, our recipe for homemade burrata will take your pizza (and all other dishes) to a whole new level.
You'll Need:
For the mozzarella cheese:
- 64 fl oz whole milk (preferably pasteurized and non-homogenized)
- 4 tsp lemon juice + 2 tbsp cold water
- 16 drops liquid vegetable rennet + 3 tbsp water
For the burrata ball:
- 2-3 tbsp ricotta
For the pizza:
- pizza dough
- 3 tbsp tomato sauce
- 1 mozzarella ball
- fresh basil
Here's How:
1. Pour the milk into a tall pot over medium heat. Combine the lemon juice and water, stir it together, and add it to the milk. Heat the mixture to to 97°F while stirring the pot.
2. Add the vegetable rennet drops to the water, mix well, pour into the heated milk mixture, cover with a lid, and let cook for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the cheese curd into large cubes and wait until the whey (liquid) settles.
4. Place a cheesecloth-lined collander in a bowl. Pull a cheese curd out of the pot with a skimmer, place it in the collander, and use the cheesecloth to squeeze the liquid out.
5. Heat water in a large pot to about 175°F and add the cheese ball. Knead the cheese with a spoon and remove it from the pot with a skimmer.
6. Cut the cheese ball in half. Take one half, stretch it out into a circle, place ricotta cheese in the middle, wrap the mozzarella ball up, and twist the end off to seal it. Place the mozzarella ball into an ice bath and let it chill until 5 minutes until firm.
7. Roll out the pizza dough and coat it with tomato sauce. Cover the dough with mozzarella slices and bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes. Then pull the pizza out, place the stuffed mozzarella ball in the center of the pizza, and bake for another 10 minutes. Garnish the finished pizza with fresh basil for an authentic Italian flavor.
Cut the burrata ball open and spread the creamy ricotta center over the rest of your pizza for an experience that's out of this world. Who knew pizza could possible get any better, and best of all, who knew it was so easy to do?!
You can find the recipe for the Cheese-Stuffed Meatball Casserole featured in the bonus video here.