How to Make ‘Mozzarella’ and Use the Leftover Whey to Make Pizza Dough

Right after making the previous cheese and bread video I was looking for other projects of that sort. Cheese can be quite easy to make at home and the results are surprisingly good. This ‘mozzarella’ is simpler, quicker, easier, uses fewer ingredients and pieces of equipment than the other cheese I made. You’ll only need milk, vinegar, a bowl, pot, and a slotted spoon.

When it comes to the leftover whey, we’ll not let it go to waste and add it right to the pizza dough. The rest can be used as an addition to stews, soups, or sauces. It can also be used for boiling pasta or vegetables.

I made two cheese balls using 2L (0.5gal) of milk in the video, but the written recipe makes only one cheese ball because that is all you need for the amount of dough in this recipe. You can of course double all the ingredients and make two pizzas.

Do not use ultra pasteurised milk (UHT) as it may not work. Regular pasteurised milk will do. But if you can get your hands on some raw milk, it would be even better.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the cheese –

1L (0.25gal) full fat milk

50g (1.75oz) distilled vinegar (5% acidity)

For the dough –

200g (7oz) white bread flour

50g (1.75oz) whole wheat flour

200g (7oz) whey

2.5g (0.09oz) instant dry yeast or 3g (0.1oz) active dry yeast or 7.5g (0.26oz) fresh yeast

5g (0.17oz) salt

25g (0.9oz) olive oil

To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.

The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration. 

If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

For the tomato sauce –

400g (14.1oz) tinned tomatoes

1g (0.035oz) oregano

1g (0.035oz) salt

10g (0.35oz) olive oil

Leftover basil stalks

*Blitz everything until smooth and leave in the fridge for later

Method

1. Make the cheese. Place the pot of milk on medium-high heat and warm to 46C (116F). Add the vinegar and stir it in well. Switch off the heat and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
2. Press the curd together against the side of the pot. Transfer the curd to a bowl and keep pressing out the whey.
3. Warm the curd up to 70C (160F). You can either re-heat the whey and place the curd back into it and warm it up that way or you can do what I did and heat it up using a microwave. Let it run for 30 seconds on high and check the temperature. Heat more if necessary.
4. Knead the cheese to make it smoother. Shape into a ball and chill down in cold water. Wrap up in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for later.
5. Make the dough. Combine the whey, yeast, salt, olive oil, and whole wheat flour. Mix well. Add the white bread flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature 25C (77F).
6. Place the dough in the fridge and leave it to chill down. Give it three folds at 30-minute intervals.
7. Cold ferment for 12 – 24 hours.
8. Place the dough in a greased baking tray and stretch it out.
9. Final proof 2 – 2.5 hours.
10. Top the dough and bake it at 230C (445F) for 20 minutes.

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.