The first time I tried Daiya was at Pizza Pi in Seattle, Washington, about two years ago. I hadn’t had cheese or anything cheese-like for the past four or five years, so biting into that first slice of amazing dairy-free Daiya-laden pizza was sort of shocking and weird, but in a very good way. Trying out this soft and slightly gooey fresh soy- and nut-free homemade vegan mozzarella brought back that same kind of omgwhatisthisamazingness feeling, although the taste of this cheese is very different from Daiya’s flavor and texture. To give this mozzarella its uniquely soft and velvety texture, I tweaked the the original recipe by adding in some tapioca flour and slightly increasing the amount of coconut vinegar, which reduced the agar’s ability to fully gel and set. This final texture is perfect for dolloping on to a pizza and, when removed from a piping hot oven, is beautifully melted and releases an amazing cheesy aroma.
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FRESH VEGAN MOZZARELLA PIZZA
- Yield: 1 cup mozarella
Ingredients
- 1 can good-quality coconut milk
- 1 tsp coconut vinegar
- 2/3 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp agar powder
- 1 TB tapioca flour
Instructions
- Place the coconut milk into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until well-emulsified. Add in the vinegar, salt and agar and whisk frequently for about 15 minutes, or until a small boil occurs. Reduce the heat immediately, then whisk in the tapioca flour and heat for 5-10 minutes more.
- Transfer to a flat-bottomed glass pyrex dish to slightly gel for about an hour.
- Place small dollops of the cheese onto a homemade or prepared pizza crust with other desired toppings and bake on a pizza stone at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
