The BEST A2A2 + Organic Mozza Pizza (Yes, cheese!)

Frequently, we get asked if we sell our own A2A2, organic cheese. We always have to say that we aren't making cheese from our milk to sell (that would be another entire bandwagon in addition to our yogurts and milk-on-tap!) but we also do love cheese too. So, we found an alternative to make your own cheese from our milk: cheese making kits!

Some time ago, we ordered various cheese making kits from Cheese Maker (www.cheesemaker.ca) for the farm store. We've got feta/goat, ricotta/mozza, cheddar, and poutine. After having a look at the instructions that come with the kits, we decided to send our social media person on the job of making the mozza and then making a pizza with that mozza cheese.

For someone without any prior cheesemaking experience plus filming and taking photos, it took her approximately 3 hours to make the cheese from start to finish. But the instructions in the booklet were clear, and all the equipment was included in the kit (thermometer, rennet, salt, citric acid).

Below is the recipe for this delicious flatbread pizza -- and believe us, it turned out so delicious! (And healthy, with One Organic Farm's all-purpose flour.) We also made a video of making the mozza that you can find as a reel on our Instagram account. (Here's the link.)

Without further ado: the recipe!

First, the pizza dough:

Ingredients:

1 packet active dry yeast (equivalent to 2 1/4 tsp)

2 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder, 1 tbsp)

1 tbsp minced herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano) -- we used oregano

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp organic cane sugar (or about 1 tbsp honey) -- we suggest Lockwood Farm's organic cane sugar

2 cups One Organic all-purpose flour

1 tbsp olive oil (plus more for coating bowl)

3/4 cup warm water (between 100-110 degrees F; anything too cold and the yeast won't activate, while too hot will kill it)

Directions:

Whisk the warm water, years and sugar (or honey) together in a bowl. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Then add your herbs. Mix together.

Knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky while you're kneading it, add a bit more flour, about 1 tablespoon at a time. You want the dough to be soft, slightly tacky, but not dry. Poke it with your finger -- if it slowly bounces back, it's ready to rise.

Let it rise. Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, until it has doubled in size. (Tip: if it's a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150 F, turn it off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. In 30 minutes, close the door to trap the rest of the warmth in. This will make the environment warm enough for it to rise.)

Preheat oven to 475 F. Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes before putting your pizza in. (If using a pizza stone, place it there as well.) Lightly grease or line with parchment paper a baking sheet.

Shape your dough. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin and your hands, flatten the dough into a circle or whatever shape you want your pizza to have.

Cover your dough lightly with a plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel as you prepare the pizza toppings.

At this point, you can put on whatever toppings you most like and/or have at hand. If you want to try the amazing pesto mozza pizza we made, keep on reading...!

The pizza toppings:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pesto

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced

8 oz (or really, however much you like!) mozzarella cheese, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

balsamic glaze

fresh basil

coarse sea salt (just a few pinches)

Instructions:

Uncover your pizza dough. Using a fork, make some random indentations in each one. Then season lightly with a few pinches of your coarse salt. (You could add ground pepper here as well, if you like).

Divide the pesto between each pizza and spread evenly. Add the mozzarella cheese and tomatoes to each pizza evenly.

Drizzle each pizza with the olive oil.

Place in oven, and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Top with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and fresh basil.

Cut into slices and serve immediately.

And there you have it: your own handmade pizza with handmade mozza, organic and good for you! Enjoy. :)

(Credit: we were inspired by this Pesto Flatbread Pizza with Mozzarella for the topping and this Homemade Flatbread Pizza Recipe for the dough.)

Did you make this recipe?

Tag us (@promisevalleyfarm) on Instagram. We'd love to see how yours turned out!