Provolone Cheese is something that I generally use in my pizza because of its sharp flavor.
If you are a pizza enthusiast and love making pizzas then you would be interested in knowing how provolone helps to add flavors to the pizza and makes it taste a hundred times better than just using plain mozzarella cheese.
Provolone has been my favorite companion along with cheddar cheese as it helps add immense flavor to my pizzas.
There is a lot of other cheese that I have been exploring lately but the Provolone cheese has been my favorite always.
Provolone And Roma Tomato Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough ball
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 5 Roma tomatoes
- 3/4 pound provolone cheese
- 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
- Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
- 2 tablespoons of fresh basil leaves
Step 1: Preheat The Oven
Prepare your pizza stone and place it in the oven.
Set the temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit or the highest temperature that your home oven and then let it preheat.
You can also use pizza steel if you do not have a pizza stone available.
Allow the oven to preheat with the door closed for at least 15 minutes in order to let the pizza stone heat up.
It is also possible to not use a pizza stone or pizza steel in this process.
In fact, I used a pizza pan for this recipe to make sure that the crust becomes crispy despite having a lower cooking temperature.
Step 2: Prepare The Pizza
Roll out the pizza dough while you wait for the oven to preheat.
Stretch the dough to a 12-inch pizza crust and then start by spraying or coating the pizza pan with the extra virgin olive oil.
Spread the pizza dough on the pan all the way to the edge and then sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top of the dough.
Slice the provolone into small pieces to distribute them evenly.
Place the provolone cheese on top of the pizza and then slice the tomatoes as well.
Put the tomatoes on the pizza and make sure that they are evenly spread.
Season the pizza with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
Chop the fresh basil leaves and then sprinkle them on top of the pizza.
Step 3: Bake The Pizza
Place the pan with the pizza on in the oven and then let it cook for 12 minutes.
Once the pizza crust turns golden brown and the cheese is melted over the toppings, remove it from the oven.
This process can take up to 18 minutes depending on the thickness of the crust and the toppings.
So make sure that the cheese is melted and the crust has become crispy.
Step 4: Rest And Serve
Right after removing the pizza from the oven, place it on a cutting board and then let it rest for at least 5 minutes. That is so the pizza is not piping hot when you bite into it.
Slice the pizza and then serve it while it is still warm!
How to add Provolone cheese to the Pizza?
Provolone cheese when grated and added to pizza gives it a really nice sharp taste which compensates for the basic taste that you get from the Mozzarella cheese.
In my pizza cheese blend, I always use the Provolone cheese as one of the cheeses and you are going to see that adding just a small quantity of it is going to make a huge difference in your overall pizza taste.
The key to adding cheese to the pizza blend is that when added a little bit on the pizza it renders a lot of flavors.
You do not need to load your pizza with a lot of cheese but rather just sprinkle it enough so that there is a perfect blend in the flavor of the pizza dough and the cheese.
What kind of provolone cheese do you use?
Fresh Provolone cheese is going to taste a little bit sweet and creamy while a little older cheese tastes sharp and adds more flavor to the pizza.
If you are someone who is looking to get the perfect taste for your pizza then you might want to add this cheese in really small quantities to mozzarella cheese.
The Provolone cheese does not have the stringy nature that you get from Mozzarella which is kind of the star of the show for most pizza lovers.
However, mixing both of them gives you the right taste that texture which you are looking for in a nicely cooked pizza.
There is a lot of other cheeses that you can add but you can never go wrong with mozzarella and provolone cheese together.
Can you substitute Provolone for Mozzarella?
Not really. The Mozzarella cheese is more stringy while the Provolone cheese is hard and you might not get that stringy texture if you use Provolone.
So, you would feel the difference in terms of taste and texture hence it is going to make a difference when you substitute one cheese in place of another.
But, in case you just can’t get your hands on Provolone cheese then it would not be a crime to use Mozzarella in its place.
Are you using a pizza cheese blend?
The next question that comes to your mind is if you are using the right pizza cheese blend and the answer to this question is- Any cheese blend that gives your pizza the perfect taste is a perfect cheese blend.
There is a lot that you can explore with cheese blends and as said in one of my earlier posts, my favorite cheese blends have to be 40/30/30 of Mozzarella, Provolone, and Cheddar cheese respectively.
Basically, I would add a little bit of cheese on top and it would give me a lot of flavor because of the presence of the Provolone and Cheddar cheese.
Different people have different cheese blends so do let me know your favorite in the comments below and I would sure try it out while making a pizza next time.
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