Weber Kettle Club Forums
Cooking & Food Talk => Pizza Forum => Topic started by: kettlecook on March 08, 2016, 05:24:57 PM
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Well, tonight was two firsts for us: finally made dough, and tried fresh moz on one. Needless to say, thanks to all the recommendations for the B Flay recipe. My wife did a great job and we made four small pizzas. (She had already divided it into four balls before I read one of y'all's recommendations for three.)
Sorry, I didn't get much in pics because we were kind of behind and I was making pizzas when I should've been cooking. But I learned a few things. First of all, I should've bought the spinners sooner. Second, we won't be buying any more Publix dough. Third, I really like fresh mozzarella and basil and need to learn how you're supposed to cook it. Even though my wife sliced it pretty dern thin, it was my last pizza and 650 evidently wasn't hot enough or something. Guess I should've added more wood, but all that moisture from the cheese just made it really stubborn and I couldn't get it to crisp up like I wanted. Is this why I read about folks cooking at 900*?
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160309/872c041f8016e0e2bf5798a5a069fbec.jpg)
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Did you try to dome the pizza? Scoop it up on your metal peel then hold it as close to the top of the grill as you can? Looks pretty good to me though. How was the crust?
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...But our grated mozzarella pizzas turned out really good. All but the fresh mozzarella one cooked in four minutes or less but folks were hungry so this was about the only other pizza pic I got.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160309/b0614e70234d53641da204b65e9ab60f.jpg)
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Did you try to dome the pizza? Scoop it up on your metal peel then hold it as close to the top of the grill as you can? Looks pretty good to me though. How was the crust?
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That's the thing, Mike. I did dome it but didn't char the bottom. Guess I should've just cooked it longer or hotter because even though it started to look crisp on the bottom it still ended up a little soggy. It was still good, but just not crisp like our grated dry ones. I've got to learn how to cook one. The fresh mozzarella with basil is really something.
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I usually slice mine fairly thing then kind of tear and break it up. About to do some pizzas but out of fresh mix or I'd make one and pay close attention to what I'm doing. If the bottom was a little soggy it sounds like you just needed another minute or two on the stone. Dining pizza mainly cooks the top and stops the crust on the bottom from cooking.
Gotta love it though. Every time you think things are all dialed in you have a mediocre pizza! I'm
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And if anyone is interested in how I've been managing my fire, this is after four small pizzas with time in between, started with one heaping chimney of K Comp divided into two chimneys and put on my Performer burner. The wood coals you see are from the only wood used, two good sized oak chunks and one split. One things for sure. Oak burns steady and long. The thing worth noting should be obvious and that is that the center of the fire is where the wood burns up first. That split that's barely left in the middle was about as large as those two chunks that were much slower to burn. They didn't smoke too much, though, and did flame up pretty good.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160309/20252af8b9fdb19d368e3e173e86c5f3.jpg)
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Now I'm getting nervous about making 2-3 pizzas this evening!!! lol.
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Now I'm getting nervous about making 2-3 pizzas this evening!!! lol.
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What you talking about, Mike? Go for it. My parents were over and unlike our grown kids, my wife wasn't about to let my mom help make pizzas so I'm out there spinning em and couldn't even drink a beer and my wife is inside putting them together but behind....you get the picture. Lol. TAKE PICS AND REMEMBER THE DETAILS! [emoji1]
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I usually slice mine fairly thing then kind of tear and break it up. About to do some pizzas but out of fresh mix or I'd make one and pay close attention to what I'm doing. If the bottom was a little soggy it sounds like you just needed another minute or two on the stone. Dining pizza mainly cooks the top and stops the crust on the bottom from cooking.
Gotta love it though. Every time you think things are all dialed in you have a mediocre pizza! I'm
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Thanks, man. I'll check in later. Hope they turn out to your liking. I'm thinking I'm gonna get some mesquite chunks for quick temp spikes next time I cook one with fresh mozzarella. Some dude out west says it's great wood for pizza. [emoji6]
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Mesquite burns hot and fast. You'll need more than you have been using with oak since it burns up so fast. I'm adding mesquite every other pizza if not everyone. I'll be interested to see what you think of the flavor with mesquite. I love it, and as I've said before I don't use mesquite for anything else because it's too smokey at low temps.
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Neapolitan pies are one of our favorites to make. Yours looks real good. Yep, higher heat would've been good to help cook the fresh mozzarella. Do you have the steel or something on top to lower the deck height and get the heat down on the top of the pie? For me, the steel works great.
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Mesquite burns hot and fast. You'll need more than you have been using with oak since it burns up so fast. I'm adding mesquite every other pizza if not everyone. I'll be interested to see what you think of the flavor with mesquite. I love it, and as I've said before I don't use mesquite for anything else because it's too smokey at low temps.
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Yeah, I know the mesquite will burn up fast but I was thinking it would be the ticket for more heat. When I first started with the KettlePizza if I had to add wood I'd push small pieces in through the front and to the sides with the hinges of my SS grate folded up. Like this: (http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160309/8cc1ae462f0a42c3e749fb76eb54beec.jpg)
Anyhow, since the wood in the middle is what burns up first and where most of the heat comes from, now I'm just sliding the whole oven forward and letting the Performer table support it while I quickly add wood to the the middle of the coal bed. Incidentally, I'm 100% positive now that sitting the stone on the hinged sides helps keep the stone from getting as hot since the center of it isn't in actual contact with the hottest part of the grate.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160309/085d11770dc438be2bb3687bbe37056e.jpg)
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Neapolitan pies are one of our favorites to make. Yours looks real good. Yep, higher heat would've been good to help cook the fresh mozzarella. Do you have the steel or something on top to lower the deck height and get the heat down on the top of the pie? For me, the steel works great.
Nate, just how hot do you have to cook fresh mozzarella? Is higher heat all there is to it? No, I've just got the basic kit and I'm cooking around 700 mostly. Thanks.
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The key, I believe, is lowering the deck height so the heat cooks the high moisture cheese. I only say higher heat to get your dome temp up when you don't have the steel. Hard to tell from your pic but it looks like you have some browning on the cheese. Did you still have to much moisture?
Here's a pic of one of mine with the fresh mozzarella browning I try to get.
(http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/nightriderrr/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150405_172031.jpeg)
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The key, I believe, is lowering the deck height so the heat cooks the high moisture cheese. I only say higher heat to get your dome temp up when you don't have the steel. Hard to tell from your pic but it looks like you have some browning on the cheese. Did you still have to much moisture?
Here's a pic of one of mine with the fresh mozzarella browning I try to get.
(http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/nightriderrr/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150405_172031.jpeg)
Looks really good. Guess I'll put another grate on top with some foil over a pan or something, and see how it goes. Thanks.
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@kettlecook - Look at your pic again this time on my pc, and it looks like (with knowing the crust wasn't quite done) that you just needed to give it another 1-2 minutes and it would have been perfect.
I took a ton of pics last night and will post my cook as soon as I get a chance.
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@kettlecook - Look at your pic again this time on my pc, and it looks like (with knowing the crust wasn't quite done) that you just needed to give it another 1-2 minutes and it would have been perfect.
I took a ton of pics last night and will post my cook as soon as I get a chance.
Yes, since it was my last one, I was getting a little impatient and my temp was almost down to 600 if I recall. That being said, it sure was more stubborn to cook than grated cheese pizzas so I'll be cooking the next fresh mozzarella one much hotter and/or drop the oven ceiling. Thanks for your input! Looking forward to seeing your pizza pics.
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@kettlecook - Look at your pic again this time on my pc, and it looks like (with knowing the crust wasn't quite done) that you just needed to give it another 1-2 minutes and it would have been perfect.
I took a ton of pics last night and will post my cook as soon as I get a chance.
Yes, since it was my last one, I was getting a little impatient and my temp was almost down to 600 if I recall. That being said, it sure was more stubborn to cook than grated cheese pizzas so I'll be cooking the next fresh mozzarella one much hotter and/or drop the oven ceiling. Thanks for your input! Looking forward to seeing your pizza pics.
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When I'm on my last pizza and the temps are starting to fall, I just throw a couple wood chunks right on the grate over the fire and give it a couple minutes before I put the pizza on. That's usually enough to drive the temp back up for the last pizza.
I can usually just throw the chunks through the slot in the front, so I don't lose any heat taking the lid off.
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@kettlecook - Look at your pic again this time on my pc, and it looks like (with knowing the crust wasn't quite done) that you just needed to give it another 1-2 minutes and it would have been perfect.
I took a ton of pics last night and will post my cook as soon as I get a chance.
Yes, since it was my last one, I was getting a little impatient and my temp was almost down to 600 if I recall. That being said, it sure was more stubborn to cook than grated cheese pizzas so I'll be cooking the next fresh mozzarella one much hotter and/or drop the oven ceiling. Thanks for your input! Looking forward to seeing your pizza pics.
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When I'm on my last pizza and the temps are starting to fall, I just throw a couple wood chunks right on the grate over the fire and give it a couple minutes before I put the pizza on. That's usually enough to drive the temp back up for the last pizza.
I can usually just throw the chunks through the slot in the front, so I don't lose any heat taking the lid off.
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Great idea. Thanks!
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That being said, it sure was more stubborn to cook than grated cheese pizzas so I'll be cooking the next fresh mozzarella one much hotter and/or drop the oven ceiling.
@kettlecook , your pizzas look pretty good to me!
It's definitley a challenge to get "fresh" mozzarella to brown the same as the grated stuff, without burning everything else, on pizzas with very thin crust.
This is a pizza I made this past Friday. I have fresh mozzarella, grated mozz and some parmesan, as well as the mushrooms. I could have left this one on a bit longer, but you can see the fresh wasn't browning at the same rate as the other toppings. It was still stringy, chewy and tasty, with crispy crust.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1633/24944649773_47357dd156_c.jpg)
Making pizza on the kettle is pretty darn fun and an inexpensive way to experiment with different methods and ingredients. Also, they cook pretty quick and keep the crowd happy, while we get to play with fire! ;D
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
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That being said, it sure was more stubborn to cook than grated cheese pizzas so I'll be cooking the next fresh mozzarella one much hotter and/or drop the oven ceiling.
@kettlecook , your pizzas look pretty good to me!
It's definitley a challenge to get "fresh" mozzarella to brown the same as the grated stuff, without burning everything else, on pizzas with very thin crust.
This is a pizza I made this past Friday. I have fresh mozzarella, grated mozz and some parmesan, as well as the mushrooms. I could have left this one on a bit longer, but you can see the fresh wasn't browning at the same rate as the other toppings. It was still stringy, chewy and tasty, with crispy crust.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1633/24944649773_47357dd156_c.jpg)
Making pizza on the kettle is pretty darn fun and an inexpensive way to experiment with different methods and ingredients. Also, they cook pretty quick and keep the crowd happy, while we get to play with fire! ;D
That one looks really good. I hear ya on how easy it is to experiment since cooks are quick and getting to play with fire. My buddy cooks some mighty fine pizzas on his Primo ceramic cooker but I tell him he doesn't know what he's missing.
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
I'll have to try that. Thanks for the tip!
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
I do the same thing by dicing the mozzarella and putting it in a stainless or plastic colander over a pan. Leave it at room temps for an hour or so and a whole lot of water weeps out of it.
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
I do the same thing by dicing the mozzarella and putting it in a stainless or plastic colander over a pan. Leave it at room temps for an hour or so and a whole lot of water weeps out of it.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks, man.
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
I do the same thing by dicing the mozzarella and putting it in a stainless or plastic colander over a pan. Leave it at room temps for an hour or so and a whole lot of water weeps out of it.
I don't drain or pat dry at all and have had no problems. The first time I used fresh moz, I had a friend who is the executive chef of a place that does really good Italian including wood fired pizzas and he didn't have me dry my moz. They make their own there and its very moist. So do with that info what you want too. LOL. I'll ask him about it the next time I see or talk to him.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks, man.
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Hey, sorry to jump in but this is/was a great conversation. I have a question about the steel. What exactly is that? I figure from the conversation its something you put on top of the accessory and then the lid, trying to radiate heat closer to your pie? Pizza's look pretty darn good though.
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@Travis Check out this link ---> Steel for top of oven (http://www.kettlepizza.com/Serious-Eats-KettlePizza-Special-Edition-Kit-p/kpse-22.htm)
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
I do the same thing by dicing the mozzarella and putting it in a stainless or plastic colander over a pan. Leave it at room temps for an hour or so and a whole lot of water weeps out of it.
I don't drain or pat dry at all and have had no problems. The first time I used fresh moz, I had a friend who is the executive chef of a place that does really good Italian including wood fired pizzas and he didn't have me dry my moz. They make their own there and its very moist. So do with that info what you want too. LOL. I'll ask him about it the next time I see or talk to him.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks, man.
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Mike, I wish there was a way we all could keep track of each other's oven setups. Did you lower the ceiling on your KettlePizza with foil or something?
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@kettlecook - I have never used anything but my kettle lid...so far. To me unless my stone is too hot I would end up burning the top of the pizza to get the crust done. Although I suppose if the high temps are held lower from the dome the stone would be hotter and maybe that wouldn't be an issue. I feel like I'd be back to day one if I put something above my stone to alter the way things work.
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
I do the same thing by dicing the mozzarella and putting it in a stainless or plastic colander over a pan. Leave it at room temps for an hour or so and a whole lot of water weeps out of it.
I don't drain or pat dry at all and have had no problems. The first time I used fresh moz, I had a friend who is the executive chef of a place that does really good Italian including wood fired pizzas and he didn't have me dry my moz. They make their own there and its very moist. So do with that info what you want too. LOL. I'll ask him about it the next time I see or talk to him.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks, man.
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I often cook them at wicked high temps really quickly in the Big Green Egg or, when it was still intact, in my Primo Oval XL. I found that if I got the ingredients just right - not putting too much on top... draining the excess water out of the mozzarella and out of the pureed tomatoes I was using ... then I could cook them in 3 minutes or less and have the top and bottom cooked to just the way I like them. But if I didn't cut back as much moisture as possible, the results varied quite a bit. Of course your results may vary - as do tastes - but after a lengthy learning period making countless mediocre pizzas, that's what I found.
ETA: I dug up some photos from when I used to take pictures of them
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3689.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3793.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3750.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3754.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3756.jpg)
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Cool. Thanks for the link Jason. Now I know. 👍
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@swamp Yankee - I think you nailed it without directly saying it. With smoking on a kettle there are a lot of rules or suggestions that are fairly consistent from one person to another. With the kettle pizza it is a hot fire that is very dependent on what charcoal you are using, dough, dough thickness, toppings, squeezing moisture out of mozzarella or not, how crispy or soft you want your crust etc.. So in the end it's a matter of spending some time making mediocre pizzas (which are still usually awesome) and tweaking each attempt little by little until you get it dialed in. If you keep changing each cook to adapt suggestions you have seen that work great from someone else you have just put yourself back several cooks as far as dialing in...unless you get lucky.
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@kettlecook - I have never used anything but my kettle lid...so far. To me unless my stone is too hot I would end up burning the top of the pizza to get the crust done. Although I suppose if the high temps are held lower from the dome the stone would be hotter and maybe that wouldn't be an issue. I feel like I'd be back to day one if I put something above my stone to alter the way things work.
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Cool. Good to know and I haven't had the "issue" of too low ceiling temps until this one pizza with the fresh mozzarella. Think I'm just gonna make sure my temps are up there next time. How hot by your gauge have you been cooking fresh mozzarella?
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This is an interesting thread. One of the reasons I bought my Weber was to investigate this Kettle Pizza gadget. I'd like to be making pizzas at our camper - but I'd hate like hell to have to move a Big Green Egg or a Primo Oval XL up to the campground only to have to move it back home in winter.
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@kettlecook - I have never used anything but my kettle lid...so far. To me unless my stone is too hot I would end up burning the top of the pizza to get the crust done. Although I suppose if the high temps are held lower from the dome the stone would be hotter and maybe that wouldn't be an issue. I feel like I'd be back to day one if I put something above my stone to alter the way things work.
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Cool. Good to know and I haven't had the "issue" of too low ceiling temps until this one pizza with the fresh mozzarella. Think I'm just gonna make sure my temps are up there next time. How hot by your gauge have you been cooking fresh mozzarella?
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Good question. I do all my pizzas between 600 and pegged out on my KP thermo of i can help it. I don't look for a hotter or cooler fire when using one cheese over another. Like I said if your top wasn't done enough and you crust wasn't either, you either need some more heat or let it ride a little longer. Sounds like you crust and top was on an even pace you just cut everything a bit short.
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For the fresh mozzarella, you can try putting the slices between paper towels, on a plate, then stack another plate on top to squeeze out some of the moisture. Maybe add a can or something weighty on top.
I do the same thing by dicing the mozzarella and putting it in a stainless or plastic colander over a pan. Leave it at room temps for an hour or so and a whole lot of water weeps out of it.
I don't drain or pat dry at all and have had no problems. The first time I used fresh moz, I had a friend who is the executive chef of a place that does really good Italian including wood fired pizzas and he didn't have me dry my moz. They make their own there and its very moist. So do with that info what you want too. LOL. I'll ask him about it the next time I see or talk to him.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks, man.
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I often cook them at wicked high temps really quickly in the Big Green Egg or, when it was still intact, in my Primo Oval XL. I found that if I got the ingredients just right - not putting too much on top... draining the excess water out of the mozzarella and out of the pureed tomatoes I was using ... then I could cook them in 3 minutes or less and have the top and bottom cooked to just the way I like them. But if I didn't cut back as much moisture as possible, the results varied quite a bit. Of course your results may vary - as do tastes - but after a lengthy learning period making countless mediocre pizzas, that's what I found.
ETA: I dug up some photos from when I used to take pictures of them
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3689.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3793.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3750.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3754.jpg)
(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/Beeconk/Pizza/DSCF3756.jpg)
Much appreciated. Good looking pizzas!
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@kettlecook - I have never used anything but my kettle lid...so far. To me unless my stone is too hot I would end up burning the top of the pizza to get the crust done. Although I suppose if the high temps are held lower from the dome the stone would be hotter and maybe that wouldn't be an issue. I feel like I'd be back to day one if I put something above my stone to alter the way things work.
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Cool. Good to know and I haven't had the "issue" of too low ceiling temps until this one pizza with the fresh mozzarella. Think I'm just gonna make sure my temps are up there next time. How hot by your gauge have you been cooking fresh mozzarella?
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Good question. I do all my pizzas between 600 and pegged out on my KP thermo of i can help it. I don't look for a hotter or cooler fire when using one cheese over another. Like I said if your top wasn't done enough and you crust wasn't either, you either need some more heat or let it ride a little longer. Sounds like you crust and top was on an even pace you just cut everything a bit short.
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Ok. Thanks so much for all the help and clarification.
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Well this one turned out better. Still not crisp as I'd like but much better than the last one. Thanks for all of the suggestions and help.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160314/a27c36eec1acf2797f54732e273074c2.jpg)
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Are you looking for it to be crispier on the bottom? If so, then I think that using a pan might be making your problem worse.
One of the reasons ceramic pizza stones are used is because they store and radiate heat as well as absorb moisture out of the dough quickly. Unless you're preheating your pan, you're shielding the dough from both the radiation and the drying effects....and there's no way to get even a heated pan to absorb moisture.
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@kettlecook - Are you cooking on your pan instead of directly on a pizza stone? If so, I would give it a go directly on the stone and see if that fixes your crust being too soft. LOL, I'm even willing to bet you might burn the crap out of a pizza by accident!
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(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160314/a2af17a1d21a0334b4d1eed1522a3bd2.jpg)
That was my last pizza right before pulling, so flames had died down, although temp was still above 600. But yes, bottom crusts could've been a little crisper on a couple of them, especially the fresh mozzarella. Don't know why folks have a problem getting toppings done before the crust. Yes, I'm letting the stone preheat but haven't burnt a bottom yet. Here's what was left of my coal bed afterwards. (http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160314/27a9bc2cffe3d458c6a317f11b5869d0.jpg)
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@kettlecook - It looks to me like your crust is thicker than mine. Might be why I'm not having problems getting crusts done. You might try getting a little more stretch out of your dough. I've been making mine around 14" lately....almost to the edges of my wood peels. Also, my coals are in more of a v shape....kind of pacman with his mouth open. So there are more coals under the stone from the 9-12 position then from the 12-3 position.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160307/71c39ace5ee01a6fd6cba972d823178e.jpg)
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@kettlecook - It looks to me like your crust is thicker than mine. Might be why I'm not having problems getting crusts done. You might try getting a little more stretch out of your dough. I've been making mine around 14" lately....almost to the edges of my wood peels. Also, my coals are in more of a v shape....kind of pacman with his mouth open. So there are more coals under the stone from the 9-12 position then from the 12-3 position.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160307/71c39ace5ee01a6fd6cba972d823178e.jpg)
Ok. We'll go a little thinner on the crusts. Wife made two batches of B Flay dough and we divided each into three balls. That left two in the fridge so I'll try the Pac Man sticking his tongue out setup. [emoji12] Thanks!
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I'm really enjoying this thread. Reminds me that one of the enjoyable aspects of kettle cooking-- and especially cooking pizzas!-- is managing all of the variables.
For me, one key to pizza is minimizing moisture. So my sauce gets reduced for a good while to remove much of the water content. Because water keeps the temps from going up. And I'm not sure if I'm using the same 'fresh' mozz as folks here are describing (mine comes as individual balls wrapped in plastic-- not floating in water), but I freeze the cheese for about an hour, then run it through the food processor to grate it. Works really well for me.
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I'm really enjoying this thread. Reminds me that one of the enjoyable aspects of kettle cooking-- and especially cooking pizzas!-- is managing all of the variables.
For me, one key to pizza is minimizing moisture. So my sauce gets reduced for a good while to remove much of the water content. Because water keeps the temps from going up. And I'm not sure if I'm using the same 'fresh' mozz as folks here are describing (mine comes as individual balls wrapped in plastic-- not floating in water), but I freeze the cheese for about an hour, then run it through the food processor to grate it. Works really well for me.
YOU DO WHAT??? Just kidding, that actually sounds like a good idea. As far as minimizing moisture, as I'm seeing that several people have mentioned that in one form or another, I don't worry about that when I do my pizzas. I mash up San Marzano's and don't add anything, or cook it down. I kind of think that some moisture gets hot fast from the high temps and helps get the rest of the dryer toppings going. The fresh moz I usuallly get isn't in water, but is the softer of the wrapped in plastic stuff that you can get, not the really hard firm stuff. It's basically the same as the floating in water stuff.