My first foray into fresh mozzarella started at Costco. I'm not kidding. Costco has a terrific double pack of fresh mozzarella. BelGioioso (pronounced "bel-joy-oso") packages it dry, for the most part. So no weird liquid to deal with. Surprisingly, you'll actually end up using it up quicker than you think, so don't be intimidated by the large amount of cheese.
I like to pair this with another Costco product - the fresh, organic ciabatta rolls. They come in a large bag, and can be found next to the more tantalizing sweets.
Slice open the ciabatta bread (if you're choosing other bakery product, find a fresh baked bread that is light and has plenty of large air pockets (like an English muffin on steroids). Cut into one of the Belgioioso mozarella packages. Take the cheese loaf completely out of the packaging (it may be a little slimy, I'm not going to lie). Use a serrated knife and slice a few wheels off approximately 1/4 " thick. Place the cheese directly onto the ciabatta and then directly into your toaster oven (see, I promised this would be simple...). Use the oven setting at 350 degrees. Sometimes, I put it through one toast setting before I switch to the oven setting.
It allows for a crispier crust when you're using defrosted bread.
When the cheese starts to bubble and ooze, filling in the airy places in the bread, pull it out of the toaster oven. Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil over it, sprinkle a little bit of dried oregano, and enjoy!
After this, you'll never be able to look at commercial pizza the same way again. And you'll totally be in love with fresh mozzarella!
To store the cheese properly, simply place the remaining fresh mozzarella into a sandwich bag and release all the air before sealing. Tada!
