Water soaking improves pizza bake properties of fat-free mozzarella cheese shreds

Fat-free mozzarella is valued for its low-calorie, low-fat nutrition, but suffers from poor melting, excessive browning, and rubbery texture when baked, limiting its appeal. This study builds on prior findings that soaking fat-free mozzarella shreds in water improves pizza baking performance. The research evaluates the effects of soaking on frozen-thawed shreds and on leftover pizza after refrigeration and microwave reheating, using rheometer-based analysis. Results show that soaking lowers the melting temperature and enhances flowable texture, with improvements persisting after freeze-thaw cycles and reheating. Hydrating shreds thus consistently improves performance of fat-free mozzarella pizza.