Freezing Pizza Dough?

[ABrez]

I hear of people doing this but how? Wrap it in plastic wrap? Freezer bag? And then how far in advance do you need to pull it out to defrost?

And if I make an extra dough that will be used in a couple of days can it be stored in the fridge for a couple of days? How should it be stored in the fridge?

For the past several years I've just been making it as I needed it and throwing out the extra if we don't use it.

Any tips are appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[LeighB]

I make it and roll it out into the pizza shape then pre bake it and freeze it. I also make a few breadsticks and just freeze them without pre baking.

[newbymom05]

I put in on oiled Saran Wrap and stick it in the freezer right away. When I'm ready to use it, I defrost it for about an hr and it goes through the rise then. The only problems I've had is if I didn't get it in right away, then it rises a little in the freezer before it can totally freeze, but it's still good to use later.

You should go to Frugality and post on Leta's thread on "$100 Saved on Food" where she details all the bread, etc. she just baked. She and her husband seem to be baking experts and she could def give you lots of advice.

[Ola_]

Not very green, but we still use plastic produce bags for a few things so I use those to store pizza dough. The recipe I use makes enough for two pizzas so once I've mixed the dough I divide in half, put half in a bowl to rise and the other half in a produce bag and freeze. I spray inside the bag (just where the dough will be touching it) with olive oil spray, twist the bag closed, and toss in the freezer. I don't use freezer bags cause they tend not to stay there more than a week or two.

When I want to use it I just take it out of the freezer and set on the counter to thaw. You can also transfer to a bowl and it can thaw and rise in there. I usually take it out mid-morning or at lunch to use for dinner.

[Leta]

We use Julia Child's pizza dough recipe from Baking with Julia. We use 50%-50% whole wheat and AP (white) flour.

We let the dough completely do its thing (rising, then punch down), divide it into one pound lumps, and freeze in a knotted or twisty tied bread bag.

It takes no time to thaw in a warm kitchen on a metal pan- I try to give it a half hour and that's plenty. If I am trying to get ahead, I put in the fridge the night before. It thaws completely, but doesn't re-rise.

1 pound of dough makes a 12-14" round (depending on how thick you like your crust) or one standard cookie sheet size pizza.

Pizza dough is a very easy recipe to double/quadruple/whatever.

[AuntNi]

I love freezing dough. For pizza dough, I usually make it up into pizzas, complete with toppings, and freeze. That way, I have the convenience of a frozen pizza that's cheaper and yummier.

I also freeze the dough as newbymom05 describes.

[newbymom05]

Originally Posted by Leta

We use Julia Child's pizza dough recipe from Baking with Julia. We use 50%-50% whole wheat and AP (white) flour.

We let the dough completely do its thing (rising, then punch down), divide it into one pound lumps, and freeze in a knotted or twisty tied bread bag.

It takes no time to thaw in a warm kitchen on a metal pan- I try to give it a half hour and that's plenty. If I am trying to get ahead, I put in the fridge the night before. It thaws completely, but doesn't re-rise.

1 pound of dough makes a 12-14" round (depending on how thick you like your crust) or one standard cookie sheet size pizza.

Pizza dough is a very easy recipe to double/quadruple/whatever.

I knew you would know!

[orangefoot]

Originally Posted by AuntNi

I love freezing dough. For pizza dough, I usually make it up into pizzas, complete with toppings, and freeze. That way, I have the convenience of a frozen pizza that's cheaper and yummier.

I do this too after asking the same question a while ago.

[annettemarie]

Moving to Nutrition and Good Eating

[HappiLeigh]

I have frozen pizza dough and it's been fine, but if I have enough time to thaw it properly (as described above), I probably have enough time to make a quick-rise dough from scratch, so I found it didn't really save me trouble or time.
Real pizza convenience for me is to blind-bake a bunch of plain crusts (just poke them with a fork so they don't puff and become pita) and then freeze the pre-baked crusts. Then I can top a frozen crust in the amount of time it takes the oven to get nice and hot, and ten minutes later I have pizza.