Freezing pizza dough

[sherri]

Hi everyone
I often make pizza dough, but I always eat it fresh. I want to freeze some extra dough for later use, but I am afraid. Yeast can be so tempremental.........
Anway, do I let the dough rise for an hour and then freeze it in a ball??
Do I thaw the dough out in the fridge, for how long?

How long do I let the dough rise after it is thawed??

Anyway, I would appreciate any advice!!

[kwormann]

Im sorry I cant be specific, because I just wing it, but, yes, I freeze it and it works wonderfully!

I freeze it after rising and punching down. I thaw it in the fridge then on the counter to make it easier to work with. I think I usually thaw it overnight, or at least all day! This way you can make several at one time:)

[Jennett]

I regularly freeze homemade pizza dough. I freeze it in a ball after it's risen and been punched down. I put it in a ziploc bag coated with cooking spray. I let it defrost in the fridge for 12-18 hours. (I think it defrosts overnight, but I haven't had a problem with keeping it in the fridge longer--until it's dinner time!) Once it's defrosted, I just roll it out and go from there. Usually frozen dough is a little stickier, but it still works fine. Good luck!

[Grace]

I do what everyone else does above, except sometimes I don't think far enough ahead of time about thawing it. I have thawed it in my microwave on the lowest power setting (1 on my microwave) for 2 or 3 minutes (I check it after 2 and see how hard it still is). I keep doing it in 1 minute increments until it's almost thawed (it will still be cold). Then I leave it on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes while I heat up the oven, get the ingredients together, etc. Then I pat it out into a circle and leave it sit another 10 minutes or so, to kind of rise again, and then I top it and bake it. Works beautifully every time. If I think far enough ahead of time though, I do put it in the fridge to thaw. I just wanted you to know that it's possible to do it faster than that if you want to.

Oh, and if I think I'm going to use the dough in the next several days, I don't bother freezing it in the first place. I just leave it in the fridge, like the dough you buy at Trader Joe's. That works perfectly too, and you don't have the thawing to deal with. ENJOY!!