Freezing Dough?

[nowimcooking]

What's the general rule on freezing bread/pizza dough? Can all dough be frozen? I made Wolfgang Puck's pizza dough yesterday and only used half. I have no idea how long dough will last in the freezer, or even if it can be done. Any special instructions or tips?

[blazedog]

I freeze dough all the time, especially cookies which I will freeze in individual balls so I'm not tempted. -- wrap well and I would use within 3 months although I have kept frozen for much longer periods of time -- as long as it doesn't look freezer burned or otherwise strange. :D

[eaufille]

I froze that same recipe without a problem. I just used the last ball the other day and it was still good (~2 months). I wrapped them really well in plastic wrap and then in a freezer ziploc bag.

[Anne]

I usually make a double batch of pizza dough just so I can freeze some. I freeze it in a ball, lightly covered with oil, and tightly wrapped. I pull it from freezer and put in the coldest part of my fridge before heading to work in the morning. When I get home from work the dough is in perfect condition to roll for pizza crust or foccacia.

[SusanMac]

Like the folks above, I love having an extra pizza dough in the freezer for easy weeknight dinners. I have found, though, that the best dough texture is always from the fresh dough. The frozen one is absolutely fine, but tends to be just a bit chewier than when baked fresh.

[hAndyman]

I'll just chime in on this to mention the ball of dough I found in my freezer that a visitor had made and I found tossed into a freezer bag. I hauled it out more than a year later and threw it on the counter thinking it was compost material as it wasn't well-wrapped and wasn't in the deep freeze and I didn't think it would be any good. Well the darn dough slowly began to rise so I put it on a pan and, when doubled, baked it. It was better than my usual white bread, had a lovely crust, and good flavour. So, don't worry about freezing your dough too much - no special instructions are really required, but patience may be necessary as frozen dough rises slowly!

[bbpizzapro]

I actually work for a pizza manufacturer. We sell frozen dough balls.
Yeast slowly dies in the freezer, some recipes call for extra yeast if to be frozen.
We generally recommend the dough is used within 2 months.
To defrost simply remove from the freezer, place in fridge for about 24 hours...
Half an hour before you are ready to use take it out to warm up. This will make it easier to work with.

[nowimcooking]

Thanks so much for all the tips! Dough is happily freezing away!