King Arthur's Bakers are here to solve the culinary puzzles you share with us, whether by phone, computer or by the good old postal service. In Ask the Baker's Hotline, Annabelle will pick the brain of the talented King Arthur Baker's hotline team to address some of your most frequently asked questions.
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If you're looking to save time, you may be one of the many people who have asked our Baker's hotline, “Can I freeze my yeast dough?” Whether you want to freeze rolls, pizza dough, or wholemeal bread, this is a common question that you'll find about a million answers out there on the internet.
Having received this question countless times in her 16 years working at King Arthur, our Baker Hotline's MaryJane Robbins is here with her hot take (or rather, her very cold take !) to the yeast frosting dough.
In short… it's a last resort. According to MaryJane, yeast dough will never rise as well after freezing as it would if you baked it the day you made it. This is because some of the yeast will inevitably die in the cold of the freezer. (May dead yeast rest in peace.) If you must rise yeast dough, try increasing the yeast by about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per 3 cups (360 grams) of flour. As MaryJane explains, “Some yeast will naturally die in the cold, so adding a little more at first will help ensure you end up with plenty of live, functional yeast.”
Baker's Tip: Only activated yeast (aka yeast that has been mixed with liquid) dies in the refrigerator. Dry, inactivated yeast can and should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator to keep it fresh as long as possible.
Instead, try baking and then freezing
If you want to make bread or rolls in advance, MaryJane recommends baking, chilling and wrapping tightly before freezing for up to several months. When you're ready to enjoy, let the bread thaw on the counter. If desired, reheat in a 350°F oven until heated through, covering with foil to avoid burning.
If you want to freeze the pizza for later, bake the crust until it's set, as shown in our blog, How to make your own frozen pizzas. Once it's cooled, you have the option of wrapping it up and freezing it plain, or putting it in front of the pie so it's ready to bake for dinner. (The future will thank you for it!)
MaryJane's Bonus Tips
MaryJane, along with her colleagues at the Hotline, are founts of knowledge when it comes to freezing your yeast dough and bread. Here are some of her additional tips:
Tip number 1: Sourdough starter is much more sensitive than commercial yeast, so recipes with natural yeast bake better without freezing.
Tip number 2: If a recipe calls for two loaves but you only need one, consider halving the recipe instead of freezing the extra unbaked loaf. Simply divide all the ingredients in half, including the yeast and salt. (See additional tips in our post on reducing a prescription.)
Tip number 3: Most people want to freeze their dough to “advance” their baking. Instead of freezing your dough, why not make a double batch and then freeze the baked loaves? This way, you only spend one day baking, but you can easily make bread for the whole month!
If you still need to freeze…
At the end of the day, you may want or need to freeze the yeast dough. Maybe you suddenly need to get out of town when you're in the middle of one bread recipe, or you just can't resist the heavenly smell of hot cinnamon buns in the morning. Maybe the idea of not taking the freshly baked dinner rolls out of the oven on Thanksgiving Day will prompt more judgment from your relatives than we realize – you never know! If you'd like to give it a try, our Blog Team is here to help: We've got posts on how to freeze puff pastry for bread without dough, cinnamon bunsAND Yarns – and still ends up with delicious, fresh baked treats.
Keep your questions coming and I'll see you next month with another member of King Arthur Baker's hotline!
Cover photo by Erica Allen.
