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Recipe Freezing Pizza Dough

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by streak_56, Sep 7, 2011.

  1. streak_56

    streak_56 I'm doing something, going somewhere...

    Location:
    C eh N eh D eh....
    Being a stereotypical single guy, my food knowledge is lacking beyond a BBQ, pasta sauce and steamed veggies....

    I'm curious if you can freeze pizza dough? And how long will it stay "fresh"? Also, most of the dough recipes I see online don't really appeal to me.... they way I've made it with an ex was to add oregano and basil within the dough itself to all more flavour but is that a viable option?

    I'll add more questions as they come along....
     
  2. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Yes, you can freeze pizza dough. You can even make your own pizza ahead of time, freeze the whole thing, wrap it up, and stow it in the freezer. It's hard to say how long it will stay "fresh"--it depends on a variety of factors. How good is your freezer, how often do you open it, how well did you wrap the products, etc. With freezing herbs, you want to use less--herbs tend to "work up" in the freezer, so use half the amount. You can also mix in the herbs after you've defrosted your dough ball.

    Heck, last week my husband defrosted an apple cake we made a year ago. It still tasted delicious, and quick breads are supposed to only be frozen for three months (whoops). I double-wrapped it in foil and put it in a ziptop freezer bag. So wrap whatever you make well, and you'll be fine.

    I have a recipe for you here, from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I've changed some of the wording, because some terms in baking bread just aren't useful, or descriptive as to what you ACTUALLY want to do:

    2 tabsp sugar
    2 1/4 tsps active dry yeast
    1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees f)
    3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup bread flour
    1 tablespoon coarse salt
    1 tablespoon basil
    1 tablespoon oregano
    1 tablespoon thyme
    3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

    Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until mixture starts to foam, about 5 minutes. Combine flours, salt, and herbs in a large bowl. Mound flour mixture, then make a well in the center. Pour yeast mixture into the flour. Add olive oil. With a fork, stir in circular motion to gradually incorporate dry ingredients into liquid ingredients. Continue stirring until dough forms. (Conversely, you could do this on your countertop and knead the whole damn thing until the dough ball passes the windowpane test: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/07/gluten/) Shape dough into a ball. Grease a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl, turning to cover entire dough ball with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature until double in size, 45 mins. to an hour. Fold dough like a letter in order to work the air through the dough. Shape dough into three equal-size balls. Cover with oiled plastic wrap (or a floured tea towel--NOT a terry one, flour sack kind) and let sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. Shape dough into pizzas. Transfer dough to a cardboard round, and freeze pizza crust plain or with toppings. Wrap crusts individually in plastic freezer bags, freezer foil, film, apper, or vacuum package. Seal, label, and freeze.
    --- merged: Sep 7, 2011 4:57 AM ---
    Starting on pg. 27 of this PDF is the document I was looking for with recommended freezer storage times, but even the USDA does note on their site that properly frozen food can last indefinitely; it just depends on what your definition of "quality" is: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn403.pdf
     
  3. streak_56

    streak_56 I'm doing something, going somewhere...

    Location:
    C eh N eh D eh....
    Now that we got the dough down pretty easily.... my next question is toppings.... my idea is grilled asparagus and goat cheese.... what would you recommend?
     
  4. Lordeden

    Lordeden Part of the Problem

    Location:
    Redneckhell, NC
    It's pizza, you can put anything you want on it. My rule of thumb is this; if there were no sauce or bread, would the ingredients taste good together in a bowl?

    Also, freezing pizza dough is great, I freeze my dough on sunday so I can take a dough out of the freezer the night before and make bread/pizza the min I get home.
     
  5. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    We freeze our dough all the time with no ill effects. Just remember, if you make lots, to freeze it in portion sizes, so you only need to take out what you need.

    As for toppings, go with what tastes good!

    And when making pizza, just remember to get your oven as hot as you can. It should take a few minutes to cook a pizza, not 20.
     
  6. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Bad Breath Pizza: garlic, onion, and feta cheese.
     
  7. spindles

    spindles Very Tilted

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    You can always bake the base and then freeze it (without toppings), then when you want to eat it, take it out of the freezer, add your sauce/toppings and cook!
     
  8. streak_56

    streak_56 I'm doing something, going somewhere...

    Location:
    C eh N eh D eh....
    so... snowy.... I "tested" it, and is there supposed to be a more resounding herb flavour? And is it supposed to be salty?

    I will also add.... kneading is just a porn-less way of masturbating....
     
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    Now that I think about it, you could just use pita bread... ;)
     
  10. Lordeden

    Lordeden Part of the Problem

    Location:
    Redneckhell, NC
    Oh god, don't even go there. Please, for the love of Zenu, don't say it.
     
  11. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Pizza dough should be salty. It has to stand up to the other elements you put on the pizza. I use a tablespoon in my recipe, so the amount called for here is right on. I'd give it to you, but it requires a scale for measuring the flour and water. I don't know about the herbs--I don't add herbs to my pizza dough.
     
  12. streak_56

    streak_56 I'm doing something, going somewhere...

    Location:
    C eh N eh D eh....
    Rosemary Chicken, grilled asparagus, and goat cheese pizza.... thanks Snowy....

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Olives on the last pizza.... just to add a little something extra....
     
    • Like Like x 1
  13. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I meant to freeze the second ball of dough from last night's pizza...really, I did. But I'm glad I didn't :) Cold pizza for breakfast is the best.
     
  14. streak_56

    streak_56 I'm doing something, going somewhere...

    Location:
    C eh N eh D eh....
    I did the same.... I left it in the fridge and was thinking about it.... and thought about it for too long and decided what was best was two pizzas instead of one....