Q&A for How to Freeze Bread Dough

Yes. Freeze bread machine dough the same way you would any other bread dough. Once you’re ready to use it, let it thaw for 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

Freezing is a great way to store yeast-free dough if you’re not going to cook it right away. You can even shape the dough before you freeze it so you don’t have to thaw it out before cooking it.

The best time to freeze yeast dough is after you knead it and before the first rise. However, you can let it rise once and punch it down before freezing, if you like.

You can freeze the rolls, unrisen, in the pan. Cover them tightly with both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Then you'll just need to remove them, allow them to thaw and rise, and continue the baking process.

You knead the dough just before the first rise (fermentation), then punch it down and knead it the second time. Then you shape it as you would before your second raise (proofing). Then, instead of proofing the dough, you freeze it. You proof when it thaws or after it thaws in the refrigerator overnight. It can be proofed in a proof box or warm box straight out of the freezer. It will rise when it thaws if left out at room temperature.

After the first rise, yes, when you are fermenting the yeast and letting the gluten work, but not the second rise when you are proofing before the actual baking. If you are wanting brown and serve, you must bake it at a lower temperature and remove before it starts to brown. Then you can freeze that, thaw it out and brown it in the oven. Freezing the dough before the final proof then baking comes out close to making the dough fresh that day. Brown and serve is more like toasting bread-- not really worth it.

Yes, but remember some yeast will have expired during the freeze, so be sure to use extra yeast in the recipe if you want it to rise normally after thawing. After thawing (a slow thaw in a refrigerator overnight is worry-free), put the dough in the pan you will use for the baking and cover to do the 'second' rise, then bake as usual.

I don't see why not; many in-store bakeries have it shipped in that way. However, the article failed to mention that frozen bread dough does better in a freezer at -10 degrees rather than 0 degrees. It might be possible to dedicate a deep freezer to bread dough and get it close to -10 or get it modified so that it can.This will make it last much longer than three months and you won't need as much extra yeast.

A half teaspoon per quarter ounce package called for would probably be enough. You don't risk a dough explosion, but there's still back up for the yeast brigade.

I'm pretty sure you'd kill the yeast if you thaw the dough in a microwave, so I wouldn't recommend doing this.

Yes, but why would you want to take up the extra space and risk freezer burn on the top of the loaf, since it would be hard to wrap it tightly, forming the seal to the top of the dough rather than the top of the pan?

Depending on your recipe, yes, it might alter the flavor of the bread. If you want to ensure that the bread tastes the same after defrosting, you can try using your regular recipe, as there is a chance it will work. The only way to really know is to try it! If you want to ensure that the bread is fluffy when you bake it, however, changing out the flour is a safer bet.

Yes! In general, letting it rise only once before freezing the dough will yield the best results.

If you use fresh or instant yeast instead of slow rise yeast, try doubling the amount that you use. This will help ensure that your dough rises after it thaws.

The FDA recommends that you keep your freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit in order to store cooked and uncooked food safely.