Can You Freeze Pizza Dough? (Everything You Need to Know)

How to Freeze Pizza Dough

Are you wondering how to freeze pizza dough?

Most of us know that putting things in the freezer is a great way to preserve them and keep them fresh for longer.

But when it comes to many foods, putting them in the freezer could be detrimental to their taste or texture. 

So if you are trying to preserve your pizza dough, you’re probably wondering if putting it in the freezer is a good idea.

Luckily, freezing pizza dough is completely fine. You can freeze pizza dough for about 3-4 months, so you can pull it out to thaw and make pizza whenever you crave it. If you do it properly and store it, freezing pizza dough shouldn’t change its taste or texture.

This article will tell you what to do if you want to learn more about freezing pizza dough properly and avoiding any mistakes.

Let’s get into it!

Can You Freeze Pizza Dough?

Yes, you can freeze pizza dough! Freezing pizza dough is super easy, and it works for any dough. If you store it properly, it will keep in the freezer for about 3-4 months.

Whether homemade or bought from a store, any pizza dough is fair game. Freezing the dough won’t alter the taste or texture, and it’s a great way to keep it fresh for longer.

So if you’ve acquired a ton of dough that you know you won’t eat, placing it in the freezer will be an excellent option.

Read below if you want to find out how to achieve this.

Here’s What You Need to Freeze Pizza Dough

Of course, you don’t need all of these containers, but these are the ones we recommend to freeze pizza dough.

If you want a less expensive or disposable option, you can opt for storage bags. Here are the ones we recommend when freezing pizza dough.

How to Freeze Pizza Dough

You will need a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or airtight container to freeze pizza dough.

If you’re freezing multiple, smaller sections of dough to make small pizzas with, you’ll need a few of these containers or bags so that you can freeze the dough separately.

You have to put the dough into your preferred container, seal it up tightly, and then place it in the freezer.

And that’s it! 

The process is super easy and doesn’t require much work on your end.

Just be sure to fully seal the container because this will keep the dough fresh and help avoid any problems.

When freezing pizza dough, it’s essential to ensure it’s gone through the entire fermentation process. 

You don’t have to worry about this if you’re freezing the store-bought dough since it’s already ready to use. 

But if your pizza dough is homemade, ensure it’s been fermented before you freeze it, as this helps with convenience.

How to Freeze Pizza Dough Step-by-Step

1. Prepare the dough and let it rise.
2. Form the dough into individual dough balls, the size you would use to make one pizza.
3. Lightly coat each dough ball with olive oil or baking spray.
4. Slide the dough ball into a freezer bag or sealed container, squeezing out all the air.
5. Place in the freezer and freeze for up to 3 months.
6. When ready to use, place the ball of dough in its bag in the fridge to thaw overnight or for at least 12 hours.
7. Before making the pizza, bring the dough out from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before stretching out the pizza.

Here’s a Video Brought to You by Gozney on How to Freeze Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough Freezing Tips

Consider a few pointers for preserving the freshness of frozen pizza dough.

1. To speed up the storing process, cover the dough with plastic wrap. Coat your dough balls in olive oil before wrapping them in plastic wrap and placing them in a sealable plastic bag. Using this approach, you may bypass the process of flash-freezing the individual balls on a baking sheet. The olive oil will make it simpler to take the dough from the plastic wrap and make it crispier when baked.

2. Use parchment paper sparingly. When thawing dough, wax paper and parchment paper might be difficult to remove. The paper wrapping might absorb moisture and cling to the individual balls as the dough thaws. Instead, cover your pizza dough balls in plastic wrap, which will easily peel off as they thaw.

3. Refrigerate your pizza dough to thaw. Allow pizza dough to defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking on a hot pizza stone in your regular oven or pizza oven.

4. Separately store your favorite toppings. Individual freezer bags may be used to store any leftover toppings, such as pesto sauce or sun-dried tomatoes. Some meat toppings, such as sausage, have a three-month freezer shelf life, while pepperoni may be kept for up to six months. To keep track of future expiry dates, write the date clearly on the freezer bags.

FAQs

Does freezing pizza dough ruin it?

Freezing pizza dough doesn’t ruin it. If you freeze and thaw it correctly, the dough should keep its texture and taste without any problems.

Some may worry about excess water coming out of the dough during the thawing process since this is common when you freeze foods. 

However, this won’t happen when you freeze pizza dough.

Foods with excess water when they thaw (typically meats and veggies) have many individual cells with water in them. 

When the food thaws, these cells can burst as the ice melts back into the water, and this causes excess water. 

However, pizza dough doesn’t have these individual cells that carry water, so this isn’t a problem when frozen.

Do you freeze pizza dough before or after it rises?

You can choose to freeze pizza dough before it’s risen and gone through the fermentation process, but we find that this is less convenient. 

If you don’t ferment your dough before freezing it, you will have to do so once you take it out to thaw, which can be a hassle.

Freezing your pizza dough after it’s risen allows you to take it out, thaw it, and immediately bake it without going through the fermentation process. 

Plus, if you’ve frozen a couple of different batches of dough, you won’t run into the issue of wondering which has or hasn’t been fermented yet.

Though there are no significant repercussions for freezing dough that hasn’t yet been fermented, it’s less convenient. 

So we recommend letting the pizza dough ferment fully before putting it in the freezer.

Will Pizza dough rise after being frozen?

Once it’s been thawed, it’s normal for your pizza dough to rise. When yeast is frozen, it “goes to sleep,” so to speak. 

It stops working to make the dough bigger but doesn’t completely die off. 

When your dough is thawed, the yeast becomes active again and starts working to make the dough rise.

Pizza dough that’s been thawed doesn’t always rise that much. 

If the dough had already risen and been proofed before it was put in the freezer, it would not rise nearly as much as a dough that hasn’t been proofed. 

The amount it rises also depends on how much yeast is used: the more yeast, the more your dough will rise.

Can I freeze homemade pizza dough?

You can most definitely freeze homemade pizza dough! It is no different than store-bought in the way that it freezes. 

As long as you store it properly, it will keep in the freezer for about 3-4 months and have no altered taste or texture issues.

The fun thing about freezing homemade dough is that you can make it into balls of whatever size you want. 

If you wish to make tiny pizzas, you can do so. But if you want a massive pizza, you can also do that. 

Just make sure that you portion out the dough before freezing it so it’s easy to take out the desired amount and thaw it.

Why is my frozen pizza dough not rising?

Once the frozen pizza dough is thawed, it should rise, so you might be confused if yours isn’t doing so. 

There are several reasons your thawed pizza dough might not be rising. 

• First off, the way the dough is stored is going to affect how or if it rises. If your dough wasn’t covered, this could cause it not to rise. 

The uncovered dough is one of the main culprits because the dough won’t be able to stretch to its full potential as it rises. 

The uncovered dough tends to lose moisture and dry out, making it less stretchy.

It might not be a good batch if you’re sure you covered the dough by storing it in an airtight container. 

• If the original recipe isn’t good or wasn’t followed correctly, this can significantly impact how the dough turns out. 

So if none of your dough is rising, it could result from something going wrong when it was made.

• Lastly, your pizza dough might not rise because it was fully proofed once you froze. 

Though the thawed-out dough does tend to rise even if it’s been fully proofed slightly, it doesn’t rise nearly as much as unproofed dough. 

So if you don’t notice that your dough is rising, it could be because it doesn’t need to.

Is frozen pizza dough any good?

Frozen pizza dough will be as good as when it was first made. 

So as long as the batch you froze was excellent and tasty, the frozen dough should be just the same!

Freezing pizza dough is a great way to keep it fresh for longer. 

If you made or bought a huge batch and don’t think you will be able to eat it all before it goes bad, freezing the dough is a great way to fix this issue because it will keep the taste and texture fresh and delicious.

Can you freeze Pizza dough with yeast?

You can freeze pizza dough that’s been made with yeast. 

The yeast goes dormant, but it shouldn’t die off. Though yeast dies when exposed to high temperatures, not much happens when it’s frozen.

Once the dough starts to thaw, the yeast will thaw with it. It will release gas, allowing the dough to begin rising again. As the yeast thaws, it will get back to work.

Want to Learn More About Pizza?

The Last Slice

Overall, we hope that we’ve answered your question about can you freeze pizza dough and that you’ve learned how to freeze pizza dough.

As you can see, freezing pizza dough is pretty straightforward and a great way to preserve any leftovers so they don’t go bad. 

All you have to do is ensure that it’s portioned correctly and in an airtight container, and you are good to put that dough in the freezer.

Pizza dough tends to rise after being frozen and thawed, but you shouldn’t be too worried if this doesn’t happen. 

It should be good if your dough was proofed before freezing.

Hopefully, you’ve learned a lot from this article so that you can feel confident when freezing your pizza dough. 

And now that you know how to freeze pizza dough properly, you can improve your baking skills and learn to be the best pizza baker. 

You can even get a pizza oven to help you through it! 

Additional Resources on Freezing Pizza Ingredients

Enjoy!

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