Freezing and defrosting yeast dough

You can freeze raw yeast dough wonderfully, either to store leftovers, Or to quickly prepare fresh yeast pastry over a longer period of time. For example, fresh bread rolls every morning.

To get the best out of your dough, there are a few things you should bear in mind. It is best to freeze raw yeast dough immediately after preparation. Before it has risen. It is also possible to freeze dough that has already risen. However, there is a risk that it will become sticky or mushy after defrosting and will rise less when baked.

If you freeze yeast dough in smaller portions, you can defrost it as required. This means you only ever have the quantity you need. For example, you can prepare Sunday rolls for the whole month in one go.

To prevent your yeast dough from drying out, you should freeze it in an airtight container. Write the date of preparation on the packaging so that you always know by when you should use the yeast dough.

It is best to defrost yeast dough gently overnight in the fridge. This takes about twelve hours. If you have less time, you can defrost yeast dough at room temperature within a few hours. However, this can make the pastry a little drier.

It makes sense to sprinkle yeast dough with a little flour before defrosting. The flour binds the liquid that is produced during defrosting.

Once the dough is completely defrosted, knead it again briefly. You can then leave it to rise in a warm place. This may take a little longer than with freshly made dough. When the dough has approximately doubled in size, it has risen sufficiently. You can then process the dough as normal.

You can simply freeze the remainingyeast pastry, for example cinnamon buns or a piece of yeast plait. The pastry must be completely cooled for this.

It is best to cut the pastry into smaller pieces before freezing. This will allow you to only defrost the amount you need. And the pastry defrosts more quickly.

Make sure that the individual pieces do not touch each other during freezing. The pastry should also be frozen in an airtight container.

If you freeze cinnamon buns, for example, you should not decorate them with a frosting (a sweet glaze) as this does not freeze well. It is better to prepare it fresh after defrosting the pastry.

Leave yeast pastry to thaw for two to four hours in the fridge or 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature in the packaging. Then bake at 150 °C for ten to 15 minutes.

To prevent it from drying out, defrost yeast pastry in sealed packaging.

If you have frozen the pastry in slices, you don't need to defrost it at all. Instead, you can put the individual slices directly into the toaster, defrost them in the oven at 100 °C or toast them a little in a pan.