How to quickly and correctly defrost dough?

Frozen dough is a good help when you need to quickly prepare a pie, dumplings or pizza. This can be a store-bought product or homemade. The taste of products made from defrosted dough depends on the correct choice of semi-finished product. You need to check the expiration date, the tightness of the packaging and the appearance of the product. Young housewives are often interested in how to quickly defrost dough so that it retains its original qualities as much as possible. Some tips may be useful to experienced cooks.

How to quickly defrost frozen yeast dough?

Experienced housewives who often cook and are accustomed to saving their time often knead the dough several times. That is, divide a large portion into several lumps and freeze them in the freezer. During quick defrosting, such dough rises quite quickly in a short time, resulting in tasty and fluffy products.

How to quickly defrost frozen yeast dough:

It is worth understanding that yeast reproduces well at a temperature of 33 degrees. If the temperature at which the dough is defrosted is more than 40°, some of these microorganisms die and no longer release carbon dioxide.
Accordingly, such products will not rise. Therefore, the main task when defrosting yeast dough is not to try to speed up the process. Indeed, during rapid defrosting and using high heat, some of the yeast will die, which will greatly affect the properties of the finished product.
Therefore, the best option for quickly defrosting yeast dough is warm water, the temperature of which is 35-37 degrees. For these purposes, the frozen product must be wrapped in several bags and placed in a bowl of warm water.
Try to change the water frequently as it will cool quickly due to the dough releasing cold into the water. In this way, it will be possible to defrost a kilogram lump in about 1 hour. Do not try to increase the temperature, as this will negatively affect the quality of the product, despite rapid defrosting.

Effective ways to defrost dough

You can defrost the semi-finished product in different ways: at room temperature, in a preheated oven, in the microwave, in a water bath or in warm water. The simplest and most versatile (but not the fastest) is to place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 10-12 hours. If time is short and heat treatment is necessary, you should still first hold the product for 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator at a temperature of +2...+4ºC. The most appropriate mode should be used for each type.

How to quickly defrost puff pastry from the freezer?

To maintain the layered structure, the dough should not be overheated. It is better to remove the factory packaging, place the product on a board dusted with flour and cover with a towel or cling film. Do not separate the folded layers until they become soft.

You can speed up the process by placing the product near heating appliances or on the lid of a pan of warm water. To defrost evenly, it is better to wrap it in a terry towel and turn it over periodically.

Sometimes defrosting is done using a hairdryer. In this case, the device is held at a distance of 30-40 cm and warm (but not hot) air is blown from all sides. To prevent the product from weathering, it is first sprayed with water or wrapped in cling film.

Defrosting in a microwave oven is not the best option for such a product. You can defrost puff pastry in the microwave only if it is prepared without yeast. Do this at minimum power for 1-1.5 minutes, turning over every 15-20 seconds. Before rolling out, it is recommended to keep the defrosted puff pastry in the refrigerator for 20-25 minutes.

How to defrost correctly in a microwave, oven and a pan of water?

In modern models of microwave ovens, the defrosting mode is indicated by the image of a melting snowflake or drop of water. When setting the weight and type of product (you can select “Meat”), the time is set automatically.

To defrost dough in an old model microwave, you need to select the minimum power - 50 W and set the timer for 3-5 minutes. In 80-100 W mode, 40-50 seconds is enough. If this time is not enough for defrosting, you need to turn on the microwave for another 1-2 minutes.

Increasing the power to 150 W or more will not speed up defrosting, but will spoil the product - the dough will begin to bake on the outside, while the inside will still be frozen.

It is recommended to wrap the semi-finished product in special foil intended for use in a microwave oven or place it in a plastic container.

Defrosting in the oven at a temperature of +50...+60ºC takes from 5 to 20 minutes. This depends on the volume, so it is better not to freeze the semi-finished product in large pieces. When the dough becomes soft on the outside, you can cut it into 2-3 pieces and continue defrosting. It is better to cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle the top of the product with water.

Defrosting in warm water speeds up the process: you need to pack the semi-finished product in 2-3 sealed plastic bags, releasing excess air, and immerse it in water. The water temperature should not exceed +50ºC. As it cools, you can gradually add boiling water.

Defrosting in a water bath takes about half an hour. Pour hot water into a large saucepan and place a smaller saucepan with a frozen product in it. The bottom of the saucepan can be greased with vegetable oil; it is better to replace the lid with a folded towel.

Slow defrost

It is better to defrost any dough in the refrigerator at a temperature of +3°C or +4ºC (put it out of the freezer overnight, and it will defrost by morning). With slow defrosting, the properties of flour gluten are preserved. The taste and appearance of finished products can hardly be distinguished from those prepared from fresh product.

If the freezer is located on top, the optimal temperature will be on the bottom shelf. If the freezer is at the bottom, place the semi-finished product on the top shelf.

At room temperature, defrosting will take 3 to 5 hours. The dough must be protected from airing - you can cover it with a towel or film, sprinkle it with flour, grease it with vegetable oil or sprinkle it with water.

How to defrost dumpling dough?

After defrosting, the dumpling dough should retain its stickiness and plasticity. To do this, you should start the process in the refrigerator (6-8 hours) and finish at room temperature (another 2-3 hours).

If the product is placed near heating appliances, the defrosting time will be reduced. In this case, it is better to knead the dough by adding a little flour. After defrosting, the dough should “rest”; it should be left on the board, covered with a towel, for 10-15 minutes.

The nuances of defrosting yeast dough

Yeast dough is “live”. When defrosting it, it is necessary to create suitable conditions not only for restoring the structure, but also for the growth of yeast.

To avoid temperature shock, it is recommended to put it in the refrigerator for half an hour or an hour, and then to a warm place.

Yeast dough defrosts and rises well in warm – +35…+40ºC – water. There should be no drafts in the room.

Some housewives use a multicooker. You need to select the +40ºC or “Yogurt” mode, place the dough in the open bag into the multicooker bowl. A half-kilogram piece will defrost in 30-40 minutes.

When defrosting yeast dough, you need to take into account that it will increase in volume.

Defrosting in the microwave is undesirable - microwave waves adversely affect the vital activity of yeast fungi.

Conditions for defrosting phyllo dough

Greek yeast-free filo dough (sometimes called phyllo) is simple in composition. It is distinguished by its form - these are the thinnest sheets, which are lined with parchment in the factory packaging. Frozen phyllo dough is used to make pies, strudels and original snacks.

When properly stored, the finished dough retains its main advantage - tenderness and airiness.

It is important to defrost the phyllo dough correctly so that the thin layers do not stick together and can be easily separated from the paper. Quick methods using heat are not suitable here. The safest option is to put the packaging in the refrigerator. After 8-10 hours you can start baking.

How to properly defrost dough from the freezer?

Many people believe that yeast dough can be defrosted in the microwave. However, in reality this is not the case. The main point is that in a microwave, heating is carried out due to the vibration of water particles and their boiling.

How to properly defrost dough from the freezer:

There is a lot of liquid in yeast dough, so it is combined with gluten and yeast. During defrosting in a microwave oven, due to the vibration of these particles, some of the yeast dies, which will make the products lumpy and not at all airy.
Therefore, for yeast dough, the main task during defrosting is not to allow the temperature to rise excessively. The ideal option is defrosting near the central heating radiator.
You can place a lump of yeast dough in a pan, cover it with a towel and surround it with the burners turned on. It is best to put the pan on the stove, but do not light the burner, but turn on the neighboring ones. Due to the heat from neighboring burners, the dough will quickly thaw. This will not contribute to overheating of the vessel and deterioration of the quality characteristics of the product.

Before baking

Is it possible to re-freeze yeast-free and yeast dough?

The technology rules do not provide for re-freezing the product. It is believed that the quality of confectionery products in this case decreases.

Sometimes housewives re-freeze dumplings, but do not advise freezing yeast dough. Most of the fungi die, and the dough does not rise well.

It is better to use all the dough from the freezer at once, and if necessary, freeze the finished products. You can bake pies, buns or preparations (pizza bases, crusts, baskets). Later they are heated in the microwave or oven.

How to defrost dough quickly in the microwave?

The method of quick defrosting in the microwave can be used with pizza dough or unleavened pies that are fried in a frying pan. For them, the death of a certain number of yeasts is not so noticeable.

How to defrost dough quickly in the microwave:

Therefore, pizza dough can be placed in the microwave and set to the “quick defrost” program. If there is no such mode, a program with a power of up to 100 W will do. The lower the power, the better the defrosting.
Every minute it is necessary to turn the dough ball over so that the thawing process occurs evenly. Do not allow the product to overheat. Do not leave the dough in the microwave for 10-15 minutes.
As a result, you will end up with a lump that is completely baked on one side, but frozen and raw on the other. As a result, you risk spoiling the product.

Self-freezing

After cooking the dish, there may be excess dough left. To avoid throwing it away, it is frozen at home. For example, this can be done in the freezer. There the product will not lose its beneficial and nutritional qualities. You can freeze not only the dough, but also dishes made from it, for example, pies, pies, bread, dumplings, manti. Finished products are stored frozen for a very long time, up to 2 months. If necessary, you can take them out of the freezer and quickly prepare lunch or dinner.

To preserve the quality of the dough, it must be frozen correctly. To do this, it is rolled into a thin sausage and chopped into small pieces. Finished parts are wrapped in a plastic bag or cling film

An important rule: moisture should not get into the packaging before freezing, otherwise it will negatively affect the quality of the product.

The dough is then placed in the freezer. It sets the minimum temperature. This is necessary for the product to set quickly. When 2 weeks have passed, the temperature can be lowered by 3 degrees. In order for the product to be stored correctly when frozen, the following rules must be observed:

The yeast dough is laid in this way: the separated pieces are placed at a distance of 3 cm from each other. Over time, the yeast composition increases, but maintaining a distance between the parts will prevent them from sticking together.
Any type of dough can be stored in the freezer for no more than 4 months. After this, the product dries out and loses its beneficial properties and adhesiveness.
Once a frozen product has been used, it should not be re-frozen. The remaining pieces are discarded.
There is a way to freeze in foil: the dough is chopped into pieces, each sprinkled with flour. Then the total mass is gently kneaded until the surface becomes matte. The field of this composition is wrapped in foil. Do not allow air or moisture to enter.

How to quickly defrost puff pastry from the freezer?

The microwave is also not very suitable for defrosting puff pastry. The whole point is in the method of preparing it. Typically, layers of baked goods are obtained by alternating flour and fat. This structure is achieved by repeatedly folding and rolling out layers of buttered dough.

How to quickly defrost puff pastry from the freezer:

Therefore, if you put such a product in the microwave, then in most cases the fat will boil and may leak out of the product, and the dough will remain cold and raw.
After preparing such a product, you will not get a layered structure.

What is the best way to store fresh yeast?

I cut them into pieces and put them in the freezer.

Today, after defrosting, I discovered that the yeast was dead (or almost dead, it lost 50% of its strength)

What temperature do you need in the refrigerator?

I was somewhere around -5..-7.

Yes, defrosted at 7 for 12 hours.

Question: How can crystallization be prevented? immerse in oil?

Two or three weeks are perfectly stored in the refrigerator (depending on the manufacturer and shelf life) at 2-3. then only in the freezer. if I don’t plan to use during these two weeks, then immediately into the freezer. I don’t really understand why they died for you? Is there a characteristic smell?

Yes, and they completely melted away.

Eat. Grow your own starter.

even I find it funny))

this is a little off topic

This is a good method if the yeast is initially of normal quality. I buy a kilogram and divide it into 50 grams. I wrap it in foil and freeze it. A 50 gram pack thawed in the refrigerator can be stored for at least 2 weeks

I’m curious, why do you need yeast in such quantities, if you have repeatedly stated that you have finally and irrevocably switched to Sourdough (TM)?

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1 kg is yeast produced in Russia?

if so, do you consider them to be the best in terms of quality relative to the French ones?

I clarify that we are talking about pressed baker's yeast

what is the loss of strength? I'm around 60%

I'm sorry, but why keep them? They must be bought when they are needed, and they must be stored dry.

and when I'm not working, they do the same

What to do if the body experiences acute pie deficiency? I just open the freezer and...

Crystallization of Cellular Structures!

You are jealous of the clarity of thought and are simply finding fault.

After deciphering, I would venture to assume that comrade means the destruction of cellular structures due to crystallization. I am not ready to discuss the reasonableness of the assumption itself - they are tenacious mushrooms, what do they need this crystallization.

I would not freeze the yeast - even in 6.12 weeks, up to 40.50% of the “yeast” dies. In addition, when freezing, yeast cells are partially damaged, lose their viability, some of them die, and this reduces the elastic properties and gas-holding capacity of the dough (if you are using dough). And dead yeast cells impair gluten cohesion. The result is that the dough becomes sticky and stretchy.

Freezing yeast can be slow, quick at temperatures down to -24ºC, or deep in a nitrogen environment at -195ºC (I think you should especially like this method). Such yeast should be stored at a temperature from -8ºС to -25ºС. The longer the shelf life, the lower the temperature should be.

For freezing, you need to choose stable yeast. Stability is affected by many factors, including the strain, its cold tolerance, and the freshness of the yeast. It is recommended to freeze yeast that does not have very high fermentation activity (so-called compressed yeast with an average rate of gas formation).

To increase the protection of yeast, they are sometimes treated with glycerin, oleic or linoleic acid, sunflower oil, phosphate concentrate, egg yolk, etc.

Of the brands of yeast I know, the best for freezing is .

Some experts do not advise speeding up this process. The ice should melt naturally. They claim that sudden temperature changes very often cause overheating and then breakdown of freezing devices. Remember, for example, what happens to a glass jar if you suddenly pour boiling water into it. But it’s up to you, dear hostesses!

How to quickly defrost pizza dough?

Dough for unleavened pies and pizza can be defrosted in a water bath.

How to quickly defrost pizza dough:

For these purposes, you need to place the dough in a pan, after placing several paper towels on the bottom.
Place a lump of dough wrapped in plastic on top. The container is immersed in a bowl of boiling water and placed on low heat.
From time to time, it is necessary to turn the dough over so that the upper layers that come into contact with the walls of the vessel do not overheat.

For pies

Freezing at home

It is always necessary to take into account that the quality of homemade dough and products made from it will compare favorably with the quality of a store-bought frozen product.

You can make your own frozen dough at home. It will last in the freezer for as long as needed, retaining all its beneficial properties. Once defrosted it will look like it was just made. You can freeze not only the dough, but also products made from it: pies, buns, pizza. Such products can be stored for several months. It is very easy to freeze the finished product correctly. It must be divided into pieces and wrapped in foil. It must be packaged to prevent moisture from entering. The temperature in the freezer should be very low for two weeks, then it can be increased.

Advice
It is necessary to take a responsible approach to the choice of flour. The quality of products after freezing largely depends on this. You need to pay attention to the percentage of gluten in it. He must be around thirty. The finished pieces must be placed correctly in the freezer. For example, the yeast will increase and grow at first, so the portions need to be placed closer to each other. The maximum shelf life of the finished product is four months. Repeated freezing is not recommended.

The product can also be frozen in plastic bags, after sprinkling them with flour and releasing the air from them.

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How to quickly defrost dough?

Some types of dough, in particular puff pastry, are not recommended to be defrosted at high temperatures. The packaging says that it is advisable to leave the product, without printing it, at room temperature for one to two hours. The main advantage of sheet dough is that it defrosts quite quickly due to its small thickness. You can take a towel, place it on the radiator and place the dough on top without removing it from the packaging. Turn the dough over to the other side every 10 minutes so that the thawing process occurs evenly.

How to quickly defrost dough:

You can use a slow cooker or yogurt maker to defrost the dough. To do this, place several paper towels on the bottom of the vessel, and on top of them is a lump of dough in polyethylene or cling film.
Next, turn on the “dough” mode on the multicooker, or the normal operating mode of the yogurt maker. The main advantage of this defrosting is that the temperature is maintained at up to 40°, which prevents the death of yeast.
Thus, this does not in any way affect the quality characteristics of the product. The dough rises quickly and defrosts in a short time.

Choosing frozen dough

To keep the dough better and longer, it is subjected to shock freezing.
There is no need to freeze the product the second time. For each type of dough, separate defrosting conditions are used. There are a couple of types of frozen dough: shortbread, puff pastry, puff pastry without yeast, gingerbread, chopped.

To purchase a good and high-quality product in the market, you need to know a few secrets.

Package. It must be airtight.
Freezing method. Traditionally it is indicated on the label.
Number of layers. The more layers the dough has, the tastier the baked goods will be. This information is indicated on the product packaging. For example, yeast must have 35 layers, while yeast-free must have 225.
Best before date. The fresher the product, the better the products will turn out.
Composition of the finished frozen product.
It is imperative to study the composition on the packaging and make sure it is harmless.
Price. High quality products cannot be cheap.
Product type. Products must move freely throughout the packaging, not stick to it and not have foreign inclusions.

How to properly defrost phyllo dough?

Filo dough is the mixture used to make Greek pastries. Anyone who has ever vacationed in Greece or likes to visit bakeries of this type knows that the baked goods are particularly soft, with a very fluffy and layered structure. This is possible thanks to a special dough, which is made by combining several very thin layers. However, it is difficult to prepare such dough at home due to its very thin structure and the need to maintain a low temperature when preparing the mixture. Therefore, it is often produced industrially and sold as a semi-finished product.

How to properly defrost phyllo dough:

It is worth understanding that you should never use a microwave to defrost such dough, as you will completely ruin the layered structure. It is advisable to use a refrigerator.
Not the best option for defrosting at room temperature. The fact is that at temperatures above 10 degrees, such dough becomes sticky, the layers stick together. To avoid this, the ideal option is to defrost in the refrigerator.
However, you should not use closed packaging for these purposes. It is best to remove the dough from the polyethylene and spread it on the surface of a wooden board covered with parchment.
A few hours are enough to defrost. After this, you can roll out the layer directly on parchment and bake on it. After all, it is very difficult to transfer products made from thin phyllo dough without tearing it.

Also on our portal you can find the necessary information on the topic of baking and dough here:

How to prepare curd dough for baking?
Recipes for the perfect choux pastry for baking;
Eclair dough recipes;
Tips on how to knead dough;
Yeast dough for pies;
Apple pie - the best recipes;
Manti dough recipes;
Banana pancakes - delicious recipes step by step.

Conditions for defrosting Filo dough

This type of product consists of thin layers and cannot be quickly defrosted.

In order to preserve the structure of the semi-finished product and its taste, it is necessary to remove the product from the freezer, remove it from the packaging and place it on the middle shelf in the refrigerator.

If you thaw a semi-finished product in the kitchen, the thin sheets will stick together and become completely unsuitable for baking. This is the main disadvantage of Filo compared to other types of ready-made baking dough. While the product is thawing in the refrigerator, the housewife can start preparing the filling for homemade pies.

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With this type of defrosting, the edges of the dough quickly thaw while the middle remains frozen. The butter will begin to melt and be absorbed into the dough, the layers will stick together, which means the product will not rise well and will not be very layered. The baked goods will be tough and tasteless.

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It is more difficult to work with such dough, it breaks, and the baked goods from it are not as airy as from properly defrosted dough.

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