DoughPlan

How to Freeze Pizza Dough (and Thaw It Properly)

By Josep Mampel Marques, updated

Freeze pizza dough after it has risen and doubled, divided into balls, wrapped tightly and kept for no longer than a month. King Arthur's method is to freeze the portions uncovered for about an hour until firm, wrap them "skin tight" in plastic, bag them, and thaw them in the refrigerator for 6 to 10 hours before shaping. Plan 10 to 12 hours from taking the dough out to eating. DoughPlan does not model frozen dough, so use its planner for the fresh batch and this guide for the freezer.

Step by step

StepWhat King Arthur says
1. Let it riseMake sure the dough doubles in size before you divide and freeze it.
2. DivideShape the portions and dust or oil their surfaces.
3. Freeze uncoveredPut them in the coldest part of the freezer (about 0 °F, or -18 °C) for roughly an hour, until no longer sticky or soft.
4. WrapWrap skin tight in plastic, then put in a plastic bag. Date it.
5. StoreColdest part of the freezer, away from the door, in a freezer that is not self-defrosting. Up to a month.
6. ThawUnwrap onto a baking sheet, tent with plastic and thaw in the refrigerator 6 to 10 hours until soft all the way through. Flattened rounds thaw faster than balls.
7. Shape and riseShape and let it rise at room temperature: about 90 minutes for thin crust in a warm kitchen, up to 5 hours for a thick crust in a cooler one.

The Fahrenheit-to-Celsius conversion in step 3 is ours; King Arthur gives 0 °F.

Adjust the recipe for the freezer

King Arthur makes two changes for dough that will be frozen:

King Arthur also warns against using a brand-new recipe for freezing, because you will not know whether the recipe or the freezer caused a failure. Bake the recipe fresh once first. A planner schedule is a good way to do that: open the planner.

What not to freeze

Do not freeze a lump of leftover dough that has been in the refrigerator for days. King Arthur says to avoid it. A dough that has already fermented for 2 or 3 days is further along than a dough frozen after its first rise; see how long to cold ferment pizza dough for how long a fridge dough holds up. If it has gone too far, pizza dough problems shows the signs.

Freezer or fridge?

Both hold dough for later, but they work differently. A fridge dough keeps fermenting slowly for 1 to 3 days, so its yeast amount is set by the schedule, and the planner calculates it. A frozen dough is paused after its first rise, and the planner does not model the pause. The practical difference is the time frame: the fridge covers a few days, and King Arthur limits the freezer to a month. If you know you will bake within 3 days, the fridge is simpler. The yeast model only covers that case: see fridge or room temperature.

Planning the thaw day

King Arthur says to plan 10 to 12 hours from deciding to make pizza to eating it. Working back from 20:00:

TimeStep
08:00Move the dough from the freezer to the refrigerator
14:00 to 18:00Dough is soft all the way through (6 to 10 hours of thawing); shape it as soon as it is
After shapingRise at room temperature, 1.5 hours for thin crust in a warm kitchen up to 5 hours for a thick crust in a cooler one; the later you shape, the shorter this must be
19:00Preheat the oven (the planner uses 60 minutes before you eat)
20:00Bake

Thawing is the flexible step. Check the dough at 6 hours, and shape it when it is soft. Use the poke test from same day pizza dough to decide when it is ready.

Frequently asked questions

How long can pizza dough stay in the freezer?

King Arthur suggests freezing pizza dough no longer than a month. It says longer freezing makes the dough harder to rise.

Should I freeze the dough before or after it rises?

After the first rise. King Arthur says to let the dough double, then divide and freeze it.

Can I thaw pizza dough on the counter?

King Arthur's method thaws it in the refrigerator for 6 to 10 hours. We did not find a published source for counter thawing, so we only describe the fridge method.

Next steps

Sources