How To Freeze Pizza Dough: Tips for Freezing Pizza Dough

Whether your favorite pizza dough recipe results in a gluten-free or extra crispy pie, freezing pizza dough is relatively easy with a few simple strategies.

1. 1. Prepare the pizza dough and let the dough rise. To complete the process of fermentation, allow the dough to ferment overnight in a large, airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap. After the first rise is complete, mold your pizza dough into individual balls. Each ball of dough should match the serving size of the pizza you plan to make in the future, whether it be a personal pizza or an extra-large pie.
2. 2. Quickly prepare your pizza dough for the freezer. Avoid leaving the dough at room temperature for too long, as this can cause the outer layer to dry up. To prevent freezer burn, coat the dough evenly with oil. Place the balls of dough in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for about three hours.
3. 3. Seal your pizza dough in a plastic bag. Remove the frozen dough balls from the baking sheet and place them into a plastic bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal the bag tightly. Proper storage helps you maintain fresh dough while minimizing freezer burn.
4. 4. Store pizza dough in the freezer for up to three months. Use frozen pizza dough within ninety days of freezing for the best results.
5. 5. Let the dough thaw. Let the dough thaw completely before baking your individual pizza. The total time for thawing pizza dough in the refrigerator is approximately ten to twelve hours. Thawing the pizza dough overnight is a good way to reduce your prep time. A quicker option is to thaw the dough in warm water while still sealed tightly in the freezer bag.
6. 6. Cook your pizza. Prepare your pizza as you usually would, keeping the toppings to a minimum to prevent the pizza from getting soggy. Warm up a side of extra tomato sauce for dipping the pizza crust and serve your pizza fresh out of the oven.

Consider a few helpful tips for keeping frozen pizza dough at its maximum freshness.

1. 1. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap to speed up the storage process. Coat your dough balls with olive oil, then wrap each ball in plastic wrap before adding them to a sealable plastic bag. This method allows you to skip the step of flash-freezing the individual balls on a baking sheet first. The olive oil will also make the dough easier to remove from the plastic wrap and crispier when you bake it.
2. 2. Avoid using parchment paper. Wax paper and parchment paper can be difficult to pull off of thawing dough. As the dough thaws, the paper wrapping can absorb moisture and stick to the individual balls. Instead, use plastic wrap, which will easily peel off your pizza dough balls as they thaw.
3. 3. Thaw your pizza dough in the refrigerator. Defrost pizza dough in the refrigerator overnight before baking it on a hot pizza stone in your conventional oven or pizza oven.
4. 4. Store your favorite toppings separately. Store any unused toppings like pesto sauce or sun-dried tomatoes in individual freezer bags. Pepperoni may be frozen for up to six months while some other meat toppings, like sausage, have a shorter freezer shelf life of three months. Write the date clearly on the freezer bags to keep track of future expiration dates.

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