How to Freeze Dough (Pizza, Bread, and Cookie Dough)

Making dough is messy. If you are going to get the flour out, you might as well make a double batch and freeze dough for later. This is the secret to having "homemade" pizza or cookies on a Tuesday night in 10 minutes.

Pizza and Bread Dough

Yeast doughs freeze surprisingly well. The yeast goes dormant in the cold and wakes up when thawed.

1. Rise: Let the dough go through its first rise.
2. Portion: Divide into balls (e.g., one pizza size).
3. Coat: Rub the dough ball lightly with olive oil to prevent drying.
4. Bag: Place in a freezer bag. Remove air.
5. Thaw: Move to the fridge the night before. It will slowly thaw and may even rise a little in the bag. Bring to room temp for 30 mins before stretching.

Cookie Dough

This is the ultimate convenience hack.

1. Scoop: Scoop your dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, just as if you were about to bake them.
2. Flash Freeze: Put the tray in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
3. Store: Once the balls are hard, toss them into a ziplock bag.
4. Bake: You can bake strictly from frozen! Just add 2-3 extra minutes to the baking time.

Pie Crust

Freeze pie dough as a flat disk wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. It thaws on the counter in about 30-60 minutes, ready to roll.

With a pizza dough freezer stash, you are never far from a homemade meal.