If you want to make pizza dough ahead of time and freeze it for future use, you can safely use the dough within one month of placing it in the freezer. Before you put fresh balls of pizza dough into a freezer bag, spray the bag with oil or coat it with a small amount of olive oil, then set the balls into the bag, close the top and freeze the dough. When making dinner plans, give the frozen dough enough time to thaw.
Step 1
Take the frozen balls of pizza dough out of the freezer and place them, still in the bag, into the refrigerator the day before you plan to make and bake pizza.
Step 2
Remove the bag of pizza dough from the refrigerator one to two hours before you plan to make the pizza. Place the bag on the kitchen counter and allow the dough to continue thawing. Separate the balls of dough so that, as they rise, they won't stick to each other.
Step 3
Allow the dough to rise as it thaws.
Step 4
Shape the thawed dough, stretching it into a circle. Pick the dough up, hold it by the edge and rotate it, allowing its weight to stretch it further. When you begin feeling some resistance in the dough, set it down, stretched, on an oiled pizza pan. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then resume stretching it out until it is the right size.
Tips and Warnings
- If you don't have very much time, put the frozen pizza dough into a microwavable bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Poke several holes in the wrap, place the bowl and dough into a microwave oven and thaw the dough on the "defrost" setting for two minutes, then let it sit for five minutes. Thaw it once more on "defrost" for one minute, let it rest for another five minutes, then knead out any remaining frozen lumps before letting it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Once it has thawed and rested, you can begin shaping the dough for pizza.
Things You'll Need
- Pizza pan
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