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“Can I Freeze Leftover Dough?”

This is one of the most frequent questions I get asked from YouTube viewers and students. Usually it refers to leftover pizza dough, but it can be about any yeast dough. My answer is that the freezer is not too friendly to living yeast and the dough will be rather lifeless after being thawed. I prefer to finish off all I’ve made made (although, I sometimes refrigerate some for use the next day) and then freeze the finished product. This is true with pizza and breads.

Two rounded pieces of dough
Freshly made dough

For example, a couple of weeks ago we did some backyard grilling and I made one of my all-time favorites, grilled flat bread. It can be made with almost any lean dough (one that doesn’t have too much sugar or fat) and is super easy and fast. The charcoal was a bit too hot since my husband decided to throw on some wood clippings from our pear tree, so they sure cooked fast! Some a little too fast. They were delicious and we ate a bunch with dinner. The leftovers were frozen in a plastic bag.  To reheat, I just pop them in the toaster oven (watch closely) and enjoy nice hot flat breads. I’ve even warmed them over my gas burner. You can also microwave to thaw first -very briefly.

Bread on the grill
On the grill

Today, I needed to make a quick lunch and there wasn’t too much going on in the fridge, so I took out a couple of breads, defrosted them in the microwave, topped with a little olive oil, fresh tomato and provolone cheese.

Open faced sandwiches
Ready for the toaster oven

Popped them into the toaster oven and voilà, I had a nice hot lunch with a flavor reminiscent of the fresh made flat breads! Here’s the recipe.

Sandwich and salad
Super quick and tasty lunch!