How to Store Yeast Dough: Useful Tips

In recent decades, many women have been forced to combine work and household chores. And modern kitchen appliances help us greatly in this. We came up with a lot of tricks and tricks that help us make preparations for dinner in advance. One of these life hacks is yeast dough prepared for future use. Of course, when there is not enough time to prepare delicious pastries, you can buy a ready-made dough. However, it is much more profitable, tastier and more useful to pre-cook dough, which can be used at any time.

We successfully store many types of dough in the refrigerator. However, yeast dough always raises a lot of questions and doubts. Will the dough remain magnificent after freezing? Wouldn't the cake be stingy? How long can the finished dough be stored and is it safe? Let's try to answer all these questions.

How to cook yeast dough for storage

The dough we buy in the store can be stored for 4-5 months under the condition of constantly low temperature. In the production test, there are preservatives that help keep the product for quite some time. Homemade dough is stored less, about 2-3 months. And then, only in conditions of strict observance of low temperature. Usually the freezer holds a temperature level of -18 degrees. Remember that you can’t freeze the yeast dough repeatedly - it will become unusable.

The preparation of yeast dough for long-term storage is not much different from the recipe for a regular dough. If you intend to prepare the dough for the future, you need to put a little more yeast than prescribed by the prescription in order to cover the yeast bacteria that were partially killed during freezing.

Here's a recipe for a classic sweet yeast dough recipe. Dissolve two teaspoons of yeast in two glasses of milk, add melted margarine, a little vegetable oil, a couple of eggs, sugar to taste, a pinch of salt. Add flour and knead the dough. After that, let him rise. When the dough increases in size several times, you can bake sweet buns with any filling, pie from it. If you want to bake pies or pizza, you need to add very little sugar. By the way, you can’t bake completely without sugar, even if it is a pie with cabbage. The fact is that a small amount of sugar gives the pastry a ruddy appearance and a crisp.

How to store yeast dough in the refrigerator

The dough can be successfully stored in the refrigerator, but not for long - up to two days. What is noteworthy, sweet dough is stored less than fresh. And all because in the sweet dough there is much more nutrient medium for the propagation of yeast bacteria, the dough rises faster and is stored less.

Yeast baking dough is very convenient to cook in the evening. Knead the dough, and then divide it into portions. This is done in order to cook only one portion of baking at a time. After you knead the dough, it is not necessary to wait until it rises. The fact is that the refrigerator chamber does not stop the life of food bacteria, as a freezer does. It’s just that the dough begins to rise longer than it does at room temperature.

You can store the finished dough in plastic containers or plastic bags. The main thing is to observe tightness. If you leave the dough in an open bowl, it will be covered with a dried crust. If you store the dough in a container with a lid, its walls must first be greased with oil. And in a plastic bag you need to pour a little flour so that the dough does not stick.Place the dough in the prepared container and leave on the warmest shelf of the refrigerator.

How to store yeast dough in a freezer

But most often the dough is stored in the freezer. After all, this is a real lifesaver - to cook homemade cakes when there is absolutely no time for it.

1. If you are going to store the dough for a long time, let the yeast bacteria come to life a bit and get started. No need to place the dough in the freezer immediately after it has been kneaded. Wait until it starts to rise a little.
2. Field of this divide all the cooked dough into several parts. If the dough is intended for pizza, divide it exactly into such buns that are needed for one tortilla.
3. You need to freeze the dough smoothly. First place the dough in a container or bag, and then leave it on the shelf of the refrigerator. When the dough has cooled, it can be transferred to the freezer.
4. It is undesirable to store the dough in the freezer if its door is constantly opened along with the main refrigerator. It is preferable to store the yeast dough in closed sections of the freezer so that there are no temperature differences.

Having a strategic supply of frozen yeast dough in the freezer, any housewife can sleep peacefully.

How to Defrost Yeast Dough

How is it possible that after frost the bacteria remain alive and begin to ferment again in the warmth? The thing is that at minus temperatures the yeast bacteria do not die, but fall asleep. When the dough warms up, they again begin their livelihoods and the muffin rises.

Defrost the dough gradually - first put the right amount of dough from the freezer into the refrigerator and wait until it is completely thawed. After that take out the cold dough and leave it at room temperature. When you put the dough on the kitchen table, after a while it will start to rise again. Take it out of the container and sprinkle with flour so that it does not stick. When the dough increases, it is necessary to immediately form buns or pie from it. Do not beat the dough repeatedly - it will lose its splendor. When the dough is formed into future baking, start baking it at low temperatures so that it rises further. And only when it becomes magnificent, add fire in the oven.

But often the dough needs a quick defrost. When an impatient child asked for buns, there is no time to wait for the dough to unfrost at room temperature. In this case, you can defrost the dough in the microwave. Place the serving in the microwave, set the defrost mode and defrost the product for 5-6 minutes, periodically turning it over.

Do not thaw the dough in hot water. In this case, the yeast bacteria die and the dough does not rise. If you don’t have a microwave on hand, you can use cool water and a bag. Place a slice of dough in an airtight bag and dip in a container of water. When the water gets cold, change it to warm again. Thus, you will significantly speed up the defrosting process and not lose the quality and taste of future baking.

There are housewives who always have fresh baked goods, a hot lunch and delicious salads on the table. This does not mean that they spend all their time on the stove. The ability to make preparations and store food can save a woman from many troubles. And this is an opportunity to save time, which can be used to communicate with loved ones!

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