Can you freeze pizza dough?

[Momto4kids]

If you can in what stage? I want to be able to freeze it for Friday night, make your own pizza.

What would be the thawing instructions?

Thanks!

[Gretchen in NJ]

Yes, you can, but I am not sure how long it would take to defrost in fridge. Maybe over night?

[allearia]

I made enough for two pizzas last week. After it rose the first time, I punched it down and split it into two pieces. I froze one pizza worth, and last night I moved it to the fridge to thaw for tonight. It was still pretty cold when I wanted to make it, so I put it in a warm oven for a while to heat a bit. Maybe taking it out two days before I wanted to make the pizza would be better.

It is still baking now but hopefully it will work!

[Janna]

Yes, you can. It's very versatile. You can make the dough, let it rise, divide it into two and freeze at that point. Thaw, roll out and put your toppings on and bake. OR, you can make the dough, roll it out and put on your pizza stone (or whatever you use), bake only the crust, let cool and then put your toppings on and freeze. After you thaw it, bake until the toppings are ready (cheese is melted and all that good stuff). OR, you can make your pizza in it's entirety, par-bake it (partially bake it), let cool and the freeze.

The thawing time is very quick. I would think the one that would take the longest would be if you froze just the dough in a ball. Already rolled out though takes no time at all. For sure, overnight in the fridge is plenty of time. HTH!