I have frozen leftover dough. I put it in the fridge over night for like 11hrs. Then I placed it on the counter for 3 hours. My mom saw the dough was rising and thus opened the container so it deflated. Later on I saw bubbles on the side.
My questions are:
Is the thawing process correct? I.e. overnight thawing in the fridge for 11hrs then countertop for 3? Should those hours be amended in any way?
Should my mom have opened the container? Does it make a difference at all if oxygen is introduced to it?
Are the bubbles on the side good or bad?
I have one more in the freezer and I want to make it right.
Best Answer
Thawing frozen pizza dough should be done overnight in the fridge, but allowing it to come to room temperature is not strictly necessary, because it will be cooked in a relatively hot oven in a short time. In fact, cold dough is often easier to work with.
However, 3 hours sounds like a lot for pizza dough, which may caused you to overproof it.
No, it does not make much of a difference if your container was opened.
Bubbles tell you that the yeast in your dough is active, which is often a problem with frozen dough. If you don't have bubbles, the dough will seem dense and undercooked even after baking for a long time. So bubbles are a good sign.