Frozen bread dough

[rsn48]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but liveaboards seems appropriate. When my boat was in refit, I added a dedicated freezer. Back in the day, I used to buy frozen bread dough, thaw it over night then bake it. And for the first few times, then proceeded to eat the whole loaf as it was so wonderful hot with melted butter....

I have a bread machine and I have been thinking of making something like 6 loaves of frozen bread dough to thaw, bake and eat on my boat. Have others done this and what were your results?

 

[Lollygag1]

Sounds like a good idea. You can always use the frozen dough as an environmentally friendly cannon ball to repel invaders.

 

[boathealer]

I have yet to find (or make) anything that tastes as good as Rhodes brand frozen breads from Walmart. Doesn't sound feasible, but they are amazing. I'm all for reducing the work load.

But i'm with you - an entire loaf and a tub of butter

 

[mvweebles]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but liveaboards seems appropriate. When my boat was in refit, I added a dedicated freezer. Back in the day, I used to buy frozen bread dough, thaw it over night then bake it. And for the first few times, then proceeded to eat the whole loaf as it was so wonderful hot with melted butter....

I have a bread machine and I have been thinking of making something like 6 loaves of frozen bread dough to thaw, bake and eat on my boat. Have others done this and what were your results?

I enjoy baking. Thawing frozen dough has not been as successful for me, even pizza dough.

I have been making naturally leavened sourdough for a while. It's a very slow rise and can sit in the fridge for a few days. I generally make baguettes.

That said, my bible is King Arthur Flour. Here are some URLs that might help. Let me know how it goes - would definitely be helpful to freeze dough.

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/10/21/freeze-bake-tips
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/10/05/freeze-bake-rolls

EDIT: This article looks especially promising - see pictures at end showing bread from frozen dough vs bread baked from dough that sat in fridge for several days. Also looks like a decent recipe - I'll have to give it a try!

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2016/08/06/freezing-no-knead-bread-dough

Peter

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I don't have a dedicated freezer, mine is a small compartment above the refrigerator. I generally have a cooler or two full of ice on board but they are not below freezing and the environment is wet.

Why not just take the bread maker on board?

pete

 

[jgwinks]

That's our plan. We make most all of bread with the machine. Actually just start it on the "Dough" setting then finish it in the oven for a normal looking loaf. Wife doesn't like the odd ones the machine makes. Just nee to find a place for it. And the Mix Master etc etc etc.

 

[mvweebles]

That's our plan. We make most all of bread with the machine. Actually just start it on the "Dough" setting then finish it in the oven for a normal looking loaf. Wife doesn't like the odd ones the machine makes. Just nee to find a place for it. And the Mix Master etc etc etc.

My Willard 36 Sedan is a small, small 36 footer. I cannot afford single purpose gizmos. That said, the Kitchenaid mini stand mixer had a home. About the size of a bread maker and more versatile (though I really only use it for bread and rolling pasta). And looks so much better than a bread maker

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/2025-small-stand-mixers

Peter

 

[BruceK]

Breadmakers doing everything from mixing to baking take a long time, well mine does, and it`s at home. Frozen could cut a lot of electrical demand, even if the thawed/baked frozen product doesn`t fully please everyone.
I created a sourdough starter once, made far too much fine bread. Even have a book on bread making, "Uncle John`s Original Breadmaking Book", a passport to delicious obesity. I suspect it`s the butter, not the bread.

 

[mvweebles]

About 5 day old dough out of the fridge for a few hours then cooked into pizza. Pulled it from oven about 30 mins ago. I have better luck with longer refrigeration than freezing, but I'll try the King Arthur recipe in the links I sent earlier

 

[Marco Flamingo]

my bible is King Arthur Flour.

Yep. King Authur bread flour. It has a blue label. Higher protein and better bread. Lately, I've been adding gluten for a nice chewy bread. About 1t per cup of flour is all it takes. I have no idea what "gluten free" is supposed to do/be/help, but I see it all over the place now. Mine has extra gluten. Do I need to warn people?

Making and baking is so simple that I have no idea why one would mess with frozen dough or have a special machine. I have a stubby loaf pan that makes about 1/3 of a normal loaf. For two people on board, that allows us to make a loaf a day. Toast in the morning, sandwich at lunch, a little for dinner. Seagulls get any leftovers so that we get fresh bread everyday.

Look for a no knead recipe if you want to keep things simple. Aluminum Dutch ovens work well on board. Use parchment if you want to eliminate dishwashing.

 

[NWSeadog]

We mix all the dry ingredients together (Including the yeast) for one loaf then store it in a zip lock bag. When it is time just dump it in a bowl along with some oil and water then mix by hand. Easy cleanup and no freezer required.

Good idea adding some gluten. Will have to try that.

 

[Lou_tribal]

At 4C yeast in the dough start to be in "sleep" mode (sorry I do not know the exact term in English) and does not proof anymore. Beyond 29C yeast starts to die but it can be frozen for a period without killing it. When warmed up tenderly again yeast starts to restart the proof process where it stopped. This is the process used nowadays by bread makers to prepare the dough the day before instead of waking up at 1AM to be ready for the first batch using programmed fridge that warm up the dough for it to be ready to be used at the time the bread maker arrives to the bakery.

Considering the headache to freeze it and the space it takes in the freeze I would say that it would be almost faster to do it when you need it. The time to make your dough by hand and to wait for it to proof would be the same as the time needed to warm it up and be ready to be used.

L

 

[Datenight]

I have yet to find (or make) anything that tastes as good as Rhodes brand frozen breads from Walmart. Doesn't sound feasible, but they are amazing. I'm all for reducing the work load.

But i'm with you - an entire loaf and a tub of butter

I'm with you Ray. Rhodes are a staple at home and on the boat. We had the rolls this evening with home made turkey soup. Do I need to say plenty of butter?

 

[Datenight]

Thank you Pilou! Your suggestion on fixing the photo was easy and worked!

Rob

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. MF. A much easier (IMO) no knead recipe in a cast iron fry pan (skillet).


https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/no-knead-skillet-bread/

 

[rsn48]

Why not take the bread machine on the ....... I don't have a large boat as many do here. I have a microwave, a convection oven, a small electric kettle and a one plate induction stove and toaster. No room at the inn for the bread machine.

When I bought the frozen bread dough from the supermarket, I put it in a greased pan at around 8 at night and by 10 in the morning it had risen quite well. I did this in a house. I have googled frozen bread dough and it is recommended to use the dough before 6 months, but you can go as long as year.

In the spring, summer, fall, I leave my fridge (which also has a small freezer compartment) loaded and the fridge on when I am not at the boat. This means I usually have about a week of food for three meals ready to go. All I have to do is show up at the boat and cruise away.

Six frozen loaves of dough, shaped like a foot long or longer very thick hot dog actually doesn't take up much space. The bags I bought in the past came with three frozen dough. I never once had any problems with the dough not rising.

 

[MRRiley]

There is also a "shelf stable" sourdough available at Costco from time to time. Vacuum sealed and apparently "par baked". Needs about 325 for 15 or 20 mins and it could be from your favorite bakery. A really great product that you won't need freezer space to maintain for perhaps, years....

 

[Simi 60]

Bread and pizza dough is so easy and therapeutic, why oh why would you not just do it as you knead it?

See what I did there. (-;

We actually do the no knead method, so even less effort again.
And have a bread machine but haven't used it in 4 years.

Cast iron pan for pizza
Free formed bread
Or cast iron dutch oven

 

[catalinajack]

Only freshly made dough for me. Takes me maybe 10-12 minutes. For bread, I use King Arthur bread flour but many recipes call for KA all-pupose. I bake the bread in a Breville countertop oven. For pizza I use an Italian flour from Napoli, Italy called Antimo Caputo, their Americano version which is formulated for baking pizzas at lower than commercial oven temps. I have tried many brands including the brand many pizzerias use, that is, All-Trumps, and have found the Caputo to yield the best-tasting crust by far, my opinion of course. You won't find Caputo in stores. I get mine from a website called brickovenbaker.com. It only comes to them in 25 kilo (55#) sacks which they break down and ship in smaller quantities. I just purchased a full 55# sack. I store it tightly packed in two-gallon plastic buckets with screw-top gasketed lids. Six do the trick. As you might guess, I make a lot of pizza. We are full-time live aboards.

 

[CaptTom]

Yep. King Authur bread flour. It has a blue label. Higher protein and better bread. Lately, I've been adding gluten for a nice chewy bread. About 1t per cup of flour is all it takes. I have no idea what "gluten free" is supposed to do/be/help, but I see it all over the place now.

A very small percentage of people have a real allergy to gluten. For the rest, it's just a fad. "Bread machine flour" is just what used to be called "high gluten flour" before gluten became a four-letter word. I just add a tablespoon or two of gluten to regular flour. You can buy it on Amazon, since most stores don't carry it. Just don't overdo it, you can make the texture too stringy.

We made room for the bread machine on board. We can run in off the inverter all afternoon while underway and have fresh bread when we arrive in the anchorage. Yes, the loaf is an odd shape, but it's just as tasty. If time and power allow, we'll use the dough setting and bake it in a real bread pan. That's very rare, especially in summer when we don't want the extra heat in the cabin.

At home, I always think freezing bread would be great, but frankly it's quicker to make a fresh batch than to thaw out frozen dough. I suppose I could freeze bread or rolls after par-baking them half way, but again, that seems like extra work and they don't really taste as fresh.

 

[mvweebles]

If it's a fad, I'm headed to CaptainJack's for pizza before he gets bored. His pie looks damn fine.

I've heard a lot of people use a bread machine to mix/knead dough but then bake the dough in an oven. Wonder why there isn't a bread machine that doesn't bake? I would think it would be much more compact.

I was an early adopter of bread machines 30 years ago. No lover a fan. The frozen Rhodes dough makes a bit of sense, but so does making it fresh, which is my current approach (perhaps a covid fad)

Peter

 

[DDW]

If you have limited space but still want a bread machine, try this one. Of the 6 or so bread machines we have owned, this is by far the best and has a very small footprint. Recipes and programs to do quick bake, hard crust, french bread, etc.

 

[rsn48]

Thanks for the link, I might actually consider purchasing it. I also like the wattage is low at 450 watts.

 

[CaptTom]

I'm not sure I'd want anything smaller than my 1-2 pound bread machine. I generally use the 1.5 lb recipes.

I did look a the 2-blade machines which produce a more normal shaped loaf. But price and storage space issues scared me off. Maybe some day I'll pick up a used one.

Almost all machines have the same problem: the blades are in the bottom of the pan. The blade on mine is hinged so it supposedly parks in a folded-down position when done, but in reality it still has to be ripped out of the bottom of the loaf, leaving the center slices torn up. Apparently the non-folding blades are even worse.

Ideally, a bread machine would have blades which retract up out of the dough, but I don't recall seeing any like that. What I did was note the times for each phase in each different cycle. This allows me to come back to the machine and pull the blade out manually after the last kneading. If there's a "punch down" phase later in the cycle I may or may not swing by and do that manually too, but it's not as critical.

 

[mvweebles]

Wirecutter and ATK like the Zojirushi Virtuoso breadmaker. A 2-paddle breadmaker, it makes fairly normal sized loaves, and has a heating element in the lid to give more even cooking of the top. It's about $340 - King Arthur carries it. It does appear to be a large appliance - 18"W x 11"D.

Although I enjoy making bread, and I'm pretty clean, a breadmaker would really cut-down on mess and the space it takes to produce a loaf of bread. Tempting, but not for my tiny boat.

Peter

 

[Puffin_NT32]

There are many recipes and techniques for simple bread making on Youtube. My favorite is "artisanbreadwithsteve", https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZdfub88-4D0Jc_V4T_yNrA.

He uses a no-knead technique, mixing up dough in minutes, proof from one hour up to 12 hours, depending on bread type, and baking in an oven in a dutch oven, "poor-mans-dutch-oven" (2 bread baking tins), skillets, or on a baking sheet. He has dozens of recipes. I use the technique at home, and have made breads, rolls, pitas, and pizza on the boat, in the oven and on the stove top.

 

[rsn48]

Here is a how to with frozen dough: (stolen from some site...lol)

Bread & dough

How to Freeze Bread Dough


Method
Make your dough as per the recipe instructions and allow your dough to prove. Knock the dough back and then shape the dough either into rolls or a loaf. Freeze the dough on either a lightly greased baking tray or loaf tin.

Once frozen remove from the tin/tray and wrap tightly in cling film or seal in a freezer bag.

Date the wrapped dough and freeze. Consume the dough within 6 months.

When you are ready to use the dough. Remove the packaging and return your dough to an oiled baking tin/tray and cover in a damp tea towel.

Leave to thaw/rise in a warm environment until the dough has doubled it size and is light and puffy.

Be careful not to over prove. Bake your bread in an oven according to your recipe instructions.

You may need to bake your loaf slightly longer (by an additional 10-15 minutes)

 

[djones44]

A very small percentage of people have a real allergy to gluten.

My wife and I are low carb, so boat bread is a dual challenge. A Vancouver bakery chain https://silverhillsbakery.ca/where-to-buy/ puts out a stock loaf called the Little Big Bread. With low carb we must preclude highly refined carbs (and seed oils) but being sprouted - we figured, how many times did it go through the mill, if at all?

The little blue loaf makes the cherished piece of toast that our 3 egg breakfasts demand. And it has no seeds plastered on it (seeds are plants' kids, they have their ways to make you pay - but I digress).

The glorious part is each slice nets out at 7 gm of carbs, chopped into four we have a platform for hors d'oeuvres. Our carb budget is honoured in the breach, so we just double down on the sausages, to keep up the fat - lost 30 lb in 2020 doing this, so...

We have a sub-floor freezer on Twilight, and a toaster/inverter/gen. Later, open-faced sandwiches are a Euro affectation, for continued cheating.

 

[Capt. Jon]

There is also a "shelf stable" sourdough available at Costco from time to time. Vacuum sealed and apparently "par baked". Needs about 325 for 15 or 20 mins and it could be from your favorite bakery. A really great product that you won't need freezer space to maintain for perhaps, years....

This stuff is awesome!