How to defrost dough correctly and quickly?

Defrosting methods

Preparing food is a crucial moment that seems like an easy task only at first glance. This is especially true for frozen semi-finished baked goods. Choosing the wrong technology can completely ruin everything. To be sure of the final result, you need to know in advance that there are several ways to quickly defrost the dough:

1. In natural conditions. In this case, the product must be removed from the packaging, placed in a deep container and left to thaw at room temperature. In this case, the surface should be covered with a napkin or towel to prevent weathering. This procedure can last from two to five hours. Everything will depend on the type and weight of the specific semi-finished product.
2. In a water bath. To do this, place a container containing the frozen product in a pan of boiling water.
3. You can use the microwave to thaw the dough. Place the product on a plate, place it inside the chamber, close the door and set the “Defrost” mode. If the device does not provide it, then processing must be carried out at a power of 50 to 100 W.
4. In the oven, the semi-finished product can thaw in a few minutes. To do this, it must be laid out without packaging on a baking sheet covered with parchment. The oven must first be preheated to 70 degrees.
5. The simplest option is to use a regular room battery. In this case, the semi-finished product does not need to be removed from the packaging. True, this method is only possible during the heating season.
6. Quite often, housewives use warm water as a warming reagent. To do this, the product must first be placed in several plastic bags so that moisture cannot penetrate inside.

When choosing how to quickly defrost the dough, you must remember that not each of the listed methods may be suitable for a particular semi-finished product.

How to defrost dough?

The fastest and easiest way is the microwave. Can you defrost dough in the microwave? Of course you can, but it is important to do it correctly. Almost every modern microwave oven has a defrost mode, and we use it. The main thing is to make sure that the dough does not overheat. To do this, you need to turn it over every 1-2 minutes.

If you have an old microwave without a defrost mode, just set the power to 100 W.

The microwave can be replaced with an oven. Place the dough on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 70 degrees for about 2 minutes. Here it is important not to overcook and remove the dough in time, otherwise it will be spoiled.

If you don’t risk defrosting the dough in the microwave or oven, you are afraid that it will spoil, there are more gentle methods.

• Place the dough in a plastic bag, tie it tightly, and immerse it in warm water. After about 2 hours it will be ready to bake.
• If it is winter outside and the radiators are warm, place the unpacked dough on the radiator. After an hour or two it will be completely defrosted.
• Are you in a hurry? Defrost the dough at room temperature, covering it with a towel. This is the best option, but will take around 3-5 hours.
• Water bath. Place a pan of water on the fire and place a container of frozen dough on top. Make sure that when defrosting the dough does not stick to the surface on which it lies.

Which way is better? It all depends on the type of test. Also, do not forget about preparation: you need to keep it in the refrigerator for half an hour before defrosting. This will preserve nutrients.

Good to know

Dough is a rather capricious product. If processed incorrectly, it can turn into a useless mass completely unsuitable for baking. To prevent this from happening, you must take into account a few useful tips that will help you better understand how to quickly defrost the dough:

1. When using a microwave, the dough must be constantly turned to prevent the surface from drying out.
2. Do not place the semi-finished product in a burning oven. The chamber should be warmed up well and then cooled to the desired temperature. In this case, the air will become warm, not hot. After this, all that remains is to wait for the dough to completely soften.
3. When using a water bath, you must carefully monitor the boiling point of the liquid. Otherwise, the product may stick to the surface or boil.
4. Repeated defrosting of the dough should be avoided. This may lead to deterioration in the quality of the semi-finished product.

If time allows, it is better to use the safest method for defrosting. To do this, you just need to put the dough on the bottom shelf of your home refrigerator. True, this will require at least ten hours. But the quality of the product will not suffer.

How long does it take to defrost 1 kg of puff pastry? How long does it take for the dough to defrost?

It usually takes me a little while to start cutting the puff pastry. If the dough is frozen in sheets, 15-20 minutes at room temperature without additional heat is enough. Sometimes the dough is rolled into a roll, then more time is needed so that the inner part has time to defrost.

We recommend reading: How Long Does Viburnum Keep in the Freezer?

Sometimes I buy ready-made puff pastry, but it is always sold frozen in half a kilogram or a package of 1 kilogram. Usually puff pastry, regardless of whether it is yeasted or yeast-free, is packed in flat plates in a package about 1 centimeter thick each - 500 grams is 2 layers, 1 kilogram is 4 layers. Because they are so thin, they don’t take long to defrost. It is more convenient to buy and prepare dough from 500 gram packages. So, 1 kilogram of puff pastry at room temperature will defrost in 2 - 3 hours. And if you place the package on the windowsill and the battery is running below, the defrosting time will be reduced by about 1 hour - 1 kilogram of dough will defrost in 1 - 2 hours.

It usually takes me a little while to start cutting the puff pastry. If the dough is frozen in sheets, 15-20 minutes at room temperature without additional heat is enough. Sometimes the dough is rolled into a roll, then more time is needed so that the inner part has time to defrost.

Preparing puff pastry

Each type of semi-finished product for baking has its own characteristics. In order for the product to be suitable for its intended use in the future, it must be properly prepared. For example, it’s not so easy to decide how to quickly defrost puff pastry. Firstly, under no circumstances should you unroll it first. In this case, fragile layers can break. As a result, the product will lose its appearance and will practically be spoiled.

Secondly, the puff pastry should not be subjected to intensive heat treatment. This requires special skill, which not everyone has. If you don’t keep track of time or temperature in a microwave or oven, you can get a finished puff pastry without waiting for baking. For this type of test, it is preferable to use more gentle methods. Puff pastry products are usually defrosted naturally:

• in a refrigerator;
• on the table at room temperature;
• near heating devices (batteries).

In this case, it is better to put the product itself in a plastic bag or wrap it in a towel. This way it will retain all its beneficial properties, which guarantees the proper quality of future baking.

Effective defrosting methods

There are several basic technologies that will help defrost the dough without harming the structure.

Particular attention is paid to the puff composition; it cannot be defrosted using thermal appliances.

Method No. 1. Natural conditions

This type of dough processing is also called slow, because the procedure takes place under natural conditions.

Open the package of dough and place it on a flat dish or cutting board. Leave for 4 hours at room temperature. During this period, the dough will thaw, so it can be used for cooking.

Turn the mixture over every hour so that defrosting occurs moderately. If the dough is rolled into a roll, after 2 hours it can be unrolled.

If you have time, move the mixture from the freezer to the fruit and vegetable storage drawer (bottom of the refrigerator).

Using this method, the dough will defrost in 10-12 hours, it all depends on the serving size.

Method No. 2. Oven

Preheat the oven to 90 degrees in advance. For 10 minutes, make sure that there are no fluctuations in the set mode.

Take a baking sheet, line it with 2 layers of parchment paper, sprinkle it with flour. Remove the dough from the packaging (!), then place it on a baking sheet.

Send the mixture into the cabinet cavity, stick to the middle shelf.

The duration of defrosting is about 3 minutes, not longer. Throughout the entire period, you need to watch the action so that the dough does not bake on top.

Method No. 3. Heating radiators

If you are unable to use an oven, use heating devices. You can use either a standard radiator or an oil heater. The method is suitable for defrosting dough in the cool season.

Place the product on a flat dish and place it on top of the heating device. Watch the action closely, turn the dough every half hour.

It is important to prevent the formation of a crust, which traditionally occurs during the chapping process.

To do this, place a piece of cling film on the dough. The duration of defrosting depends on the room temperature. As practice shows, the dough becomes soft in 1.5-2 hours.

Method number 4. Microwave

In most cases, after defrosting in the microwave, the dough loses some of its taste properties. To prevent this, carry out a small preliminary stage.

Remove the mixture from the freezer and leave it on the middle or bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 45 minutes. During this period, the composition will soften, as a result of which defrosting will take place without harm to quality.

After preparation, start the function. Remove the product from the packaging and place it in a microwave-safe glass container.

Cover with a lid, leaving a small opening.

Set the power to about 90W or use the “Defrost” mode. It is difficult to predict how quickly the dough will defrost. It all depends on the personal characteristics of the device.

To begin with, set it to 10-15 minutes; after this period, you can evaluate the result. Every 30 seconds, pause the microwave and turn the dough over.

This move will allow the composition to defrost moderately. Otherwise, a crust will appear on the surface or the dough will begin to bake locally.

Method No. 5.

Water Almost all housewives prefer to defrost the dough, as they say, the old fashioned way. To do this, use cool or room temperature water.

Prepare thick plastic bags without holes. You will need about 5-6 pieces. It is important that the liquid does not penetrate into the cavity, otherwise the dough will become unusable.

Wrap the product in cellophane and tie tightly. Pour cool water into a bowl and lower the dough into the cavity. Remove it after 20 minutes.

Now fill the container with slightly warm water and put the dough inside again.

Take it out after 35-50 minutes. During this period the product will defrost. To increase the effectiveness of the procedure, change the cooled water with warm water every 5-7 minutes.

Preparing yeast dough

The question of how to quickly defrost yeast dough deserves special attention. Here it is necessary to take into account that any sudden temperature changes or carelessness in work can lead to the fact that the semi-finished product will not rise after such treatment. Then you can no longer dream about pies or any other baked goods.

In order for yeast dough to thaw, it is better to:

1. Place in two large plastic bags, keeping an air gap between them, and place in warm water. Over time, the liquid will cool down, so it must be constantly changed.
2. Wrap the frozen product in a towel and leave it on a cutting board at normal room temperature. This will take at least 4 hours.
3. Use the microwave without heating the product.
4. Leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight, placing it on one of the lower shelves.

Considering the characteristics of the yeast semi-finished product, the latter option is preferable if you have free time.

Defrosting yeast and puff pastry

Yeast and puff pastry are considered the most capricious; they need to be defrosted especially carefully. You must know all the nuances to defrost such dough correctly without spoiling the baked goods.

Yeast dough

When defrosting yeast dough, the slightest mistake can lead to the dough not rising during baking. To avoid this, pay attention to the following features of defrosting yeast dough:

1. When defrosting in water, the dough must be wrapped in several plastic bags. The water temperature must be maintained and not allowed to cool.
2. Place the dough in a container and place it next to a lit burner.
3. We strongly do not recommend defrosting yeast dough in the microwave. There is a theory that microwave radiation kills the beneficial properties of yeast. But if this doesn’t bother you, you need to defrost the yeast dough as quickly as possible; do not set the timer for more than 2 minutes.

You can no longer refreeze yeast dough after defrosting!

Puff pastry

Puff pastry is no less demanding than yeast dough for high-quality defrosting. But there are some nuances here. For example, if yeast dough can be carefully defrosted in the microwave, then puff pastry cannot be defrosted under any circumstances. It's best to just leave it in a warm room for a few hours. Below are some more helpful tips for defrosting puff pastry.

1. Cover it with a towel. This will help prevent a hard crust from forming.
2. If the dough is roll-shaped, it is possible to remove the top, already thawed layers and start working with them. Just do it carefully, otherwise you will damage the structure.
3. When defrosting on the radiator, wrap the dough in a towel.

You can store puff pastry in the refrigerator after defrosting for no more than two days. Use quick defrosting methods only in extreme cases when it is really necessary. Defrosting the dough using quick methods is only worth it if it is pizza dough or something similar. In other cases, it is better to do with natural defrosting at room temperature.

Simplified classification

In order not to waste time when coming home from work, but to immediately start baking, every housewife should understand that, in fact, there are two main options for how to quickly defrost the dough:

1. You can remove it from the freezer in advance, calculating the time required for complete thawing. This natural recovery process takes longer.
2. In case of special need, you can sometimes resort to emergency measures. This includes all methods that involve sudden temperature changes (oven, warm water, microwave, radiator and water bath).

As practice shows, most often housewives still use the second option. Of course, few people plan the menu in advance. Sometimes the decision to bake delicious pies comes spontaneously. Having noticed a frozen semi-finished product on the store counter, you want to quickly get it ready and get to work to please your household. Knowing the basic options and rules for conducting the process, you don’t have to worry about the final result.

Slow defrosting dough

The best option for defrosting any food, including dough, is defrosting in the refrigerator. This process is as long as possible. However, it allows you to preserve all the properties of the dough, and the taste and appearance of the finished baked goods cannot be distinguished from products baked from fresh dough. In order to defrost the dough in the refrigerator, you must first remove it from the freezer to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, since that is where the temperature is highest. If you leave the dough overnight, you can get defrosted dough in the morning.

ATTENTION! In refrigerators where the freezer is located at the bottom, it will be warmest on the top shelf rather than the bottom shelf. This should be taken into account when choosing a place for defrosting in the refrigerator.

The next most useful method is defrosting at room temperature. Depending on the volume of the dough, it will take approximately 5 hours. When defrosting naturally, you need to make sure that the dough does not dry out in the kitchen; it needs to be covered with cling film or a towel. You can also lightly flour it, brush it with oil or sprinkle a little water.

Another option for slow defrosting is to immerse the dough in warm water. First, it must be placed in a plastic bag and placed in water so that the edges of the package do not fall into the water. It is important not to allow water to come into contact with the dough during defrosting, as this may adversely affect its properties.

Quick defrost options

There are situations when there is simply no time for slow defrosting. Guests should suddenly arrive, or they forgot to take the dough out of the freezer in advance.

In this case, you will have to resort to quick defrosting options. An oven, microwave or battery is suitable for this.

So, how to quickly defrost dough in the microwave?

Most modern household appliances have a special defrosting mode. It is indicated by a snowflake or a drop of water. In order to defrost dough in a microwave oven, you need to select the appropriate mode, set the type of product and weight. The time required for defrosting will be set automatically according to these parameters. Also, during this process, it is advisable to turn the dough several times so that defrosting is carried out evenly. It is advisable, even when using a microwave, to give the dough at least a little time so that its middle completely thaws at room temperature.

If the microwave oven does not have a special defrosting mode, you need to set the power and timer yourself. As a rule, with a power of 50 W, defrosting will take from 3 to 5 minutes. And if you increase the power to 100 W, 50 seconds will be enough. If the dough is large, you can increase the time to 1.5-2 minutes.

You should not choose maximum power. Contrary to expectations, this will not speed up the process, but will only ruin the dough. It will crust on the outside but remain raw on the inside. To achieve maximum efficiency and preserve the quality of the product, you need to place it in a plastic container or use special foil for microwave ovens.

You can put the dough on the stand and together with it on the radiator, in which case the defrosting process will take 30-40 minutes.

Another option to speed up defrosting is to use the oven. It needs to be heated to a temperature of 50-60 degrees. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and then the dough. You can sprinkle a little water to prevent the dough from drying out. Complete thawing will take anywhere from five to twenty minutes, depending on the size. During the process, you can cut the thawed large piece into smaller ones to speed it up.

How to quickly defrost puff pastry

However, sometimes situations arise in which the foundation is needed soon, but there is no time to wait. In emergency cases, there are two ways to quickly defrost puff pastry. However, you should only resort to them in a desperate situation: the risk of ruining your purchase is quite high, and no one can guarantee that you will maintain the lifting properties of the base.

In the first option, you remove the packaging and put the dough into a bag sprinkled with flour - in case you don’t keep track and it decides to stick. A towel is wrapped over the top and the bundle is placed on a warm radiator. You will have to turn it over more often to ensure even defrosting. Half an hour of waiting, and you can proceed to further actions.

The second method will require manual work. The layer laid out on the table is heated as equally as possible with a regular hair dryer turned on at minimum power. You should not achieve complete thawing in the treated area: move sweepingly over the entire area and periodically turn the layer over.

In any case, quick defrosting somewhat spoils the final result. It’s better not to hide the dough in the freezer at all: it just doesn’t spoil in the refrigerator for two days.

Do not refreeze the dough under any circumstances - it will no longer be useful.

Frozen dough is a faithful assistant to the modern housewife. Thanks to this semi-finished product, you can prepare a pie, pizza or homemade bread without much time. The main question that worries cooks is how to properly defrost the dough so as not to spoil it.