Can you defrost frozen pizza dough in the microwave

Quick Answer: How to Defrost Pizza Dough in the Microwave

To microwave pizza dough in the microwave first oil your dough and then the microwave plate. Now take a microwave safe plastic and spray some oil on it. Wrap the dough in it and toss it inside the microwave. Put the microwave on defrost settings and heat it for 1 min. Turn the piece over and heat it for another min.

In this comprehensive guide on how to defrost pizza dough in the microwave I will explain how you can go about this process without much hassle.

Using a microwave to defrost dough is a very popular and well accepted method by various chefs. I too use a microwave whenever I need to get a pizza ready at my place.

Lets dive right into the process without much delay.

Outline

  • Quick Answer: How to Defrost Pizza Dough in the Microwave
  • How to Prep Pizza Dough before Defrosting
  • How to Defrost Pizza Dough in the Microwave
    • Materials
    • Tools
    • Instructions
    • Notes
  • Tips to Remember while Attempting to Defrost Pizza Dough
  • Alternative Ways to Defrost Pizza Dough
  • How to Defrost Pizza Dough without Defrost Settings
  • How long does it take to Defrost Pizza Dough
  • FAQs
  • Bottomline

How to Prep Pizza Dough before Defrosting

Brush every side of the dough with oil. Take a microwavable plastic wrap and spray some oil on it too. Cover the dough tightly and place it on the microwave plate inside the microwave.

Materials

  • Frozen pizza dough
  • Olive oil

Tools

  • Microwavable plastic wrap

Instructions

    1. Put the dough in the microwave: After you coat your wrap the pizza dough with oil and pack it in a microwavable plastic, put it inside the microwave.

      Remember to place it properly on the microwave plate.

    2. Adjusting the microwave settings: Apply the defrost settings on your microwaving for better defrosting .

      Then set the timer to 2 mins. Now hit the start button.

    3. Checking in between the process: You have set the timer to 2 mins but you should never leave the dough unattended in the microwave during the process.

      Keep an eye on the time and once a min is over take out the dough. Flip it and place it back.

    4. Continuing the process: Once the 2 mins timer goes off slowly unpack the dough from the plastic wrap. Press your fingers inside the dough and feel for any hard part.

      If absent, the defrosting is complete. If present you should place it back in the microwave for another 30 secs.

    5. Ensuring that the dough is properly defrosted: take the dough out and carefully unwrap it. Use your fingers to feel for any hard part throughout.

      If present the dough needs more heating. If not, then rest assured the pizza dough is ready to be used.

Notes

Temperature: Use defrost mode

Tips to Remember while Attempting to Defrost Pizza Dough

If you are defrosting pizza dough using a microwave there are certain rules and regulations you should be following for safety. Abiding by these guidelines will also give you better results.

  • It is important to brush some oil on the dough as well as the plastic wrap so that it does not stick to one another and unpacking is easier.
  • The microwave plate should be coated with oil as well so that the plastic wrap does not stick to it.
  • While defrosting using cold water it is important to remove all air from the storage bag before sealing it and dipping it in a bowl of cold water.
  • In case you are choosing to thaw the pizza dough in the refrigerator overnight, keep it in an airtight container and not open. This will prevent any harmful bacteria from growing.
  • After the defrosting process is done let the dough rest inside the microwave for 5 mins. This will help the yeast rise and yield soft dough for the pizza.
  • Make sure the plastic you are using to wrap you are using to wrap your dough is microwave safe. Else there is a high risk of it sparking in the microwave and ruining your food.
  • The pizza dough is required to be flipped at intervals to ensure even thawing else there might be lumps of solid dough in between which is not desirable.
  • The wrapping should be tight so that it is properly heated during the process of defrosting.
  • If you are using an oven to defrost pizza dough you can opt to use a bread proof setting for better results.

Alternative Ways to Defrost Pizza Dough

Pizza dough can be simply defrosted by taking it out of the freezer and storing it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hrs. You can also give your dough a cold water bath or heat it in the oven for an hour.

If you have time at hand the best way to defrost pizza dough is to take it out of the freezer and put it in an airtight bag.

Now place it in a big bowl and keep it in the refrigerator overnight or at least 8 hrs.

To defrost it using cold water, take the dough out of the freezer and put it in a storage bag. Make sure no water can get inside.

Now fill a bowl with cold water and place the dough in it. The dough should be completely immersed in the water. Change the water every 15 mins.

After 30 mins your dough will be soft enough. 1 pound of dough takes 15 mins to defrost using his process.

Frozen pizza dough can be thawed using an oven as well. Spray some oil on a cooking pan and place your dough on it.

Put this inside the oven and turn the temperature to 100˚F and bake it for 1 hr. After an hour take the dough out and check its softness.

If not enough, place it back and heat it for 30 mins more.

How to Defrost Pizza Dough without Defrost Settings

Pizza dough can be easily thawed within 25 secs using the microwave. You need to oil the dough and the plastic wrap and then pack it tightly. Spray some oil on the microwave plate as well. Now place the dough inside the microwave and turn it on high settings. Heat it for 25 secs.

If you wish to thaw your pizza dough as quickly as possible, use the microwave. For this process you should not be using the defrost settings.

Brush oil on your dough and some on the plastic wrap. Pack the dough tightly in the microwavable plastic wrap and put it inside the microwave.

You can also spray some oil on the microwave plate so that the plastic does not stick to it. Now turn the microwave on high power.

Set the time to 25 secs and hit the start button. Once the timer goes off, take the dough out and flip it to its other side.

Now place it back in the microwave and heat it for another 25 secs.

After this is done, let the dough rest for some time at room temperature on the kitchen counter. Wait for it to rise before adding pizza ingredients to it.

How long does it take to Defrost Pizza Dough

Defrosting pizza dough in the microwave takes around 2 mins using the defrost settings. Without using the defrost mode you can thaw the dough within 1 min.

thawing under cold water bath takes 15 mins while refrigerating it will consume 8 hrs minimum

Pizza dough can be defrosted using the microwave. If you are using the defrost settings it will take a maximum of 2 mins.

You can also defrost it in the microwave by not attempting to utilize the defrost mode. For this turn the microwave on high power and heat it for 1 min with a 25 sec interval.

In case you choose to thaw the dough by giving it a cold water batch. Dip it in a bowl of cold water for around half an hour. Change the water after every 15 mins.

Refrigerating frozen pizza dough takes the longest to thaw. It should be left in an airtight container or bag for 8 hrs or overnight.

FAQs

How to Store Pizza Dough Properly

Oil every side of the pizza dough and pack it tightly in a freezer bag. Make sure all the air is taken out before you seal it. Now put this in the freezer.

This dough will remain fresh for upto 3 months.

Hence it is highly recommended to cook it within this time period. Keep in mind to never freeze defrosted pizza dough as it will become hard and chewy.

Bottomline

I hope this detailed guide has helped you defrost pizza dough at your place with ease using the microwave.

Let us know if you have any queries or feedback!

How can I thaw frozen pizza dough quickly?

To thaw pizza dough quickly in cold water: Remove the disc of dough from both wrappings and place into an airtight bag (this is another reason why I use freezer-safe bags). Remove all the air, seal the bag and submerge the dough into a bowl or sink of cold water. Change the water every 15 minutes.

How do you get pizza dough to room temperature quickly?

Bring your dough to room temperature. If it's in plastic from the grocery store (or freezer, you champ!) take it out of the plastic and move it to an oiled mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place for at least 30 minutes.

How do you thaw frozen dough?

Overnight: Thaw dough in the refrigerator overnight or for about 12 hours in the plastic bag it is packaged in. Take it out of the refrigerator, remove from the bag, form into a ball, and place in a lightly oiled large bowl.

Why you should not thaw frozen pizza?

And that's not just the temperature of the oven, but the temperature of the pizza itself when it goes into the oven. The instructions on the pizza box warn you not to thaw it to avoid contamination, but that's precisely what's setting you up for failure. Thawing the pizza beforehand yields significantly better results.