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Can You Freeze Croissant Dough
You can freeze croissant dough, it’s a great way to have fresh croissants on hand without having to make them from scratch. Simply place the dough in a freezer-safe container and pop it in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy a croissant, simply thaw the dough and bake according to the recipe.
Once the dough is made, you will want to form the dough into croissants, then chill them in the tray. If you would like to freeze croissants before baking, you would first need to shape them, then put them onto the baking tray. You should shape the croissant dough before freezing, so that when the time comes to bake croissants from frozen, they are easier to handle.
When you freeze croissant dough the first time, make sure you put them in the freezer somewhere that does not have anything falling on or crushing on them. Once you are ready to bake the croissants, you will want to remove the dough from the freezer the night before. When it is time to bake your croissants, allow them to thaw in your freezer overnight, give them an egg wash, and put them into the oven to bake.
You will want to begin by baking the croissants on foil until they are bouncy to the touch. Assuming that you let the croissants sit defrosting overnight in your refrigerator, you should still aim to have the croissants baked in your oven prior to consumption in order to replicate the flavor and texture of a freshly baked croissant. If you are saving your baked goods, for heating up your croissants, just take them out of the fridge for a night beforehand, and then heat in an oven.
Storing unbaked croissants in the freezer, again, results in some quality loss, but it is outweighed by the convenience of being able to decide for yourself when to bake the croissants. If you are not baking your croissants, but rather buying them from a bakery who fits into that timeline, you can store them with the assurance they will retain their flavors. Of course, frozen croissants can also continue to harden for an extended time, but that will impact their texture and overall quality, so you will want to consume them during this timeframe. In fact, croissants freeze really well, though you will have to do some legwork to keep the flavors and textures intact.
| Shelf Life | |
| Plastic Wrap | 3 months |
| leftover | 5 days |
Just keep in mind that the longer you freeze croissants, the worse they get when it comes to taste and texture. The thing is, croissants freeze really well, but they need to be kept extra careful with their flavors and textures. If your croissants sit at room temperature for too long, you are just freezing old croissants. Freezing your croissants will require around 20 minutes in an oven — be sure to avoid using the microwave, because that is guaranteed to destroy texture.
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Make sure you follow proper handling and storage instructions when freezing your croissants, as it will ensure that they still taste great and retain that delicate texture after you freeze, thaw, and reheat.
Place a pre-shaped croissant onto the baking sheets, making sure there is plenty of room between them to prevent them from touching each other during the proofing and baking process. You should be able to tell if they are done by gently shaking the baking sheets to see if the croissants are a little wobbling. Gently cover the croissants with the sacrificial cheese, let rest at room temperature (I recommend simply leaving them on the counter) for 1 hour, and then transfer them to the fridge for an hour.
You can remove from freezer and let proof at room temperature overnight (cool). Then put your croissants on a plate and let your croissants sit on the counter for at least half an hour, until your croissants have defrosted. Take the frozen tray and lay down your frozen croissants, leaving a little room between each one Leave this tray in your freezer-type camera until the contents are firm (this can take around two hours) Quickly wrap up your croissants, either with foil or plastic wrap, and put it back into your freezer. Next, tightly and individually wrap the croissants using foil or plastic freezer wrap, then put in a heavy-duty freezer bag and place into the freezer.
You may have to use several freezer bags depending on the number of croissants you are freezing, just be sure you are not filling up the bags too much, and each croissant is wrapped tight. Place a larger freezer bag on a wall in your freezer for a quick chill, and then transfer to the center of your freezer 24 hours later when it is frozen solid. After 2 hours, take the tray out of the freezer and put your now frozen croissants in a freezer-safe bag or container.
Cover the croissants loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest for 1 to 2 hours, until the dough is fairly puffy. To shape a home-made croissant, slice the dough in half and put one half in the refrigerator while working with the other half.
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Once you have all your croissants rolled out, put them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake fresh croissants at low temperatures to ensure the fats in the dough and the filling are not burned. Wrap the croissants in plastic wrap or foil to protect the delicate dough from exposure to air, then put them on the middle shelf of your freezer.
Once the dough has defrosted, brush the dough with egg wash, preheat oven, and prepare for an amazing breakfast: frozen, defrosted croissants are as flaky and buttery as freshly made ones. Move it from freezer to refrigerator the evening before (Tuesday), then roll and trim the croissants Wednesday after thawing overnight in the refrigerator.
You will better use up your croissants in two months, as that is the best time for croissants to retain their freshness. Especially if you are working with frosted, prepared croissants rather than pastry, eating a poor croissant is not likely to get you into an emergency room. Perhaps you have faced the need to freeze croissant dough before, either because you have had too much or want to save some for enjoying the freshly baked treat later.
At what stage can I freeze croissant dough?
Croissant dough should be frozen as soon as possible after rolling and shaping. Put them in plastic bags together after covering and freezing them. However, baking them still requires some time. Take them outside so they can defrost evenly, and then give them an hour to prove.
Why do you need to freeze croissant dough?
If you don’t feel like making croissants right away, you may successfully refrigerate the dough for them. To make the dough simpler to deal with when it’s time to bake them from freezing, you should shape it before freezing.
How many layers should croissants have?
A French fold is followed by three letter folds to create the 55 layers of a traditional French croissant. A distinct texture will result from fewer layers. A recipe with too many layers runs the danger of the butter dissolving into the dough and becoming too thin.