is this what overrisen dough is like?

goodmorning

Mon, Dec 23 2013, 10:46 am

Background: I usually make a big batch of challah dough at a time and freeze it in a few portions. Then I defrost one piece on Thursday night, let it defrost and rise again overnight, and then bake it into challos.

I made a big batch of dough last Sunday. It took a while until I was able to have time to freeze it and it rose and was punched down a few times during that time. By the time that I froze it, I was worried that it may have overrisen, so I added a drop more yeast and sugar and kneaded to "reactivate" the yeast. Then I froze it and pulled out a piece on Thursday night to use for Shabbos. It did not rise at all -- not overnight while defrosting in the fridge, not at room temperature Friday morning, not after braiding and not in the oven. As can be expected, the challah was very dense. It also was not very "cohesive" -- after being cut, the slices fell apart along the lines of the "snakes" that were braided.

Is this due to overrising? Is this due to some other factor? The dough was fully defrosted and had a great texture and I've frozen dough many times successfully before this.

More importantly, what can I do with the other few pieces of dough from that same frozen batch to save them?

ra_mom

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 12:05 am

It sounds like it. Especially the part when the challah falls apart.
I wish I knew how to help you fix it but I do not.

Well, actually, google has some ideas.
http://samanthamenzies.com/hom.....flat/

FranticFrummie

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 12:16 am

Proof another batch of yeast, with a cup of warm water, a tablespoon of yeast, and a half a cup of flour (pinch of sugar).

Thaw out your dough, and VERY thoroughly knead the newly proofed yeast in. Let it rise in a cool place for several hours to fully incorporate (you don't want a fast rise, or you'll "spend" all your yeast at once. You want to build a colony).

GENTLY punch down the dough, braid and bake all of it. If it works out, freeze the extra loaves. If it doesn't work out, at least you tried.

I have no idea why this batch of dough failed on you. Even the best French bakers get a bad batch every now and then. It's all at the whim of the Bread Muse, apparently.

Your other option is to make pizza crusts. Roll the dough out, bake halfway, cool and then freeze. You can have "pizza night" any time you want!

greenfire

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 12:20 am

since you've done this before successfully - I would think the yeast was dead ... what you should do is knead some good yeast into the defrosted dough & let it rise - I would use dry-quick-rise so there is no extra liquid added to already made dough

MMCH

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 9:55 am

not such an experienced baker..
but it sounds like the yeast was dead?

also, im interested in what you said, you make the challah dough batch, let it rise, and then freeze individual portions to braid later?

it usually works?

goodmorning

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 10:21 am

The yeast wasn't dead because the dough rose several times before I froze it.

And yes, it has always worked for me before. I freeze all sorts of bread doughs (including pizza dough) and this is the first flop.

Here's what I do for challah: I make a batch with 5 lbs of flour. Let it rise once. Punch down. Take off challah (I do without a bracha due to the shitta that holds that you need to bake all the dough together to make a bracha, but opinions differ). Then I divide the dough into 4 pieces, wrap each one well in a plastic bag, and freeze. On Thursday night, I defrost one piece overnight in the fridge (it also rises a drop usually) and then let it rise at room temperature on Friday. Separate into 3 pieces, and then braid each one for 3 small challos. That's exactly enough for my family for a Shabbos, but I only have to do the work once a month (and I can always take out extra dough if we have guests or need more).

I used to freeze baked loaves, but I don't have enough freezer space for that and dough takes up less room. It's nice to have fresh challah every week, though!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try them out this week and hope for the best.

goodmorning

Thu, Dec 26 2013, 4:30 pm

So I tried out FranticFrummie's idea and it didn't seem to go anywhere -- forget rising, it wasn't even kneading properly. It tore easily and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to hold together in one piece properly, never mind the windowpane test. So I decided to cut my losses, put the dough aside and made a new big batch of dough.

When I came to punch down the dough after the first rising, I discovered that the first batch had risen as well, and had somehow come together into a beautiful smooth dough. So ... go figure. I was scared to freeze the dough after last week's mess, so I baked it all.
I made 15 small challos, 2 large ones (for an acquaintance who will appreciate getting them, I hope), and over 25 rolls. I tasted one of the rolls from the first batch and they are delicious. Fluffy and soft and just a bit yeasty -- no relation to the challah of last week. For some reason, both rose and rose and I have a kitchen taken over by monster challos. I must have stumbled across optimal challah-baking conditions today. Or it was all of your well wishes that lent a bracha to my dough.

Now where am I going to freeze all of this??

Thanks for your help!