Freezing raw Challah dough

lovmyboys

Thu, Jul 24 2008, 4:55 pm

Is it better to freeze raw dough before letting it rise, or baking then freezing the challahs for the next week? Which tastes better?

Lady Godiva

Thu, Jul 24 2008, 4:59 pm

lovmyboys wrote:

Is it better to freeze raw dough before letting it rise, or baking then freezing the challahs for the next week? Which tastes better?

Probably before you let it rise. I've done both.

abismommy

Thu, Jul 24 2008, 7:59 pm

I also do both, and I think it tastes better to freeze raw dough. Sometimes I freeze the whole dough and sometimes I braid and freeze. Then I pull them out to bake erev shabbos.

greeneyes

Thu, Jul 24 2008, 10:26 pm

I freeze the raw, braided challahs. I love that system, because you have fresh baked challah but none of the hassle on Friday.

dora

Fri, Jul 25 2008, 12:33 am

I also freeze the raw braided challah. I prepare it on Sunday then take it out Friday morning before going to work and when I return they are ready to be baked. A great way to make the house smell "shabbosdik."

TheBeinoni

Fri, Jul 25 2008, 12:42 am

imaof6 wrote:

Now that is smart to make it on Sunday and then freeze! Don't know why I didn't think of that!

ALLRMINE

Sun, Dec 20 2009, 8:03 pm

Just want to check and forgive my ignorance...

Do you allow the dough to rise after it is braided and then freeze it, or do you braid, freeze defrost, rise and then bake?

Does it rise correctly after frozen? Never tried this but tempted. I am afraid that it will "deactivate" the yeast, no?

Bella:D

Sun, Dec 20 2009, 8:37 pm

I don't know who Deborah Heller is but I know that grocery stores usually sell frozen challah dough and I have very often bought it and it tastes amazing so I don't see whats wrong with it.
When I buy the frozen ones, I set them out to defrost and rise on Thursday night (as late as possible) and then they're ready to bake Friday morning. So I'm guessing that you freeze the challah dough as soon as you braid it and do not allow it to rise after braiding.
My mother in law bakes the challahs first and then freezes them but this way, they don't keep in the freezer for very long before they get the freezer taste.
I once had a problem that the challahs didn't rise when I set them out on Thursday night and I think that this was because they had stayed in the freezer too long, I don't know how long is too long but be careful I guess.

cuffs

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 2:11 am

Anybody has recent experience freezing raw challah that is braided?
Do I let the dough rise before braiding?
Is it better to just bake and freeze?
I don't see a clear answer here.
Thanks.

L K

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 2:20 am

I recently tried to freeze raw dough only to discover it started expanding in the freezer like crazy, so had to quickly pull it out cold and semi-Rosen, let it defrost/warm up and finish rising, braid the challahs, stick them into pans and freeze as individual loaves, which still rose somewhat in the freezer. Go figure

I then let it defrost and rise overnight on the counter and baked. It came out good, just as baked-frozen-defrosted ones did.

MMCH

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 8:12 am

I recently started freezing, raw braided challah dough and I LOVE it!
whats the quote with necessity and invention?
well on day I made challah, I had NO freezer space for baked challah, so I just froze raw braided challah in tight freezer ziploc bags, and then took them out 3 hours before shabbos, let defrost and egg wash it, and bake!

so far the only con of doing it this way, is that sometimes the braided shaped gets a drop mushed out of shape in the freezer (depending how careful I am) and I had to re braid it.

but I have totally converted. I love it this way. fresh baked challah every friday? with no work!

Smile1234

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 8:17 am

MMCH wrote:

Why does raw braids take up so much less space than baked challah braids?

juggling

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 8:44 am

Because it hasn't risen yet. It rises on the counter, and still more while baking. Freezing right away after braiding saves tons of space.

cuffs

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 8:51 am

MMCH wrote:

Thanks!
That's exactly what I did!
I hope it comes good!

cbg

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 9:20 am

I've done both.
It depends if I know I'm going to be super busy on Friday and not have too many things in the oven.
With baked frozen challah what I do is I foil them, then I wet a paper towel and wrap it around, then I foil it again. The wet paper towel steams up.
BTW Devorah Heller's recipe is the best for bake, freeze, heat up challah. It doesn't form a thick crust. Also it's super easy to put together.
I wish they sold a freshly baked challah air freshener I can spray my house with Erev Shabbat, or challah smell candles.

mfb

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 9:23 am

Please check if you can do hafrashas challah if you freeze raw dough. Someone once told me you can't, but I never actually asked a shailah.

juggling

Tue, Oct 20 2015, 9:25 am

mfb wrote:

Please check if you can do hafrashas challah if you freeze raw dough. Someone once told me you can't, but I never actually asked a shailah.

Seriously? I wonder why that would be.

L K

Thu, Sep 22 2016, 4:41 pm

juggling wrote:

Because it hasn't risen yet. It rises on the counter, and still more while baking. Freezing right away after braiding saves tons of space.

Do you mean you make the dough and braid it right away, without even having it rise once?