At first glance, there is nothing complicated about defrosting dough, but if you study the issue further, it will become clear that not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. The dough must be thawed so as not to spoil its taste.
If you do not follow the rules, the beneficial properties of the dough will disappear and the structure will be damaged. Without following the technology, you will end up with a dough that is too watery and covered with a thick crust. Baked goods made from improperly thawed dough will not rise, and you will definitely not be pleased with the taste.
How to quickly defrost dough: 5 effective ways
There are several methods for making homemade baked goods from store-bought dough. To please your guests with pies, it is not recommended to place frozen dough in the microwave.
It is believed that in a microwave oven:
- the structure of the product deteriorates,
- its taste changes,
- beneficial properties decrease,
- The temperature rises unevenly.
If time is limited, you can use the microwave. If time permits, it is recommended to use other effective methods.
Below are effective methods:
Defrosting options | Step-by-step instruction |
Natural conditions | 1. Remove from the freezer and leave in the kitchen for 3 hours at room temperature. 2. Cover with a towel. 3. When 1.5 hours have passed, the layer needs to be turned over |
Oven | 1. Preheat the oven to 90 degrees. 2. Place the product on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 3. Hold for exactly 3 minutes |
Battery (in winter, when heating is on) | 1. Place the dish on the radiator for 2 hours. 2. Turn over every half hour |
Microwave | 1. Keep the frozen layer in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. 2. Place in the microwave for 10-15 minutes. 3. Every 30 seconds, remove the dough and turn it over |
Water | 1. Fill the pan with cold water, 2. Place the semi-finished product tightly packed in a bag. Pack so that no air passes through. 3. After 20 minutes, put the product in warm water. The water method is the most gentle |
Experienced housewives claim that the best (but also longest) method is natural conditions.
Thawing methods
There are basic technologies for quickly defrosting dough without harming the quality of the product. Particular attention is paid to puff pastry - it is forbidden to defrost it using thermal appliances. Proper methods for defrosting pie dough:
If time allows, it is better to defrost on the lower shelves of the refrigerator or fruit bowl. The composition will thaw in 11-13 hours, but the process will be of higher quality, although it will be long.
Defrosting in the oven.
This method will not work for a product made from yeast. The oven heats up to no more than 90 degrees Celsius. The temperature should remain constant for 15 minutes. To defrost, take a baking tray, cover it with baking paper in 3 layers, and sprinkle with flour. First, the products are taken out of the packaging and then placed on a tray.
The composition is located in the oven on the middle shelf
. The product defrosts in no more than 5 minutes. Depending on the degree of freezing, the time is reduced. During the process, you need to carefully monitor the dough so that the product does not bake and a crust does not form.
Heating appliances during defrosting.
This method is not suitable for defrosting yeast dough. It can be used to defrost other types of dough using an oil or stationary heating unit. Using this method, the dough is thawed during the cold period. First, the products are placed on a tray, then placed on top of the heating device. During the process, the product is turned over several times to avoid crusting.
To prevent weathering of the product, the piece is wrapped in cling film on top. If defrosted correctly, the dough will become soft after 2 hours. The process time also depends on the room temperature. The warmer the house, the faster the dough will defrost.
Thawing in the microwave.
To learn how to quickly defrost dough from the freezer, you need to have an understanding of many methods for carrying out the process. A microwave is one option.
To ensure that the product, which had to be defrosted in the microwave, does not lose its beneficial properties and taste, preparatory manipulations are carried out.
After removing the product from the refrigerator, it is placed on the bottom shelf for 50 minutes.
. How much it costs to defrost depends on the degree of hardness of the product. During this period, the dough becomes soft and elastic. Further procedure in the microwave will not cause damage to the product. After the preparatory steps, you can start defrosting in the microwave. The product is removed from polyethylene and placed on a glass tray. The dough is covered with a lid, but a small gap is left for air circulation.
The choice of temperature mode is minimal, but not more than 90 W. Or the “Defrost” mode is set. If you use a microwave oven, you cannot say exactly how many minutes it will take to defrost. It all depends on the degree of freezing of the product and the power of the device. To begin with, the time is set to 12 minutes, then the softness of the product is assessed. After this time, the oven is paused every 20 seconds and the dough is turned over. This will help the product defrost evenly. Otherwise, a crust may form on the dough or it will be baked. After defrosting, you can roll out the products and start preparing the dish.
"Grandmother's" method.
Many housewives use the “grandmother’s” method when defrosting food. You will need water at room temperature and sealed plastic bags. You need to take 7 bags, the dough is wrapped in them. It is important that water does not penetrate inside, otherwise the product will become unusable. The dough is wrapped in bags and placed in a bowl of water. It is kept there for 30 minutes, after which it is removed. Then water a few degrees warmer is poured into the bowl, and the bag is placed in it again. Defrosting time is 55 minutes or more. To increase the effectiveness of the procedure, change the water to warmer water every 10 minutes.
When the frozen yeast dough has thawed, you can roll it out and make puff pastries for breakfast, cheesecake, pie with cabbage or other filling, roll with berries and cream cheese, pasties, puff pastries, bagels with garlic and cheese and many other tasty and healthy dishes from purchased yeast dough. It's very easy to use. The main thing is to stick to the recipe.
The most capricious dough
Puff pastry is the most capricious when defrosting: you cannot use the oven or microwave. If the product needs to be defrosted urgently, then an oil heater or a stationary one is used. The best defrosting option is to use a natural method. The product is left at room temperature for 5 hours. To prevent cracking and weathering, the dough is covered with cling film or gauze.
A faster option is to use water. Do not place in warm liquid because this will destroy the flakiness. The temperature increases by 1-2 degrees every 10 minutes. If you need to quickly thaw a puff pastry product, wrap it in foil and then in cheesecloth. The gas burner turns on. The dough is placed in a glass bowl, placed at a distance of 50 cm from the fire.
There are many methods for defrosting dough at home. The fastest option is to use an oven or microwave oven. But you can’t thaw puff pastry this way—it separates at room temperature or in cool water.
How to quickly defrost puff pastry
Before you plan to bake using puff pastry, you need to clearly know the defrosting time for store-bought goods. Processing with water will take half an hour, in the oven at 70-80 degrees - 3 minutes.
If the portion is small, you can use the microwave. The product is released from packaging and put into defrost mode.
Here is the best and fastest way. It is used without an oven or microwave oven.
For quick and high-quality results you need:
- Place the semi-finished product on the table.
- Warm up its surface with a hairdryer at minimum power.
- Turn over and heat the other side.
- Turn over again and repeat the procedure.
The good thing about this method is that the product changes temperature evenly.
Attention! If the housewife uses the oven, she must clearly note the time. If you overdo it even a little, the semi-finished product will become an inedible dried crust.
Choosing frozen dough
To keep the dough better and longer, it is subjected to shock freezing. It is not advisable to freeze the product a second time. For each type of dough, separate defrosting conditions are used. Frozen dough comes in several types: shortbread, puff pastry, puff pastry without yeast, gingerbread, chopped.
To buy a good and high-quality product in a store, you need to know a few secrets.
- Package. It must be sealed.
- Freezing method. It is usually indicated on the label.
- Number of layers. The more layers the dough has, the tastier the baked goods will be. This information is indicated on the product packaging. For example, yeast should have 35 layers, and yeast-free – 225.
- Best before date. The fresher the product, the better quality the products will be.
- Composition of the finished frozen product. Be sure to study the composition on the packaging and make sure it is harmless.
- Price. Quality products cannot be cheap.
- Product type. Products must move freely throughout the packaging, not stick to it and not have foreign inclusions.
How to quickly defrost yeast dough
To defrost puff pastry, you need to remove the packaging and place the semi-finished product in the oven for 4-5 minutes. The hostess must observe the process. As soon as the dough begins to rise, take it out.
To quickly defrost you need:
- Wrap the frozen semi-finished product in a plastic bag and seal it tightly.
- Place in a saucepan filled with warm water.
- Leave for 10-30 minutes.
- When the dough becomes soft, you need to knead it. This way it will come faster.
If time is limited, you can use the microwave. The semi-finished product, previously kept for half an hour on the top shelf in the refrigerator, is placed in a glass container and placed in the microwave oven for two minutes. The oven turns on at full power.
Defrosting at room temperature takes 8 to 10 hours. Experienced housewives say that it is best to remove the product from the freezer at night, when you need to bake pies in the morning.
Attention! You need to work with yeast products carefully, strictly observing the rules and time intervals. If you slightly over-expose (under-expose) the semi-finished product in the oven (water, microwave), the dough will not rise when kneading.
Self-freezing
There may be some excess dough left after cooking.
. To avoid throwing it away, it is frozen at home. For example, this can be done in the freezer. There the product will not lose its beneficial and nutritional qualities. You can freeze not only the dough, but also dishes made from it, for example, pies, pies, bread, dumplings, manti. Finished products are stored frozen for a very long time, up to 2 months. If necessary, you can take them out of the freezer and quickly prepare lunch or dinner.
To preserve the quality of the dough, it must be frozen correctly. To do this, it is rolled into a thin sausage and chopped into small pieces. The finished parts are wrapped in a plastic bag or cling film. An important rule: moisture should not get into the packaging before freezing, otherwise it will negatively affect the quality of the product.
The dough is then placed in the freezer. It sets the minimum temperature. This is necessary for the product to set quickly. When 2 weeks have passed, the temperature can be lowered by 3 degrees. In order for the product to be stored correctly when frozen, the following rules must be observed:
How to defrost dumpling dough
The main thing is a gradual increase in temperature.
The semi-finished product is placed on the top shelf of the refrigerator. The dough should lie there for 6 to 12 hours. Then they take it out and put it on the kitchen table. The wait here is shorter, about 3 hours. Two-phase defrosting allows you to completely preserve the soft and plastic structure necessary for making high-quality dumplings or dumplings.
If it is not possible to wait that long, the product, wrapped in cling film or bag, is placed in warm water for a couple of hours. The main thing is to make sure that the water does not cool down and periodically add warm water. The dough should not come into contact with the liquid.
Apple puffs in the microwave
Required ingredients:
- apple – 2 pcs.;
- puff pastry;
- water - glass;
- sugar – 3 tbsp. spoons;
- powdered sugar.
Cooking process:
Take a microwave oven bowl and make a sweet solution in it. To do this, dissolve sugar in water. We wash the apples in water, cut them into thin half rings, throw them into syrup and put them in the microwave for a while. Just to make the apples soft.
Let's start the test. We rub flour on the table where we will roll the dough. Roll out into one large layer, then cut into pieces. We should get 250 mm length and 30 mm width. You don't have to do it exactly, you can do it approximately.
Now place the softened apples on the strips of dough and roll them into a rosette. We pinch the bottom, while pressing the apples into the dough.
On a microwave oven plate, bake the puff pastries for 12 minutes at maximum power. After a couple of minutes they will begin to rise, so do not put a large number of puffs on the dish - leave a small interval between them.
At the end, you can soak it in jam, but this is at your discretion, but it is advisable to sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
Can be served with tea. Bon appetit!
Almost every person loves delicious, aromatic pastries. Especially if the cakes and pastries are homemade. What should those who don’t have an oven at home do? Prepare puff pastry puffs using a regular microwave. This process will not take much time, and in the end we will get fragrant, sweet puffs.
Conditions for defrosting Filo dough
This type of product consists of thin layers and cannot be quickly defrosted.
In order to preserve the structure of the semi-finished product and its taste, it is necessary to remove the product from the freezer, remove it from the packaging and place it on the middle shelf in the refrigerator.
If you thaw a semi-finished product in the kitchen, the thin sheets will stick together and become completely unsuitable for baking. This is the main disadvantage of Filo compared to other types of ready-made baking dough. While the product is thawing in the refrigerator, the housewife can start preparing the filling for homemade pies.
Is it possible to re-freeze yeast-free and yeast dough?
Manufacturers of any frozen dough do not recommend re-freezing the product. This information is indicated on the product packaging.
After the initial defrosting, the product loses some of its normal properties: in yeast dough, a certain amount of fungi die, which are responsible for raising the dough, puff pastry loses its “layeriness,” and “Filo” becomes weathered and sticks together.
To avoid re-freezing or preparing a low-quality dish from such dough, it is recommended to calculate the required volume of the product and not defrost excess.
If necessary, you can cut off a piece of frozen dough (thaw it a little), and seal the rest of it tightly and put it in the freezer.
The safest ways to defrost dough require a lot of time. Only they can guarantee the preservation of all the necessary properties in the dough, its structural and taste qualities. It is impossible to prepare a good tasty dish if the technology for defrosting the dough is broken. When choosing a method that is convenient for you, keep in mind that many types of dough are defrosted in different ways.
Yolk cakes.
How to quickly defrost meat in the microwave: proven methods
2 cups flour, 4 egg yolks, half a cup sugar, 200 grams of butter, zest of 1 lemon. Mix together flour, sugar, butter, 3 egg yolks, 4 tablespoons of warm water. Then add finely chopped lemon zest and knead the dough.
From the prepared dough we make egg-sized balls, place them on a greased baking sheet and bake in the microwave for 2-2.5 minutes at a power of 400-450 W. After this, grease the cakes with yolk, sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake for another minute at the same power.
Let's quickly prepare a cupcake in a mug in the microwave from the following products:
4 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, a quarter teaspoon baking powder, 2 caramels, a quarter teaspoon salt, 1 egg, 4 tablespoons sugar, one tablespoon olive oil, 3 tablespoons milk.
In a small bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, milk, egg, salt, and vegetable oil until smooth. Pour the mixture into a mug, dropping the caramels into the center one at a time.
Prepare 1 kilogram of wheat flour, one and a half glasses of milk, 6 eggs, 300 grams of butter, 1 glass of sugar, 50 grams of dry yeast, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 150 grams of raisins, 50 grams of candied fruits, 50 grams of almonds.
Dissolve the yeast in warm milk, add 500 grams and half of all the flour, mixing thoroughly to avoid lumps. Place the resulting dough in a warm place, covered with a towel.
After the dough has risen well, having doubled in volume, add the egg yolks, ground with sugar and salt, the rest of the flour, and softened butter. Knead the dough thoroughly and add the egg whites whipped into a thick foam.
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.
Recipe
It's no secret that any food cooked in the microwave does not come out with a crispy crust. If you have a grill mode, you can dry the top part of the dish, but it is quite difficult to create an appetizing, crispy crust. Can you make puff pastry puffs in the microwave without a baked crust? To make the culinary product even more attractive, we use cinnamon.
To prepare puff pastry in the microwave from ready-made dough, you will need:
- Yeast-free ready-made dough – 200 gr.
- Sugar to taste.
- A small amount of cinnamon.
The secret of cooking
At the end of the defrosting time, the dough should be coated with cinnamon and sugar, in the amount that suits your taste. To prevent the filling from falling out, go over the top with a rolling pin several times. Then we cut the dough with a curly knife into the number of wide strips we want to get ready-made puffs. We twist each piece of dough into a spiral, so that the filling is on the outside.
Puff pastries at the final stage of preparation
Let's move on to baking. Place the finished puff pastries on a plate and place in the microwave. We set the mode at power 700, baking time 4-4.5 minutes. Please note that there is no special program for baking puff pastries in the microwave. Therefore, after the fourth minute, we check the puff pastries for readiness. If necessary, extend the baking time by another 1-2 minutes. Before serving, the puff pastries need to be cooled and then served with hot coffee or tea.
Ready-made lemon puff pastry
There are also recipes for puff pastries in a convection microwave. But in this case, it is recommended to study the recipe book, which, as a rule, comes with the microwave oven.
Why is the dough rolled out?
How to quickly defrost dough: methods and recommendations.
how to quickly defrost puff pastry Ready-made dough comes in different thicknesses, but 5–10 mm is enough for baking. The size depends on the specific product. If you don't wrap anything in the dough, you don't need to roll it out.
For pizza
The secret to a good pizza isn't just the toppings or the perfect dough. The base should be thinly rolled out. In European restaurants, pizza thickness is standardized at 3.5 mm, no more. At home, 5 mm will be just right.
- Lightly sprinkle the table and hands with flour.
- The defrosted layer is rolled out with light movements from the middle to the edges. To avoid leaving any scraps, you can use a square shape instead of a round one.
- Make pricks over the entire area with a fork to prevent excessive swelling during baking.
- You can lay out the filling and send the workpiece into a preheated oven.
For samsa
Carefully roll out the finished semi-finished product to 5–6 mm in height. Cut into squares. Place the filling on one corner, fold it in half diagonally, and pinch the edges.
For croissants
Classic croissants are made from triangle-shaped pieces. The dough layer is rolled out in width or length strictly in one direction. Leave a thickness of 0.5–0.8 cm.
Cut squares and divide them into triangles. The latter are pulled out to make the angle more acute. The base of the triangle is cut 1.5–2 cm. You can put the filling - butter with sugar, chocolate, jam.
Roll the rolls, starting from the cut end. The resulting internal gap will allow the dough to freely increase in size during baking.
For Napoleon
When planning to treat your loved ones to a cake, it is better to purchase ready-made puff pastry squares. The packaging is simply defrosted and the cakes are baked.
The rolled piece will have to be cut, but rolling out is not necessary.