Today has been far too hectic. Here's a little timesaver that I just discovered while making a big pot of lentil stew with barley. (The temperature dropped way down in NY today and its definitely soup weather again.) I had pizza dough in the freezer that I wanted to defrost to make foccaccia or bread sticks to go with the stew but in the craziness of the day, I forgot to defrost it.
I greased a cookie sheet, put the blob of frozen dough in the center, covered it with a towel and placed the cookie sheet on top of the pot I was cooking the lentil stew in, leaving a space for the steam to vent from the pot. In other words, I used the cookie sheet as a pot lid. The results were wonderful. The dough defrosted in about 45 minutes while the soup was simmering.
A word of caution, if you try this make sure the towel is not hanging over the edge of the cookie sheet or use a pot lid instead of a towel.
6 comments:
GENIUS!!! We have been stuck with a wad of frozen dough and you have now come up with the MOST INGENIOUS idea for defrosting. Katie, I love you man. :) Russell and I will definately be trying this soon.
Ruthie
Katie - I have a question for you. I am a new bread/dough maker and am interested in freezing some dough when I make a double batch. I freeze it after I knead it, but before I let it rise, right? And then after I defrost it, do I knead it and then let it rise? Thanks for any help you can give.
I just borrowed the complete Tightwad Gazette from the library and have started reading it - it's a BIG book:)
Bananarama - I made banana bread last night with a new recipe and it was SOO Good! I bought 9 pounds of organic bananas yesterday - they were on sale for $0.39/# b/c they were turning. I cut a bunch up into chunks and froze them for future smoothies!
Katie - can you remeber where you posted your banana bread recipe? I would love to give it a try!
Peace!
Thanks Ruthie! Isn't it ridiculously simple?
Bananarama,
That's so cool!
Hey Caroline,
I ususally freeze it after I knead it but before I let it rise. I didn't really bother with kneading/letting the pizza dough rise after defrosting but for bread dough I would.
Let it defrost completely (which, in my experience, acts as a rising) give it a quick knead and shape it into loaves. Let it rise, covered, in the pan and then bake. The Complete Tightwad Gazette is a big book!
Here's the link for the Banana Bread Recipe Link.
Can you believe I've read the complete Complete Tightwad Gazette cover to cover at least 4 times. I'm a freak, but I think Amy Dacyczn is a frugal goddess.
Sorry I havent blogged in awhile, b. I'm trying to work overtime in order to pay for our cross-country move. Did you know renting a Uhaul to go from San Antonio, TX to Bozeman, MT is like $2,000!??! So, considering that's more than a month's wages for me... :) (sorry to steal your blogspace, Katie!)
Ruthie,
We've noticed how much it costs to rent a truck and its pretty ridiculous. Jim said when we finally move he's not renting a truck, he's buying one.
Apparently, from what he's heard, places like Uhaul sell their older trucks fairly cheaply. He figures it will be cheaper to buy it and then sell it once the move is complete rather than to rent it, possibly more than once.
And you can steal space on my blog anytime!
Here's another semi-quick defrost method for frozen dough:
1. Spray the inside surface of a gallon-sized ziplock freezer bag with cooking spray.
2. Drop the dough in and seal.
3. Stopper your kitchen sink and fill it up with a couple of inches of hot water.
4. Place bag with dough on water surface. You may need to add more hot water if the water cools too much over time.
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