Freezing dough

Freezing dough means chilling raw pastry or bread dough solid so it can be stored and baked later.

Freezing dough: A round of pale unbaked pie dough wrapped flat in parchment paper, stacked on a second round, sitting on a cold metal tray
  • Techniques and preparation methods

Home and professional bakers freeze dough to spread work over several days. Pie pastry can be rolled into circles and frozen flat, separated by sheets of freezer paper or foil, and then thawed in the refrigerator before it is shaped into a pan. Pastry that has already been shaped in its pan can often go straight from freezer to oven without thawing.

A few details matter. Extension guidance says not to prick a frozen pastry, since it will break, and to cut vent holes in a top crust just before baking rather than before freezing. Fillings are best frozen separately from the crust so juices do not soften the bottom.

Rolled dough frozen flat on lined cardboard stacks neatly, which makes it easy to pull out one round at a time.

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Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. Freezing Pies and Pie Fillings, Penn State Extension