Frozen Pizza Dough

[Blackeyes24]

Ok so I bought a ball of frozen pizza dough at my local italian market on a whim the other day. Only problem is I now have no idea what to do with it. There are no instructions whatsoever!

It seems large to me but I dont think i can refreeze it once I thaw it. I'm a single person (on a diet) and I could work a small pizza into my calories for the weekend but not a huge one. Even if I dont worry about having too much food do I need to let it rise? I have a pizza stone I got for christmas, do I stretch it on the stone or do I have to do that on the counter first. If anyone could post some basic instructions for using frozen pizza dough I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

[ESNY]

An 8 oz ball of dough makes a 12-14 inch thin crust pizza.

Defrost the frozen dough in the Refrigerator overnight and then leave on your counter for at least an hour. It needs to be at room temp or you'll have a very difficult time stretching it. The pizza stone should be in your oven on the bottom rack and then preheat your oven on the hottest temp, mine is 550, for an hour (the stone should start in the cold oven) Then stretch the dough on a rimless cookie sheet (use flour or corn meal to prevent sticking), top and then slide onto the hot stone. Should take about 7 min or so. Don't overdo the toppings or use liquidy toppings or raw veggies that exude a lot of moisture or the dough will either not cook through or may stick to the cookie sheet or stone.

If you are concerned about sticking, you can stretch the dough and then place untopped on the hot stone and then work quickly to top so you dont loose too much heat from the oven.

[Cherylptw]

If you haven't thawed it out yet, you could leave it at room temperature long enough to be able to cut it in half, then use half and put the other half back in the freezer. You don't have to let it rise but it should be at room temperature before you stretch it so it'll be easier to work with. Preheat the pizza stone prior to putting the crust on it. And you can stretch it on the stone without having to put it on a counter. Cook the pizza at 450F. -500F. degrees until desired crispness.

[JoanN]

I must be misunderstanding you. Stretch your pizza dough on an already heated hot stone? I don't think so. Use a peel of some sort; a baking sheet if necessary.

But I do agree with everything else you said. The dough can be refrozen after being partially thawed and cut in half and the dough that is no refrozen will have to be at room temperature.

[Blackeyes24]

Since I've no idea how much dough it takes to make one pizza can either of you tell me approximately the size or weight I would need to defrost fully to make one pizza. I'm assuming frozen pizza dough is heavier than defrosted but if you can give me a general idea I'm sure i can figure it out. If I have canned pizza sauce and I dont use it all I can stick the rest in a tupperware and freeze it right? As you can tell I'm not much of a cook but I'm trying.

[JoanN]

How much dough for one pizza is a very tough call because it depends on how thick the crust is. Obviously, a very thin crust is going to be larger than a thicker crust made from the same weight of dough. I would say this: start with 6 ounces of dough, see how that works for you, and adjust from there.

And yes, pizza sauce, canned or freshly made, freezes beautifully. Pizza sauces are very easy to make. Many don't even require cooking. And since they can be frozen in whatever size batches you may need, I would very strongly recommend making your own rather than buying a commercial product. It's just an incomparably superior.

[Omeghan]

allow dough to defrost a bit so you can cut in half or at least scrap away half of the dough. For your purchase, next time cut in quarters before you freeze it.

defrost and let it rise (45 min) in a greased bowl, covered and in a warmish spot.
Punch down and knead 3 mins. rollout & stretch to approx 12" round

dust counter with corn meal to prevent sticking
(prepare pizza on a sheet then slide onto pre heated pizza stone)

top with sauce, skim mozzarella, and veggies and/or (pre fried lean ground beef, chopped chicken, etc, peppers, fine diced onion, mushroom, etc) You can also use BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce.

(You can also par bake crust first .... roll out dough to required size and par bake @ 400°F for 3 mins then top with fixing's) After it's topped, bake 350°F 10 mins or til crust is browned underneath
Bake on cookie sheet 400°F first 5 mins then 350°F for 10 mins.
Let pizza stand for 5 mins before cutting /serving.
Use scissors to cut if it's easier, rather than a knife.

As you have a pizza stone, that stone stays in the oven and HEATS up, so when you place pizza in oven, the cooking starts on a pre heated stone. (in place of a cookie sheet )

Hope this works for you!