February 27, 2015 - 6:00am
Brioche - fermentation and freezing assistance
I am making brioche dough and will be freezing it. Should I allow for any bulk fermentation prior to freezing?
I believe that when freezing doughs bulk fermentation is not recommended as gases created can weaken the gluten and alcohols can compromise the yeast while dough is frozen - is this correct?
Any recommendations on how I should proceed?
Thank you!
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I've not tried it yet, but my plan was to make the dough, rest then fridge it overnight (which I usually do), then in the morning, scale it, then rather than shape and prove it, freeze it at that point in individual portions. The intention then being to defrost it, shape/prove/bake it...
However I'm thinking that defrosting it would involve it being in the fridge to make sure it didn't start proving before I'd shaped it.
I could shape it (Brioche a Tete's) then freeze it, I think...
I have done croissants in a similar way, taken the dough all the way to the shaping stage then freezing the individual croissants - which can be defrosted/proved overnight then egg washed & into the oven. There are many commercial ones sold that way too.
-Gordon
I make 50# flour batches daily of brioche with a freezing of the final shaped product (roll 3 oz to 6 oz) at my current bakery. In my experience the yeast does/can become compromised if the dough is bulk fermented too long before final shaping and freezing. I have had great luck with standard floor time for bulk, with freezing following immediately.
Even the rolls that weren't FIFO'd during hectic times, turn out great if they even sat in the freezer for a week, covered.
On a note as well, the brioche currently uses Saf Gold yeast, too.
thanks.
So take it to the shaping stage, then freeze. I'll give that a go next week if I have time.
50lbs of dough at a time - well, I'm not quite at that stage yet, but making a batch with 1Kg (2.2lb) is my aim then to have a lot in the freezer for next-day small-batch baking over the next few weeks is what I'm after.
Cheers,
-Gordon
Thanks Arlo.
Could you specify what you mean by standard floor time for bulk?
I'm thinking developing the dough, allowing maybe 20 minutes at room temp, then wrap and freeze in smaller sizes - like 5 lb blocks. Then thaw, shape, proof. Do you think this will work without compromising yeast/gluten?
I am using osmotolerant yeast and do not intend to freeze for more than 10 days.
By standard floor time for bulk, I am referring to the amount of time you give your dough on the floor before it is scaled and shaped. For my brioche, it is typically 2.5 hours.
With thoughts toward your idea of proofing for only 20 minutes then freezing, I can not say I have ever done this, but I would suggest trying with a smaller quantity to begin with. It may effect the quality of the dough in the end, and I would have to ask why 20 minutes? The temperature of the dough after mixing even in 5# batches will still remain in the mass for a period of time while placed directly in the freezer. I maybe wrong, but I think placing directly in the freezer would be an o.k. step.
Either way, I'd love to hear/see results from freezing prior to bulk, and finishing later. As long as their is proper amounts of food for the yeast, and as you stated osmotolerant yeast is being used, I can see this being an alright method to use.
Made up some brioche dough earlier - let it stand 30 minutes and into the fridge. It's far (far!) to slippery to work at room temperature, so tomorrow when I've got the other breads out of the way I'll scale it and shape it - then freeze half and let the other half prove then bake. This is an all-egg and butter recipe I'm trying too. No milk (nor water).
-Gordon