Frozen dough balls vs fresh – test plan
Can you freeze Neapolitan pizza dough without losing the rim? The plan for comparing frozen and fresh dough balls, and how they will be thawed.
Updated 12 september 2026
Results Planned
The experiment is planned. We will publish the measurements as soon as the runs are done — even if they contradict what we expected.
Method
Status: planned. This test has not been done yet. This page describes the set-up so that the method can be scrutinised before any results exist. Figures will be added here once the runs have been done and repeated – even if they contradict the hypothesis.
The question
Freezing dough balls is handy – but how much does the dough lose? And does it matter at what point in the fermentation it goes into the freezer?
What we already know
Established knowledge: freezing damages some of the yeast cells, and ice crystals can affect the gluten. Plenty of bakers freeze dough with good results anyway, especially when it’s thawed slowly in the fridge.
Hypothesis
Frozen balls give a slightly lower rim but almost the same flavour as fresh ones, and the difference between one and three weeks in the freezer is small.
How the test will be run
One batch of dough is split: part is baked fresh, the rest is frozen after a day of cold fermentation and baked after one and three weeks. All balls are thawed and brought to temperature the same way and baked in the same oven.
Limitations
The freezer temperature and how well the balls are wrapped affect the result. Both will be reported.
Background: balling, fermentation and how we test. All tests are listed under Tested.
