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Freezing Pastries & Baked Goods


McDuff

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I've frozen them whole and halved. If you like your bagels untoasted, they are not bad if the whole ones are microwaved for about 25-30seconds depending on your microwave. Unfortunately, they will not be nearly as good as when they were fresh, but they are still decent. If toasting them anyway I find it is more convenient to slice them first. That is my preferred way of preparing frozen bagels.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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I'd definitely suggest that anybody who uses the freeze-microwave-slice-toast method do a comparison with the slice-freeze-toast method. I think the bagels come out better using slice-freeze-toast. But even if they came out the same, you save a step and you consolidate the slicing labor at a time of your choosing rather than in the morning when you're least likely to want to do extra work.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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As someone who does not live in New York - I sometimes wind up with 6 month old frozen bagels. One way to "freshen them up" is to sprinkle a little water on them before you defrost them in the microwave (then split and toast them).

A bialy is not a bagel - it's baked - not boiled. And I find that they don't freeze well at all. So if I were the OP - I'd eat the bialys first. Robyn

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Thanks everyone. The slice-freeze-toast method and the thaw overnight-slice-toast method seem most likely to work but I'm going to sacrifice a couple to science. I'll try out the freeze-microwave-slice method as well.

And sorry about the raisins. I've been told that those aren't suitable for bagels. Maybe with a higher exposure to quality bagels I'll begin to appreciate them in a purer form.

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I've frozen them whole and halved. If you like your bagels untoasted, they are not bad if the whole ones are microwaved for about 25-30seconds depending on your microwave. Unfortunately, they will not be nearly as good as when they were fresh, but they are still decent. If toasting them anyway I find it is more convenient to slice them first. That is my preferred way of preparing frozen bagels.

I may not have been clear here. My preferred method is slice-freeze-toast.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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  • 1 month later...

First off let me say "Hi" to everyone. I have been lurking around reading posts for quite a few months but am just mustering my nerve to post now :raz:

I was wondering if anyone could offer so suggestions or feedback on baked goods that freeze and defrost well?

My husband and I are heavily involved in our local Fire Dept. I have been baking snacks/treats for the station meetings without problem but unfortunately this winter has been very busy for actual fires and the guys would greatly appreciate something warm and fresh tasting to nibble on with their coffee on site and when they're able to get back to the station to thaw out.

I haven't gotten too adventerous or fancy in my baking, mostly cookies, cupcakes, muffins, fudge, toffee, brownies etc. So, I'm open to suggestions here as well.

Ideally I'd like to take a day to bake some things that will keep good in the freezer for up to two or three weeks. I'm not sure this is possible but if it could be quickly defrosted, warmed in the oven or served straight from the freezer it would be even better since I usually have a half hour or so while the coffee urns brew to throw something together when the firefighters start wandering in the station house to refuel themselves. (most winter fire calls are overnight/early morning hours in -10 to -20 F degrees)

Thanks in advance!

~Mel

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Welcome, Mel!

I don't know if this is quite what you're looking for, but many cookie doughs (including chocolate chip) freeze well. You can make the dough and freeze it into balls, then bake them at will. They won't be quite as good as made-on-the-spot, but you could easily turn out a batch within your 30-minute time frame. And they're still hot, freshly made cookies; nothing wrong with those...

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I actually follow Andrew's model all the time for chocolate chip cookies and others. For chocolate chip, I scoop and freeze on parchment, then pop into a zip-lock bag. Whenever I need some or a lot, they go straight from the freezer on to a lined baking tray and into a hot oven. I find they hold their shape just a little better and perhaps take another minute to bake through.

Slice & bake cookies also work well this way. At the moment, I've got several logs of Dorie Greenspan's Korova/World Peace cookies in the freezer. They work great.

Did you know cheesecake freezes well? I'd freeze it unwrapped till it's solid, then wrap well to prevent freezer burn and any odd flavors. Cheesecake always slices a littler prettier when it's just slightly frozen anyway.

Brownies and bar cookies generally freeze well too. Typically, I put them on an appropriate size cake board, wrap well and freeze them without cutting them. Take them out to thaw while keeping them wrapped, then cut.

So long and thanks for all the fish.
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Mel, here's some of the things that we freeze in the hotel I work at:

Scones (unbaked)

Financiers (baked)

Brownies (baked)

Genoise (baked)

Bread (unbaked, baked, and half-baked)

Pate Sablee (unbaked)

Pound Cake (baked)

Fruit purees

Mousses, bavarois, etc.

Creme Brulee (unbaked)

Coulis, sauces, etc.

Strudel (unbaked)

Puff pastry (unbaked)

Hmmm... that's all I can remember right now, I know we do freeze a lot more stuff... on wednesday I'll give the freezers at work another check and see what I missed.

Regards,

Federico

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

I was reading another thread an a few posters mentioned that freezing fresh brownies taste just as good as fresh. I love brownies just out of the oven but hate old brownies. I cook for just myself so half a pan tends to get tossed. So how do you freeze brownies to make sure they are still good? Do you wrap them individually in cling wrap? Freeze the whole thing uncut? Just toss in a freezer bag? Freeze on a baking sheet and then transfer to a bag? Do you just throw them in outta the oven or wait for them to cool?

Then you eat them straight from the freezer? Do you throw them in the nuker? How long if so. Do I need to thaw them first? Help please! I can cook but I'm lousy at baking. If this works I'm definately making brownies this weekend. I'll even try it from scratch!

Thank you.

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Basic brownies freeze very well, especially if they aren't cut. They can be frosted or not. When cooled be sure to wrap them well, first in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil, then place in an airtight freezer bag. They must be wrapped tightly as the air in the freezer is very drying. Freeze for up to one month. :wink:

And be sure to look at this from Nestles: more on freezing brownies

Edited by Gifted Gourmet (log)

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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I bake fudge brownies in a half sheet pan. They are very gooey and difficult to cut without freezing. After cooling, I cover with foil and put the pan in the freezer for a few hours. When frozen, I turn the pan upside down and the entire brownie slab falls out easily (I use parchment on the bottom.) Cut into portions and wrap individually as Melissa said, then back into the freezer. :smile:

Ilene

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At work, we'll make a few sheet pans at a time. We let the brownies cool, usually overnight in the fridge. Turn them out, cut them, return to a sheetpan and then wrap tightly with plastic, stick in freezer and you're done.

Devin

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I've cut brownies into squares and wrapped individually in saran then put into a ziploc bag...yes, you can nuke them without defrosting. I put on a plate, just unwrap and lightly cover with the saran, and experiment with the timing. Depends on your microwave and the size of the brownie square. With the right timing, it's great.

"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde

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I do this all the time and generally follow Gifted Gourmet's process. You can certainly bake a pan and keep half to eat now and freeze the rest. One addition to the process, keep your brownies wrapped in all the layers (plastic, foil & bag) while defrosting. That keeps the condensation on the wrap and off the treats.

So long and thanks for all the fish.
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  • 8 months later...

I've got a bunch of apples so have decided to make turnovers, I want to have them available in the freezer for breakfasts but am not sure if I should bake them and then freeze them (and then bake again when I'm ready for one?). or should I be freezing them unbaked?

thanks from the novice baker :blink:

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i would freeze them unbaked. as turnovers usually use some kind of flaky pastry like puff or flaky pie dough, freezing after baking would take up way more freezer space than necessary. quality-wise, it just sounds better to me to bake fresh from frozen. start with a hot oven to get some puff out of your dough and then turn the temp down to finish baking.

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  • 6 months later...

For a 60th birthday party on Saturday night I want to make Pierre Herme's Black Foreset Cake. Here is my plan.................

Make the cake, decorate and freeze. The filling consists of the usual kirsch flavoured whipped cream and chocolate whipped cream. The kirsch flavoured whipped cream has glelatin in it as a stabalizer. The cake is brushed with a kirsch flavoured simple syrup.

Will freezing damage the gelatin?

I will go to the local bakery and have them reproduce an edible picture transparency of the birthday boy taken 30 years ago.

Once the whipped cream is frozen solid I will put a thin layer of chocolate buttercream on top of the whipped cream. The purpose of this is to provide a suitable layer to take the transparency. The bakery has told me that pictures are not stable on whipped cream. Will the buttercream freeze OK, or should I put it on when I pull the cake out of the freezer?

The cake has to travel about 90 minutes from home to birthday party. The plan is to pull the cake out the freezer in the morning, travel the 90 minutes, put it in the fridge until the evening party.

Before serving, I will put on the transparency and decorate the top of the cake.

Will this work?

Edited by forever_young_ca (log)

Life is short, eat dessert first

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Just in case no one else answers :)

The buttercream will freeze fine. It's the whipped cream I wouldn't freeze. Somehow I envision it weeping, falling out in cracked chunks, etc. It's the thing I'd put on last.

Good luck with the cake!

Mark

The Gastronomer's Bookshelf - Collaborative book reviews about food and food culture. Submit a review today! :)

No Special Effects - my reader-friendly blog about food and life.

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Just in case no one else answers :)

The buttercream will freeze fine. It's the whipped cream I wouldn't freeze. Somehow I envision it weeping, falling out in cracked chunks, etc. It's the thing I'd put on last.

Good luck with the cake!

I agree, the whipped cream could break down. Also, I don't find (Italian meringue) buttercream and whipped cream to be a good mix generally because they work at different temperatures.

I would recommend going all buttercream or all whipped cream, but if you do a black forest cake with all buttercream, you have a completely different cake.

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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