How to Freeze Bread/Buns/Pastries

I’ve been asked this question many times, so figured it would be good to have it on the discussion board.

You can freeze most of your dough products like Chicken Bread, Savoury Croissants, Oven Fold overs, Triangle Buns, Meatpies, Chicken pies, Kabab buns etc etc

This is how you do it.

Bake the item, but for about three-quarters of the time specified in the recipe and without applying the egg wash (beaten egg that is brushed on the top of the bread for extra color). Remove and set aside to cool completely. You can keep it covered during this time.

Once the bread/bun/pastry is sufficiently cooled, wrap it very nicely with cling film or aluminum foil. Then put it in some sort of a plastic bag, which you can then seal tightly or tie it up. This gives a bit of extra protection so your dish doesn’t get dried up in the freezer. Freeze!

When you next need it, remove the item from the freezer and put it in your refrigerator for a few hours to thaw out, or overnight. Alternatively you can remove and keep it on your kitchen counter for a while to thaw. If you are stretched for time, you can skip the thawing by removing the bread from its wrapping and heating it for 1-2 minutes in the micro, just until it is no longer solid.

Then grease a tray and place your bread/buns/pastries on it. Apply the egg wash, then bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for about 5-10 minutes, or until it is nice and golden. Use your oven’s grill option for a good finish.

Remove, and if it is a bread/buns, brush lightly with some butter for extra flavor and softness, then keep them covered with a cloth until time of serving. If it’s pastries like meat or chicken pies, there is no need to add butter or cover, they are supposed to stay crispy.

And there you have it! A lovely result in less than half the time it would take to start over and bake from scratch. Saves up on so much time!

Most of the bread products can be frozen for up to 4 weeks.

Avoid freezing breads/buns prior to baking them, because when you freeze without baking them first, they might release a lot of moisture when they thaw out, making them sticky and messy and they could lose their lovely shapes and make it very difficult to work with them or give untidy results. So always bake them partially before freezing for best results. 🙂

Another tip:  if your freezer is cramped for space and you need to freeze a whole bunch of things, sometimes when you pile everything on top of each other, your breads/buns/pastries/samosas/spring rolls tend to get squashed out of shape.

To avoid this from happening, here is what I do. Once you have baked/fried the items, let them cool, then place them on a flat tray and stick it in the freezer for a few hours. This will get the buns/breads/samosas/rolls etc solid and slightly hard.

Now take the tray out and wrap the stuff up and return to the freezer and freeze as usual. This way, because they were partially frozen, they will not get squashed out of shape if you pile them on top of each other, and you will have perfect results when you need to serve them! xo

For samosas and spring rolls, to conserve time, I normally prefer to half-fry them, then freeze.

What this means is, after I have wrapped the samosas/rolls, I fry them on medium heat for just a few minutes until they are slightly beginning to take colour, then I remove and drain them, let them cool, then place them on a tray and get them partially frozen as explained in my post above. Then I pack them up and freeze until the time I need them next.

Whenever I need them for serving, I heat some oil on medium to low heat, then straight from the freezer I remove the samosas and put them into the oil and continue frying them. They take about 5 minutes or so to get done and turn out very crispy and fresh!

This helps a lot especially if you have faced the problem of your frozen samosas/spring rolls cracking in the oil. What the half-frying does is it makes the wraps of the samosas more solid and less delicate, so there is less chances of it drying up in the freezer and cracking when you fry!

60 thoughts on “How to Freeze Bread/Buns/Pastries
60 Replies
  • Salaam sister. A quick
    Salaam sister. A quick question, is it possible to bake the bread completely and then freeze it (rather than baking it 3/4, freezing, then baking again)? (specifically for chicken bread) If I can, how would be best to defrost it, in the microwave or oven? Thanks a lot 🙂

    • W/Salaam, yes that is totally
      W/Salaam, yes that is totally ok. I normally warm it up a bit in the microwave them pop it in the oven to give the crust a nice finish so it does not become soggy from being heated in the microwave.

  • Very nice tips u made things
    Very nice tips u made things really easy other wise i never thought of making things like breads for guests because of my small kitchen jazakALLAH 🙂

  • Salams sister..your recipes
    Salams sister..your recipes are really great..may Allah reward u for ur great work..i have a question,,is it ok to freeze buns with potato filling like ur chicken and potato buns filling? because u said that,”The problem with potato fillings is that when thawing, potatos release moisture and that can ruin the entire dish. Best to make it fresh.”..otherwise,,can u suggest a chicken filling for buns to freeze??(better if it is a little less spicy for children)

    • W/Salaam, you can freeze the
      W/Salaam, you can freeze the buns with potato filling. My caution is mainly for dishes like cutlets or kababs that use potato, that require frying after they have been frozen. Those tend to fall apart in the oil as they fry if they are frozen before hand due to the moisture that the potatoes release on thawing, but for buns they should be just fine. Alternatively check my fillings folder for a variety of different options. 🙂

    • Hi, pour a little into an
      Hi, pour a little into an airtight container for your everyday use. Keep this in the door section of your fridge. The rest should be packed up really tightly and also refrigerated. You will only need to open the big pack to refill the small container for everyday use. 🙂

  • My butter cake has oily layer
    My butter cake has oily layer inside after baking near bottom Though It perfectly rises and is quite soft.please help me out

    • Do you beat the butter and
      Do you beat the butter and sugar mixture properly until light and fluffy? And on adding the eggs, do you make sure to whip each one in well before adding the next one?

  • Hi Fauzia, had a quick
    Hi Fauzia, had a quick question:
    I was wondering if I could prepare the bread with the filling 2-3 days before and placing it in the fridge before baking?
    Really don’t want to bake it and freeze it to bake it in just few days again.
    Please let me know soon.
    Thanks!

    • Hi. I would not recommend
      Hi. I would not recommend doing that. The yeast in the dough will keep working while the bread is refrigerated and by the time you are ready to bake a few days later, it might be extremely yeasty in taste and smell. Your results may not be as good as they should be. Best to just partially or fully bake and freeze. You can then simply warm the bread up and serve when needed.

    • W/Salaam you can put it in a
      W/Salaam you can put it in a ziploc bag and freeze, then when needed just warm it up on a frying pan (cover it to help warm the bread through) or in a toaster oven.

  • Assalam alaikum.
    Assalam alaikum.
    I am asking this question after a long time that,can i make the whole pizza 3/4done(means not only dough the sauce and toppings also) and then freeze it.
    Also want to know if i made a dough today and unable to make the pizza the same day.can i use it next day after refrigerating?

    • W/Salaam, yes you can bake
      W/Salaam, yes you can bake the whole pizza with toppings to three-quarter done and then allow to cool on a rack, wrap well and freeze until needed. And yes a day is ok to store dough, but any longer and it can end up smelling yeasty.

  • Assalam u aleikum can i bake
    Assalam u aleikum can i bake the pies completely with egg wash and freeze them on cooling… how long can the pies be stored in the freezer for comsumation.. jazakAllah for your lovely recipes may Allah reward you for this and your ideas may you have a healthy and wonderful life Ameen

    • W/Salaam, yes you can bake
      W/Salaam, yes you can bake them completely baked and cooled, just make sure to wrap them well and they can keep well for up to 2 weeks. Jazakillah for the lovely dua, Ameen! <3

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