Pillsbury Grands Biscuits has a warning stating “ DO NOT FREEZE OR MICROWAVE UNBAKED DOUGH”
I have done this, but Ms. Bat has pointed out that I am not following the instructions on the package.
What’s the deal?
I would guess that freezing and microwaving will burst the container. Freezing by the water expanding into ice and microwaving by it evaporating and increasing the pressure on the inside of the tube.
I always thought it could affect the yeast, and affect how much it will ultimately rise…being that yeast is live little buggers. Diferrent types of yeast are affected more by freezing.
We freeze pizza dough, but that is bound for being a thin crisp pizza crust. For big risers, we don’t freeze the dough.
Yet, we are hooked on Kelley’s frozen biscuits. Instructions are to put the still-forzen biscuits on a cookie tray and ake for around 20 min. They rise up and brown wonderfully and put anything we’ve found in a refrigerated tube to shame (OK, that’s an IMHO…rephrase: we prefer them to the just refrigerated ones).
So there is probably a real reason for the instructions, but I don’t think it’s solely because of the yeast issue.
Maybe the others use different formulations of yeast, or it’s some of the other reasons posted above?
I always defer to the folks in Cafe Society when it comes to food related questions. Moved.
samclem GQ moderator
I’m gonna go with the fact that freezing and thawing can cause it to contract and expand, and thus the tube will probably burst when it thaws.
It’s also possible (I tend to think more likely, in fact) that freezing won’t cause the tube to explode or anything, but will slightly the texture of the biscuits. And Pillsbury doesn’t want anybody complaining about off-textured biscuits, so they put a big notice on the tube warning not to freeze them. The tube having a limited size, and requiring lots of pictures of delicious fresh-made biscuits on it for the edification of potential buyers, Pillsbury decided against printing the full text of
“Freezing this tube won’t cause obvious physical damage, but might change the texture of the frozen-then-thawed biscuits (and for God’s sake, don’t try and freeze it then cook them without thawing!), so if you do freeze it, don’t come running to us later complaining about how the biscuits weren’t as perfect as you want them!”
From the Pillsbury Grands FAQ:
Ever notice how a refrigerator biscuit container pops open as if its under pressure? That’s because the chemical leaving agents, not yeast, in the dough have released CO[sub]2[/sub] gas. The lined inner surface of the container holds that gas in, and prevents the bulk of the leaving agent from fizzing until you crack the seal. When you freeze the dough, that equilibrium is upset in the same way as it is when you freeze a can of soda pop.
My tip to increase the already humongous goodness of frozen biscuits: Place the frozen biscuits on a pre-heated pizza stone and bake according to package directions. When I first did this, I was astonished at the height and the brownness of the biscuits. The heat was so even that the biscuits were the same shade of golden brown from top to bottom. 
The raw dough turns slimy, making it un-freaking-possible to separate the biscuits (or, in the case of the crescent rolls, to either unroll or separate), and you end up with these…lumps…on the cookie sheet. They bake and taste all right; they’re just not as light and fluffy as they should be.
Fascinating idea! I think I’ll try it…one more thing to add to my Christmas wish list. Thanks for the tip , never thought of trying this.
Are the little yeastie beasties still alive in store-bought bread? :eek:
Most biscuit recipes don’t use yeast. They use baking powder.