For years I thought that“freezing a cooked food” meant ruining it, but over time I learned how to preserve pizza and regenerate it so that it was even better than fresh out of the oven.
If the source product is of quality and undergoes the correct procedure during both freezing and regenerating, it is very difficult if not impossible to notice the difference with fresh .
But let’s apply the concept to our beloved pizzas.
Marina, a very dear friend of mine, asked me a very interesting question some time ago:
“would it be possible to freeze a pre-cooked base and then take it out of the freezer and complete the task before dinner with 10 minutes in the oven?”
My answer was yes, but it depends. So we examined in detail all aspects and variables of the case.
Which pizzas are best suited for storage and regeneration?
Pizzas baked in a pan or otherwise at moderate temperatures of 200 to 300°C for at least ten minutes are those that can be perfectly preserved and later regenerated.
The Milanese slice, the Roman pan, the shovel, and the frying pan are all homogeneously textured pizzas with fillings evenly distributed over the entire surface. These are fundamental characteristics of having a well-executed“second firing.”
Pizzas such as Neapolitan or contemporary round pizzas, on the other hand, have a very thin stuffed central part and a pronounced crust devoid of toppings. This structure makes both storage and regeneration particularly difficult.
How to store pizza and for how long
The first thing I asked Marina after her question was how long she should store the pizzas before consuming them.
If you prepare the bases for the next day, I said, there is no need to freeze them. All you need to do is let them cool thoroughly, wrap them in aluminum foil, and store them in the refrigerator.
If you need to store them longer do the same thing, including refrigerator, and after an hour or so put them in the freezer.
Ideally, we would also skip the final stage of cooking, the last 3-4 minutes, avoid adding fillings such as fiordilatte and instead insert them at the time of regenerating, but we talk about this well later.
How to regenerate (and not heat)
You won’t believe me now, but know that a reconditioned pan or slice can be better than freshly baked, as long as everything is executed properly.
If you have thought about preserving your pizza by freezing it as Marina did, you only need to worry about 2 things:
- thaw them perfectly at room temperature
- have the oven well heated to 200°C
Finish seasoning the bases that you have thawed and bake them for 5 minutes by placing them directly on the grill or in a blue iron baking dish, you won’t need an extra minute or less, guaranteed!
If, on the other hand, your pizzas come straight from the refrigerator, all you have to do is finish topping them and bake for 5 minutes at 200°C.
Regenerating frozen bases
It may also happen that you need to fix a quick lunch or dinner and have nothing planned.
In this case, not having finished stuffing the bases will be your trump card.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake your still-frozen slices for 3-4 minutes by placing them directly on the grill or in a blue iron baking dish, then complete the filling and bake for another 5 minutes.
The result will still be more than acceptable, albeit inferior to regenerating with thawing.
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…And now knead, enjoy and taste!
Rudy
