I contacted Fleischman's about this several years ago. I was told that if I freeze yeast dough, I have to increase the amount of yeast. I don't recall by what percentage. I can't recall whether I contacted KAF or read this on a blog, but KAF also said to increase the yeast. Again, by what percentage, I don't recall.

On October 5, 2016, KAF posted a blog about freezing yeast rolls. I'm sorry, I don't know how to post a link, but if the title of their blog is, "Freeze and Bake Rolls: A Head Start on the Holidays." It has a note about increasing the yeast if the dough is going to be frozen longer than 2 or 3 days.

I haven't tried their method but intend to do so soon.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.

That is a nice article. Kidpizza used to tell us about freezing dough balls for making his pizza. He mentioned the increase of yeast as some die-off will always occur in the freezer.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by S_Wirth.

My one attempt to freeze bread dough came at a moment of desperation. My oven went bad with a cake in it, and orange-cinnamon swirl bread rising. I ended up putting the pans in the freezer, then wrapping them after they froze. They did ok, when the oven was repaired. As it was a new recipe, and I've not gotten around to baking it again, I do not know if the freezing affected it negatively.

A lot of KAF's recipes use too much yeast, so I don't know that you would need to increase the yeast all that much. I usually reduce the yeast a bit in their recipes.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by BakerAunt.

I also keep my opened yeast (regular active and the higher sugar one) in the freezer. I have that acrylic jar with the locking lid that KAF sells. It won't hold two pounds of yeast, but I can put the excess in Tupperware. I use it straight from the freezer with no problem. I always proof it, having had a bad experience when I first baked bread, even though I know that the prevailing wisdom is that it is not necessary. I enjoy seeing it bubble up before I add the rest of the ingredients.

For me, it works best not to freeze dough, since if I've got time to take it out, let it come to room temperature and rise, I might as well have baked it first. It's easier for me to pull out a frozen loaf or rolls and let them thaw overnight. I just have to watch my husband who has been known to attack a frozen loaf with a bread knife because he did not tell me we needed to thaw another loaf. I think that cutting it while frozen compromises the thawing, the taste, and the texture.

I freeze my yeast as well. I keep a small jar and the rest in a ziplock freezer bag

In the freezer it lasts for years. It took me nearly 2 years to use up the last pound package of yeast I opened, I used to go through a pound in about 4 months. Shows how much less I bake since our younger son moved to California. I keep it in an Ikea container that holds a full pound of yeast.