Hi Andrea, we're so sorry to hear this process didn't work well for you, and also sorry that we weren't able to respond to your question before Thanksgiving! What recipe did you make? Some roll recipes lend themselves better to this method than others. Doughs that are quite wet and sticky right after kneading can be quite challenging to make this way. If the dough happened to be very warm going into the freezer, that may have contributed to your issues. Also, it's important to shape the rolls with a good amount of tension and structure so that they are able to hold their shape as they rise. Shaping the rolls loosely will tend to result in flatter rolls. If you happened to use another brand of flour, this might also cause issues, since other brands of flour don't tend to be as high in protein as our flour, which means they won't develop as much gluten and will also absorb less liquid. This can contribute to a wetter, weaker dough that won't have as much rising power. Finally, if the rolls were allowed to rise too long or at too warm of a proofing temperature after you took them out of the freezer, this might have caused them to be a bit over-proofed before they went in the oven, which could, again, lead to more spreading and less rise upward. Since you described the rolls as smelling quite "yeasty," I'm guessing this might have been part of the problem. Even though the dough is starting out frozen, I wouldn't go over 80°F for the rising environment.
December 1, 2024 at 11:08am
In reply to I mixed these on Saturday,… by Andrea Pennington (not verified)
Hi Andrea, we're so sorry to hear this process didn't work well for you, and also sorry that we weren't able to respond to your question before Thanksgiving! What recipe did you make? Some roll recipes lend themselves better to this method than others. Doughs that are quite wet and sticky right after kneading can be quite challenging to make this way. If the dough happened to be very warm going into the freezer, that may have contributed to your issues. Also, it's important to shape the rolls with a good amount of tension and structure so that they are able to hold their shape as they rise. Shaping the rolls loosely will tend to result in flatter rolls. If you happened to use another brand of flour, this might also cause issues, since other brands of flour don't tend to be as high in protein as our flour, which means they won't develop as much gluten and will also absorb less liquid. This can contribute to a wetter, weaker dough that won't have as much rising power. Finally, if the rolls were allowed to rise too long or at too warm of a proofing temperature after you took them out of the freezer, this might have caused them to be a bit over-proofed before they went in the oven, which could, again, lead to more spreading and less rise upward. Since you described the rolls as smelling quite "yeasty," I'm guessing this might have been part of the problem. Even though the dough is starting out frozen, I wouldn't go over 80°F for the rising environment.