Hi Joujoudoll,
I know elsewhere in this forum some have been able to freeze bread yeast doughs and revive them. It never worked for me or at best my successful attempts were unpredictable.
My guess on what happened in your case is this:
A good portion of the yeast had died when frozen, the ones still alive were localized in the middle of the dough and overinflated. The dough ruptured and the trapped gas escaped.
The reason I think frozen doughs made at home don't work properly is because:
the freezing process is too slow creating icicles that rupture the yeast cells.
Gluten does not freeze then thaw well loosing its capacity to stay elastic.
The rising process is difficult to control because thawing is always inconsistent. Thawing in the refrigerator takes too long but will preserve the yeast better. Thawing on the counter is inconsistent because the outside dough can start to rise while the center is still frozen making an uneven risen dough. Bake/thaw in the oven makes the interior of the dough rise before cooking but little expansion is achieved on the outside.
Bread made from frozen dough makes a heavy and disappointing bread.
Industrial manufacturers add dough conditioner additives, special yeast strains, add unhydrated coated dry yeast and even chemical leavening agents to help the thawed dough to rise. The final bread is still mediocre at best.
I suggest: to rise and bake all your dough and freeze the finish bread. Double wrap the completely cooled bread in resealable plastic bags (press air out of bag). Freeze in a chest freezer. Baked bread freezes better then dough. If after thawing the bread feels stale, rub the whole crust with wet hands and bake unwrapped in a 400F oven for 10 min. The crust gets crackly again and the interior, moist.
I hope this helps,
Luc H
I eat science everyday, do you?
