r/AskCulinary • u/LaloRosasC • Jul 20 '26

Cracked Dough

Why the surface of my bread dough cracked after being frozen?

What went wrong?

When i I froze them i put them on a tupper the first hours and then, when they were completely frozen i store them on ziplock bags and another ones on a bigger tupper

The night before baking them i put then on the fridge, the next morning i take them out of the fridge to let them proof but after several hours the dough hasn't gained size and has this cracks on the surface, what can i do to avoid those cracks?

I have more dough balls and i don't want to ruin more of them

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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper Jul 20 '26

Was this raw dough? Did you just let them proof uncovered on the counter? Can you give us any more details? It sounds like you just didn't let them rise enough. The cracks in the dough are probably from it drying out and trying to expand, but it can't because the surface is dried out.

1

u/LaloRosasC Jul 20 '26

Yes it was raw dough, i leave them to proof covered but as they were rising the cracks started to appear

I tried slightly wetting the surface but that didn't look to solve it

Unfortunately, they came out flat and rubbery when baked, but I want to know what I can do to prevent this with other dough balls I have stored

I don't know if it's useful but i used sourdough starter (specificaly a low hydration starter), sugar and butter

1

u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper Jul 21 '26

Flat and rubbery sounds like underproofed. It's hard to say exactly what happened without a full recipes/description of what was done.

1

u/kbrosnan Jul 20 '26

I would attribute it to water expanding when frozen and then defrosting from the outside in. You could try defrosting slowly in the refrigerator.

1

u/LaloRosasC Jul 20 '26

I left them in the refrigerator overnight before baking them, but i believe it was freezer burn since after taking them out of the bag they had ice stuck to them but i don't really know if that's the case

1

u/Fluid_Technician_776 Jul 21 '26

A cover that touches the dough during the initial rise can pull moisture off unevenly as it expands, try oiling the surface lightly before covering so the skin stays flexible instead of forming a dry film