Frozen Patê Brisée Still Good After 12 Months?

Last Thanksgiving I accidentally made a quadruple batch of the pie dough. I wrapped the two discs and placed both in a freezer bag, which has been in the bottom of the freezer drawer ever since. Now I’m being called on to make my apple pie again and was wondering if the old dough is safe?

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tim.d.chin

Ooh, this is a tough one! Anecdotally, I have done this, though I don't necessarily recommend it from a quality perspective.

If you're worried about getting sick: In practical terms, freezing slows undesirable pathogen growth (salmonella, e. coli, staph aureus for example) dramatically and delays the oxidation/graying of the dough (to a lesser extent). Over a year of freezing time, pathogenic growth is effectively zero: There's little chance that these microbes will have grown to any appreciable extent. (But! If your freezer doesn't reliably maintain freezing temperatures, then the chances are nonzero). Finally, heat (baking) will kill salmonella and e. coli, but the toxins (not the bacteria themselves) from staph aureus are known to be heat-resistant.

So you need to take a calculated risk. From a cooking perspective, ask yourself:

Are there signs of freezer burn on the dough? This would primarily affect dough quality (e.g. dry spots, discoloration) If so, I'd make a fresh batch
Is your freezer reliably cold enough? Does it cycle on/off for long periods of time (letting the temp creep over 5F, for instance), or was there ever an extended power outage (12+ hrs) in the last year? If so, I wouldn't risk it

If the dough passes those tests, then proceed with this:

Thaw one portion of pie dough
Look out for graying (oxidation), or funky/sour smells
Roll and test bake a portion (maybe a sheet, or a mini pie shell)
Evaluate it for look, smell, and ultimately flavor (does it taste like "fridge" or at all stale?)

Hope this helps!

All comments

tim.d.chin

Ooh, this is a tough one! Anecdotally, I have done this, though I don't necessarily recommend it from a quality perspective.

So you need to take a calculated risk. From a cooking perspective, ask yourself:

Are there signs of freezer burn on the dough? This would primarily affect dough quality (e.g. dry spots, discoloration) If so, I'd make a fresh batch
Is your freezer reliably cold enough? Does it cycle on/off for long periods of time (letting the temp creep over 5F, for instance), or was there ever an extended power outage (12+ hrs) in the last year? If so, I wouldn't risk it

If the dough passes those tests, then proceed with this:

Thaw one portion of pie dough
Look out for graying (oxidation), or funky/sour smells
Roll and test bake a portion (maybe a sheet, or a mini pie shell)
Evaluate it for look, smell, and ultimately flavor (does it taste like "fridge" or at all stale?)

Hope this helps!