How to freeze buns, Danish pastries and bread rolls

Sweet yeast baking is at its best in the first few hours after it leaves the oven. Freezing helps preserve that freshness. Buns, Danish pastries and bread rolls all freeze well, but they need different treatment on the way out. Here is the method for each.

Rule one: freeze on baking day

Yeast baking starts losing freshness within hours. A bun frozen soon after baking and cooling comes back much closer to freshly baked. One frozen after two days on the counter still tastes like a two-day-old bun. If you know half the batch will not be eaten today, pack and freeze it once it has cooled. It is the same principle as bake once, eat all week.

Sweet buns: room temperature, then five minutes in the oven

Freeze fully cooled buns in a closely sealed bag, ideally in portions. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour, then warm for 5 minutes at 175 °C to revive the aroma and surface. In a hurry, try 8 to 10 minutes in the oven from frozen, checking the centre. A microwave can work as a last resort, about 20 to 30 seconds per bun, but the bun becomes chewy as it cools, so eat it immediately.

Bread rolls: straight into the oven

Take rolls out of their bag and put them in a preheated oven at 200 °C for 8 to 12 minutes. Deliberately baking them a little pale before freezing can help when finishing them later. For the full routine, see keeping bread rolls fresh, and for oven timings read frozen bread straight into the oven.

Danish pastries: use the oven, not the microwave

Laminated dough, including Danish pastries and croissants, contains many thin layers of butter and dough. Microwaving can soften those layers into a chewy mass. Instead, thaw at room temperature for about half an hour, then warm for 4 to 5 minutes at 180 °C to crisp the shell again. Freeze pastries without cream or icing where possible and decorate after thawing. Perishable fillings need their own storage instructions.

How long do they keep in the freezer?

Frequently asked questions