Can You Freeze Calzones? – Preserving the Taste: A Guide to Freezing Calzones and Enjoying Them Later

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Can You Freeze Calzones?: Calzones are yet another super excellent and savory breakfast dish that is generally crispier on the outside as well as soft and gooey on the inside. Italian ls have blessed us with this masterpiece that is generally folded over pizza and topped with a number of customizable meat, cheese, etc.

Calzones taste the best when served fresh. So, to keep your calzones fresh for a really long time, you must know how to prepare them for storage. Calzones act as an amazing make-ahead dish that can be frozen until the next use. Come, let us learn about the best techniques to freeze your calzones along with some tips to remember while dealing with it. Read till the end to find out.

Can You Freeze Calzones

Do Calzones Freeze Well?

Yes if proper precautions are maintained and proper storage techniques are followed, Calzones freeze extremely well and work as an amazing make-ahead dish that can be made in bulk and stored inside the freezer to be able to be defrosted and consumed again rather than making the whole thing repeatedly.

The moisture level of your Calzones is something that must be accounted for and protected against rather than only halting bacterial growth or staleness. Calzones can degrade in quality if they are left out or stored differently. Hence freezing is one of the best ways to keep them fresh for a really long time.

The only key element that you need to protect your bread from is moisture because it is an enemy of your bread and is highly potent to introduce freezer burn to your Calzone and start decomposing it. We will learn about the best techniques to prepare your Calzones for storage inside the freezer, in the sections below

How To Freeze Homemade Calzones Properly?

Once your Calzone is completely cooked and you can feel that it is crisp crusty on the outside and gooey on the inside, then the following are the steps that you will need to accommodate to freeze it effectively:

  1. Allow your Calzone to cool down completely and lose all of its heat at room temperature. This is because if you wrap a warm Calzone it will lead to condensation in the freezer and turn your crust into a soggy base.
  2. Once cooled down properly you need to wrap your Calzone properly in a plastic cling film and ensure that the wrap goes all the way around the Calzone without any holes, rips, or tears in the wrapping.
  3. Next, transfer the wrapped Calzone into a suitably sized airtight freezer bag and seal shut making sure any excess air is squeezed out first.
  4. Finally, label the freezer bag along with the Calzone, with the current date and name of contents, and transfer it inside the freezer for further preservation.

Best Tips To Freeze Calzones

In the section above, you have learned about the right methods to store your Calzones properly, in this section you will come across some important tips that we strongly recommend you follow if you want to get the best results from your frozen Calzones. The tips are mentioned as follows:

  • Toss in flour or cornmeal- Once your Calzone is cooled, before preparing it up for freezing, toss it with some cornmeal or flour as it will soak up any stray odds and ends for moisture and ensure that your Calzone is still delicious and crispy when defrosted and consumed.
  • Limit Accessing the Freezer- Limit your habit of opening the freezer door or touching the wrapped Calzone unless you necessarily have to. This is because the heat from your fingers will unevenly condense water particles on the surface of the bag and unnecessary outside air will trigger freezer burn, and cause it to damage way before that is what’s expected.
  • Avoid holes in the Wrapping- If there are holes in the plastic wrap it will cause the moisture to get into your Calzone package and make it turn soggy in the freezer and not let it reheat pleasantly at the time of consumption. Calzones wrapped with excess air are definitely going to condense in the freezer which eventually will freeze to ice that will tend to cause freezer burn and ruin the Calzone crust completely.

How Long Can You Freeze Calzones For?

Calzones can be frozen for a maximum of up to 3 months. We mention this timeframe strictly because beyond 3 months if you tend to freeze Calzones exceedingly, you are likely to introduce freezer burn into it. Once the freezer burn begins on any one end of the Calzone, excess moisture will gather on the crust surface and eventually will spoil the entire bread.

The moisture will freeze and form ice crystals that will disrupt the internal molecules of the crust and the damage will lead to a fundamentally less pleasant Calzone. Beyond 3 months, your Calzone might taste similar but still, it is quite vulnerable in terms of food safety and quality. Hence, we always recommend you consume your frozen Calzone within the first 3 months if you do not want your dough structure to lead to a poorer meal.

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How To Defrost Frozen Calzones?

At the time of consumption, the best way to defrost your Calzone is to first transfer it from the freezer and place each one inside the refrigerator overnight to let it thaw down gradually over time ensuring that you have unwrapped your Calzones completely and placed them on a flat surface.

Ensure that you are not placing them one on top of another to allow them to thaw evenly. Placing them on a flat surface will ensure that they don’t conform to a curved bowl while thawing which can be quite messy to deal with.

Once defrosted completely, reheat your Calzones by putting them in a microwave at the highest power level in one-minute bursts. This will typically ensure that the Calzone is heated enough through for about a good 2-3 minutes. If you want your Calzone to hold on to the crispy crust structure then you can consider reheating it in an oven or a toaster that will defrost on the outside creating a crispier crust to cook on the softer inside.

Can You Refreeze Calzones After Defrosting?

Yes, while freezing your Calzones the very next question that comes to your mind is whether you can refreeze them or not, and the answer is you definitely can. This is because repeated or long from freezing is definitely going to damage the dough’s integrity and we recommend you not cross beyond 3 months before you refreeze them back to your freezer.

The maximum time you can refreeze your Calzones is starting from the first date and calculating 3 months since that. You will be able to ensure that the Calzones have a slightly better texture and quality if you refreeze and protect them properly in this way.

To know more about other bread varieties like oopsie bread refer to the article Can you Freeze Oopsie Bread and resolve your doubts.

Can You Freeze Calzones Before Baking?

Yes, unbaked Calzone dough can be frozen easily, just like baked Calzones. To store your Calzone dough properly here are the steps that you need to follow:

  1. To begin with, spread your Calzone evenly into a single layer on a baking sheet and put it inside the freezer to let it flash-freeze for a couple of hours.
  2. Once frozen solid, cut it into smaller slices and transfer it into a Ziploc bag having the label with the current date and contents on it.
  3. Put this bag inside the freezer and take out as much dough as you need at the time of re-consumption.
  4. Defrost it and reheat it inside the oven or microwave at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until it reaches 160 degrees F to start baking them again.

F.A.Qs on Can You Freeze Calzones

1. Can I freeze an already-cooked Calzone?

Yes, you can definitely freeze an already cooked Calzone but first let it cool down completely at room temperature and then slip a parchment paper between each layer, and double wrap it with cling film before putting them inside the freezer.

2. How do you reheat Frozen Calzones?

To reheat frozen Calzones you can microwave it to the highest setting with a 2-3 minute timer or you can easily put it inside the oven to a heat of 400 degrees F for 20 minutes to let it heat completely through.

3. How long do Calzones last in the fridge?

If you choose refrigeration as a method of storing your Calzones then the maximum time they can last is up to 3-5 days, beyond that freezing would be a better option.

4. Can you freeze Calzone dough?

Yes, just like pizza dough, Calzone dough can also be frozen and for this, you need to first portion it into balls separated by parchment paper and then cover it up with cling wrap in freezer-friendly airtight bags.

Conclusion

Wrapping everything up, those were the best techniques to freeze and reheat Calzones both baked and unbaked, along with some really effective storage techniques that would help you get the best results from your frozen Calzones in the long run. We hope you found this article helpful yet interesting at the same time. If you did make sure you share this information with your friends and families as well as stay tuned with us to read more of these articles like Can you Freeze Corn Tortillas, etc.

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