Can You Refrigerate Pizza Dough?

by | Jan 3, 2023

Pizzas may be available anytime the need hits by storing homemade or store-bought pizza dough in your refrigerator or freezer.

You can make sure that a tasty pizza is never more than a few minutes away once you understand how to keep pizza dough correctly.

Whether you have extra dough, want to save time and effort before the next pizza night, produce a big quantity of dough to store, or simply prefer the convenience of having dough on hand, it is essential to know how to store pizza dough correctly.

The pizza pie’s crust is its most crucial component.

When pizza is made with fresh dough, the crunch of a thin crust or a delicious deep dish chew is gratifying and unforgettable.

Because of this, pizza dough won’t last long in the fridge, and in the end, it will lose all of its good qualities.

People refrigerate pizza dough because it prevents the yeast’s natural fermentation process from accelerating and destroying the dough’s viability, and the fermentation process moves more quickly when more yeast is added.

Beyond that period, however, the bacteria will spread rapidly and worsen, especially if you use dough prepared with milk or eggs, which causes pizza dough to spoil.

But the problem is that there are no obvious signs that anything has happened, especially if you keep it in the refrigerator.

When attempting to cook a pizza using dough that is more than a week old, you will notice that something is off. As the yeast’s nutrients are depleted during baking, your dough will not rise.

Because of this, it’s critical to understand how to freeze and thaw pizza dough correctly before deciding whether to use the big batch of dough for a delicious pizza recipe you want to try with your family and friends or toss it out completely.

rolling dough<br />

Gauging The Freshness Of The Dough

If you think your dough has gone bad, have you tasted it, touched it, and looked at it for any changes in color, texture, or smell?

That’s completely normal. Even though it is sometimes still safe to consume, older dough degrades with time.

 

Dough Balls

When served piping hot with garlic and herbed butter, dough balls are a fantastic snack that is extremely soft and has a bun-like texture.

Dough balls can be used for up to 180 days after production if kept refrigerated; however, they are at their optimal baking quality and freshness when baked within 90 days.

Optimal performance comes in the middle of the refrigerated proofing phase, which can last anywhere from 12 to 120 hours.

 

Homemade Pizza Dough

Homemade pizza dough is simple to make and expert kneading techniques are not necessary. After making a big batch of homemade pizza dough, you’d definitely want to save the rest for next time.

On that note, homemade pizza dough may be kept properly to last up to five days in the refrigerator or three months in the freezer.

The quantity of yeast in the dough will determine the ideal storage period, however.

In general, the longer a dough can keep, the less yeast there is.

 

Store-Bought Pizza Dough

These days, a lot of supermarkets and food companies sell fresh, frozen, or refrigerated pizza dough.

Although store-bought pizza dough isn’t exactly the same as what you’d prepare at home, it may be a nice temporary solution. In that regard, store-bought pizza dough has a shelf life of up to five days after it is packed.

 

Sourdough

Did you know that compared to other bread, sourdough includes greater quantities of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants?

Additionally, it has lower amounts of phytate than ordinary bread, which makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients it provides.

If properly packaged and refrigerated, sourdough will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 to 5 days.

However, sourdough is best enjoyed fresh out of the oven or within a day at most.This way, both the crisp surface and the fluffy inside of the baked goods may be appreciated to their fullest

 

dough  about to be rolled

Identifying Whether The Pizza Dough Is Expired

It might be more difficult to tell whether your homemade pizza dough is spoiled if you followed the instructions exactly. A pizza dough recipe made with bread flour and warm water may be kept in the fridge for up to five days.

Mold growth and an unpleasant stench are also signs that the pizza dough in the fridge has gone bad.

Many foods have an “off” flavor after they have deteriorated, but you don’t want to bake bad dough and it’s not advised to taste it raw

 

Sour Smell

The smell of the dough is often used as a reliable indicator of whether or not it has gone bad.

The fermentation process might cause it to smell sour or to develop an alcohol or beer aroma.

The anaerobic chemical reaction results in the decomposition of glucose and the formation of air bubbles in the dough due to the release of carbon dioxide.

However, the alcohol produced will affect the taste and scent of the dough. If the technique is prolonged for too long, the dough will lose taste.

Keep in mind that fermentation occurs more rapidly at higher temperatures, so freezing it will simply extend its shelf life.

 

Dry Feeling & Crusty Appearance

Over time, it’s normal for pizza dough to lose its elasticity and become dry, flaky, crispy, and crusty. This product is difficult to roll into a ball or shape into a pizza crust.

Pizza dough should be discarded if, following removal from the refrigerator, the texture has altered or the dough feels particularly dry and has a crusty appearance.

 

Gray Color

If it is gray in color as opposed to white or beige, or if it has gray flecks, it is likely spoiled.

Pizza dough that has been frozen and exhibits freezer burn signs, such as white spots or clear freezer crystals, is also unfit for consumption, as hazardous bacteria may have formed in it as a result of prolonged cold fermentation.

 

How To Store Pizza Dough In The Fridge

It is important to know how to preserve pizza dough, after making an extra big batch, prepare ahead for the next pizza night, or just like the convenience of having dough on hand anytime you want a pizza pie.

Pizza dough’s shelf life mostly relies on how much yeast you use and the temperature at which you keep it.

Because yeast is more active at higher temperatures, reducing the temperature causes the yeast to become less active.

Pizza dough will last longer when kept at a lower temperature, such as in the refrigerator or freezer, than when kept at room temperature.

 

Use Airtight Container

After creating homemade pizza dough, one of the few alternatives for storing it is to add olive oil to the dough, place it in a food-safe container, and seal it tightly.

To keep the pizza dough from drying out, you must keep some air around it in a container that doesn’t let air in.

A well-designed pizza dough box minimizes the formation of a top crust and encourages careful and consistent proofing.

 

Wrap in Plastic Wrap

Since plastic wraps take up less room in your refrigerator than other options, they are also a fantastic choice for keeping pizza dough.

Wrap the dough balls or leftover pizza dough in plastic wrap and cover the entire batch to store it in the freezer.

 

Proofing Box

The simplest and most practical method to keep the pizza dough balls for cold fermentation is in individual airtight containers, as explained in the section on storing pizza dough in the refrigerator.

If a proofing box will fit in your refrigerator, it is best to keep the dough in there.

person making pizza dough

How To Defrost Pizza Dough

Place the dough bag in a large basin filled with cold water, keeping the top of the dough bag above the water to accelerate the defrosting process.

Use a smaller bowl within the larger bowl to help maintain the upright position of the bagged dough.

Defrost the dough in its packaging for at least four hours in the refrigerator or at room temperature. As the dough comes to life, it will begin to rise and expand; this is normal.

Remove it from its packaging and place it in a mixing bowl that has been greased. Cover the dish and lay it on a warm surface such as your countertop for at least 30 minutes.

 

Final Thoughts

When dough rests for too long, it becomes overproofed and begins to lose its shape and texture because the gluten is no longer able to retain the gasses inside the dough.

As with a balloon, the surface of pizza dough is not impermeable, resulting in the formation of air bubbles and continuous gas evaporation.

The dough will continue to rise as long as the yeast can produce sufficient carbon dioxide.

The rate of fermentation is controlled by the quantity of yeast in the pizza dough. This implies that the dough will rise more quickly when more yeast is added.

For quick rising, a lot of yeast is used in most homemade pizza recipes such as making beer pizza dough or classic Neapolitan pizza dough.

Pizza dough won’t really go bad in the sense that it becomes unsafe to consume merely by being left out for a while.

Therefore, it is crucial to make pizza using high-quality ingredients. If the dough is left out for too long, it could acquire unpleasant flavors.

Try making Roberta’s Pizza Dough at home with a great pizza crust; one that you’ll surely enjoy making, eating, and sharing with your family and friends!

Written By SEODave777

David Nilsson is the founder of The SEO Back Office and former SEO agency Converted Click. Passionate about people, search engines, faith, technology and boxing.

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