How Long is Pizza Dough Good For in the Fridge – Storing Techniques

It’s always great to have certain parts of your meal prepared in the fridge, ready for later use. If you’re planning to make some homemade pizza, you’ve probably wondered how long the pizza dough is good for when stored in the fridge till you’re ready to add your favourite toppings and push it into the oven. Fresh pizza dough tends to have a limited shelf life and should be stored correctly so that it remains fresh, without resulting in a sticky, doughy mess. If you’re in search of some refreshing storing techniques for your pizza dough and how long it is good for in the fridge, then let’s find out!

Table of Contents

• What is Pizza Dough?
• How to Make Pizza Dough?
• How to Store Pizza Dough?
• How Long Does Pizza Dough Last in the Fridge?
• How to Tell if Pizza Dough has Gone Bad?
• Can You Freeze Pizza Dough
• How Long is Pizza Dough Good For?
• Can You Store Pizza Dough on the Counter?
• How to Make Pizza?
• Storing Pizza in the Fridge
• FAQs

What is Pizza Dough?

Pizza dough is often made with either all-purpose or bread flour, yeast, salt, and water. The ratio of ingredients varies between different recipes and depending on whether you are making a thin crust or thick crust pizza – but generally speaking, the best ratio to use would be 2 cups of water per 1 cup of flour (or if you’re in a rush then use 1 3/4 cups water per 1 cup flour).

What makes this mixture so great for making pizzas is that it can create an elastic skin-like consistency that allows for easy stretching without breaking apart when cooked at high temperatures. This increased hydration also creates more surface tension than other types of foods like bread; allowing it to puff up nicely when cooked at very high temperatures. The perfect pizza crust will have both flavour and texture along with appearance; meaning that it should be elastic enough to stretch into a round shape without tearing or breaking while still being easy to roll out, with minimal cracking in between turns; but also crispy on top when baked off. A light dusting of flour on both sides before rolling is key for achieving this goal.

How to Make Pizza Dough?

Making pizza dough from scratch is actually quite easy! Active yeast and water are mixed together and left to rest for several minutes, allowing the yeast to come to life. Then, the remaining ingredients – usually flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil – are added and kneaded together until a smooth dough forms.

After this first mixing step has been completed successfully, meaning that you have kneaded the pizza dough as directed in your recipe, it’s time to let it rest while your yeast comes alive again. During this time, the yeast will begin expanding and releasing gases causing your pizza crust to rise. After rising once more before baking if necessary or desired by your recipe (some recipes call for another rise after shaping into a ball), place the dough on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan or pizza stone with cornmeal sprinkled on top before baking at 425ºF / 218ºC – 500ºF / 260ºC for about 10 minutes depending on how thick or thin you want it.

How to Store Pizza Dough?

Once you have mixed your pizza dough and let it rise one time, you can store it according to your preference. If you want to make two pizzas, divide the dough in half and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before using it. If you don’t plan to eat a whole batch at once, divide the rolled-out dough into smaller portions and wrap each in plastic wrap. Some people prefer storing their dough in zipper bags or freezer bags. You will find that these options work well if you want small amounts of pizza ready for last-minute entertaining or for when unexpected guests arrive. To use your stored pizza dough, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come up to room temperature before proceeding with any further steps. Next, take out any amount of dough that is needed for one person’s serving size (or desired number of servings) and place it back into its container until it’s ready to use again.

How Long Does Pizza Dough Last in the Fridge?

You can store pizza dough in the fridge for approximately 3 to 5 days, depending on its condition and the temperature of water used for making it. If you use warm water and leave the dough on the kitchen countertop for an hour before placing it in the refrigerator, you can expect that it will be edible for only three days. However, if you refrigerate it straight away, it will last at least 4 to 5 days. After buying a commercial pizza dough, you should store it in an original dough box in your fridge. Another option is to put it in an airtight container with a wet cloth over the top or plastic wrap pressed down onto all sides. The crucial thing is to prevent air from entering the packaging and consequently drying out your product! The more convenient option for homemade pizza dough is splitting it into smaller portions till you’re ready to use it.

How to Tell if Pizza Dough has Gone Bad?

If you are looking for an affirmative way to tell whether your pizza dough has gone bad, then here it is:

• The first sign of spoilage will be a change in the smell. It will start to have a sour odour, usually followed by mold forming on top of the dough ball.

• The second sign that the pizza dough has gone bad is if it starts to form creases as you knead or pull at it. These are implications that spoilage may be starting and growing into full-blown bacteria growth within hours. The texture might also turn from soft and pliable to hard, indicating spoilage coming soon for your doughy treat. If any fungus is detected in the dough ball or around it, then throw it out immediately.

Can You Freeze Pizza Dough

Storing pizza dough in the freezer is much like storing it in the fridge. You will need to wrap the dough tightly in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out. Then, place the portioned dough in the freezer until you are ready to use it. Pizza dough will remain preserved in the freezer for about 3 months. When you are ready to use your frozen pizza dough, you should remove it from the freezer, and transfer it to the fridge, allowing it to thaw overnight. Then, take the thawed dough out of the fridge and unwrap it. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface, loosely covered, and allow it to rise at room temperature until it doubles in size (about 1 hour). When risen (puffy), shape as desired and bake according to recipe instructions or freeze for a later cooking time.

How Long is Pizza Dough Good For?

Pizza dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days and frozen for up to three months without any ill effects on its taste and texture. How long pizza dough lasts depends on how much yeast is used in the recipe, but most recipes will last at least a week in the refrigerator if they’re properly refrigerated. The best way to store your homemade pizza dough is by wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminium foil, then placing it inside a zip-top bag before putting it into the fridge. The goal is to keep out as much air as possible so that mold does not grow on top of your dough, while also preventing moisture from entering through an open zipper or seal.

Can You Store Pizza Dough on the Counter?

If your dough was just left at room temperature, on your kitchen counter, for example, the yeast would continue to expand within the dough causing it to over ferment and give it a bad taste. When left at room temperature, the yeast will grow for a while and then die.

If you bake pizza dough with inactive yeast, it will not rise since all the power of the yeast has already been used up through rapid fermentation, causing it to die prematurely, before baking. Instead, the dough would just be a tough chewy solid unappetising crust, or could even explode with too much carbon dioxide inside it. In order to prevent this from happening you need to chill your pizza dough so that you can slow down its growth rate, allowing everything to naturally occur at a more manageable pace, or when we want it to. Chilling also helps keep any potentially harmful bacteria out of your delicious homemade pizza doughs as well.

How to Make Pizza?

To make your pizza, place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475°F for at least 30 minutes, or preferably an hour. Remove the plastic cover from the dough and dust your hands with some flour. Press down on each piece of dough so that it deflates a little. Then divide them into two round balls and place each one in its own bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Let it sit for 15 minutes while preparing your desired toppings; mushrooms, peppers, jalapenos, etc. About 1/3 cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza.

Working with one ball at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a lightly floured work surface until it becomes 1/2 inch thick. Turn and stretch until it will not stretch further then let it relax 5 minutes before continuing to stretch until it has achieved the desired diameter, which is 10 to 12 inches or more if you have a wide pan available.

You can also hold up the edges of the dough using your fingertips allowing it to hang as you work around the edges of the dough, stretching outwards from the centre until their desired dimension has been achieved. Then press down along the outer edge where the thicker section is present using your palm or fingertips so that the indentations are made ensuring that these do not touch the pan when placing it into the oven later on during the baking process.

Lightly sprinkle some cornmeal onto a peel if you’re using a metal pan instead of a stone which requires no coating prior to this step because they’re used interchangeably throughout. The instructions may vary depending upon the type used, however. Spoon some tomato sauce smoothly over the surface, evenly distributing it across the surface of the dough, leaving ¼ inch space all around, careful not to touch the edges, as this will cause burning during the baking process.

Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese over the top followed by any other toppings desired like pepperoni crumbles etc., being careful not to overload your toppings since this could cause problems when the cooking process begins. Finally, slide your pizza into the oven and cook at 450F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Storing Pizza in the Fridge

As long as you intend to make your pizza within the week, or have kept it in a container that keeps out moisture, your dough should be fine for up to 5 days.

FAQs