It is always convenient to be able to prepare meals ahead of time, making mealtimes quicker and simpler. Pizza, on the other hand, is one of those things that tastes best when it’s hot out of the oven.
So, how can you make pizza ahead of time and yet have it taste fresh? Just create the dough ahead of time! Unless you’re creating pizza sans dough.
There are many methods for storing pizza dough while keeping it fresh and flavorful. If you store your pizza dough correctly, you will be able to swiftly assemble a pizza and bake it on-demand, at any time!
Contents
- How to Make Pizza Dough
- Portioning Dough for Storage
- When To Store Pizza Dough
- Storing Pizza Dough on the Counter
- Storing Pizza Dough in the Fridge
- Storing Pizza Dough in the Freezer
- FAQs
- What is the best way to store fresh pizza dough?
- Can you refrigerate pizza dough after it rises?
- How do you store pizza dough and for how long?
- Is it better to put pizza dough on the counter or in the fridge?
- How long to take pizza dough out of fridge before baking?
- How far in advance can I roll out pizza dough?
- How long should pizza dough rest at room temperature?
- How long can you leave pizza dough in the fridge to ferment?
- What happens if you leave pizza dough to rise too long?
How to Make Pizza Dough
Pizza dough is really fairly simple to prepare. With just a few easy steps, you can make a flawless, restaurant-worthy dough that will serve as the foundation for any pizza (even ones without sauce!).
To begin, active yeast and water are combined and let to settle for several minutes to bring the yeast to life. The other ingredients are then added (typically flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil) and the dough is kneaded together (make sure not to over-knead).
The pizza dough will need to rest after forming a smooth dough and kneading it as indicated in the recipe.
The yeast will begin to grow and release gases during this period, causing the dough to rise (see why this is so important). This is what produces a lovely fluffy pizza crust (or any kind of fluffy bread!).
When the dough has risen, punch it down to deflate it and shape it into your pizza crust. Some recipes need the dough to rise again before baking, whilst others state that the pizza dough is ready to use after just one rise.
Read your instructions carefully—both methods work wonderfully!
Portioning Dough for Storage
If you’re going to make pizza dough, you may as well double or quadruple the recipe and save some for your next pizza night.
Most pizza dough recipes will easily quadruple, yielding the same dough results for four pizza crusts as when creating a single batch. So why not produce some more? You may need to knead the dough for a bit longer, but this is readily accomplished.
When making a large amount of dough, it is a good idea to split it out before storing it. Hence, if you produced a 4X quantity of pizza dough, split it into 4 equal pieces after it has risen once before storing. When the dough is correctly separated like this, it is much simpler to utilize later.
When you’re ready for a pizza, just pull out one of your pre-portioned doughs and create your pizza! There’s no need to separate dough or fiddle with mixers every time you want pizza.
Thus, take the time to divide the dough before storing it; you’ll be glad you did!
If your dough refuses to stretch, follow the methods outlined in this article.
When To Store Pizza Dough
After mixing the pizza dough and allowing it to rise once, store it in your favorite way. Split the dough and store as desired (continue reading to learn how to store pizza dough!).
Before you begin making your pizza, let the dough to warm up and rise once more. Nevertheless, preparing dough from scratch every time you want pizza is considerably simpler and less time consuming!
Storing Pizza Dough on the Counter
If the dough was just left at room temperature, for example, on your kitchen counter, the yeast would continue to grow, causing the dough to over-ferment and give it a terrible flavor.
When kept at room temperature, the yeast will thrive for a short time before dying.
If you bake pizza dough with inactive yeast, it will not rise since the yeast’s whole strength has been depleted. Instead, the dough would be rough, chewy, firm, and unappealing.
Hence, if you wish to keep pizza dough, it must be cooled to prevent the yeast from developing too quickly and dying. Cooling the dough causes the yeast to slow down and become dormant.
Consider the fridge or freezer as a place for your yeast to hibernate, resting and waiting for you to make a pizza!
Storing Pizza Dough in the Fridge
After allowing the dough to rise once and dividing it into balls the size of one pizza crust (mini or large), cover it tightly in an airtight container.
Just put the dough in a plastic storage container with a cover, or wrap it in plastic wrap immediately. It is very simple to throw the dough in a big zipped bag, push out the air, and close it.
After wrapped, the dough may be stored in the refrigerator. Pizza dough can stay in the fridge for approximately 2 weeks. Remove the dough from the fridge when ready to use, unwrap it, and set it on your worktop or in a lightly dusted basin.
Let the dough to come to room temperature by gently covering it. This will take around 30 minutes for a pound ball of dough. Spread out the dough to make a pizza crust, then top with your favorite toppings and bake!
Storing Pizza Dough in the Freezer
Keeping pizza dough in the freezer is similar to storing it in the refrigerator. To keep the dough from drying out, cover it securely in an airtight container.
Next, freeze the portioned dough until you’re ready to use it. Pizza dough may be frozen for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to use your frozen pizza dough, remove it from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator to defrost overnight. Next, remove the thawed dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, cover loosely, and let aside to come to room temperature. After the dough has been warmed, roll or stretch it into a pizza crust, bake it, and enjoy!
If you need to thaw pizza dough quickly, use one of these alternate methods.
As you can see, storing pizza dough is simple. The dough will bake flawlessly whether it is frozen or stored for a few days.
You should never prepare a single batch of pizza dough again; instead, make 3, 4, or 5 times the quantity of dough, wrap it, and store it! It is the ideal, simple option for producing fresh pizza at home whenever you want!
FAQs
What is the best way to store fresh pizza dough?
Pizza dough should be kept in either the fridge or the freezer, depending on the recipe. Cooling pizza dough keeps the yeast alive by delaying the normal fermentation process of the microorganism.
Can you refrigerate pizza dough after it rises?
The dough may be refrigerated after practically any stage, but after the first rise (or just before) works best. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered, for 1-3* days. Leave enough space for the dough to expand as it rises.
How do you store pizza dough and for how long?
It is really easy to store pizza dough. All you have to do is allow it to rise once. Then, cover it in plastic wrap, place it in an airtight container, or use a resealable bag to keep it. Refrigerate for up to five days or freeze for up to three months.
Is it better to put pizza dough on the counter or in the fridge?
Since yeast is more active at warmer temperatures, reducing the temperature causes the yeast to slow down. As a result, pizza dough held at a lower temperature, such as in the refrigerator or freezer, will keep longer than dough stored at room temperature.
How long to take pizza dough out of fridge before baking?
How to make pizza using refrigerated dough. When using refrigerated dough, remove it from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before baking the pizza to allow it to come to room temperature.
How far in advance can I roll out pizza dough?
It’s ideal to create the dough at least 24 hours ahead of time, preferably 3 or 4 days. You may make the dough into whatever form you choose, such as a circle, square, or oblong. This recipe yields a single 14-inch thin crust pizza. If you like, you may split the dough in half and create two personal pizzas.
How long should pizza dough rest at room temperature?
Pizza dough should be proofed at room temperature for 1 to 24 hours, or even longer. A pizza dough might take anything from 24 to 72 hours to cold-proof.
How long can you leave pizza dough in the fridge to ferment?
Three to five days is the ideal cold fermentation period.
Quality loss began around day 6 in my fridge, which maintains at roughly 38°F.
What happens if you leave pizza dough to rise too long?
“A few days’ rise is good and will increase the flavor of the crust, but any more than three days and the yeast will begin to gobble up all the sugar in the dough and convert it to alcohol, which will negatively effect crust flavor,” Schwartz said.