If you are a beginner baker alike who are trying to cook a pizza, chances are you try your best to make everything right. Along the way, you probably come across many questions.
One of the questions most people who try to make pizza for the first time is whether or not pizza dough can be refrigerated after it rises. This post is dedicated to answering this question. If you have the same query, then this post is for you.
So, can you refrigerate pizza dough after it rises? Yes, you can refrigerate pizza dough after it rises. It is totally fine. When the cooking time comes, don’t forget to give it at least 30 minutes to come to room temperature before putting it in the oven.
Refrigerating a risen pizza dough is helpful especially if you want to bake it days later. After taking it out of the fridge, allow it to warm a little bit to make it easier to stretch.
Refrigerating Pizza Dough
The truth is you can refrigerate the pizza dough at any point of the process. However, doing it after the first rise is oftentimes has a better result. You can store it in the fridge for a couple of days before cooking. Just make sure that the dough is in the secured container.
Another thing to remember is that the dough should have enough space to expand. When refrigerated, the dough will keep rising, so it is important that it has ample space. Once taken out of the refrigerator, the dough can be reshaped and allow to rise again.
But before stretching it, the cold dough should be allowed to come to room temperature. Stretching or reshaping it while it’s cold can be difficult because the gluten is tight. It needs a little time before it warms up.
You can also refrigerate a stretched or rolled pizza dough. If you do so, I recommend that you lay it on a parchment-lined pan covered with plastic wrap. In this case, however, the dough should not remain refrigerated long. This is because it tends to moist and potentially stick to the bottom of the pan.
Can I Freeze the Pizza Dough?
Technically, you can freeze the pizza dough. However, doing so may not produce a good result. This is because freezing will kill the yeast. As a result, the dough may not rise as expected.
What you can do instead is to refrigerate a pizza dough for about 2-3 days. Then you can cook pizza later. If you have leftovers, you can refrigerate them. But you should not refrigerate a thawed dough again.
The reason being is that thawed dough for more than 4 hours may have acquired bacterial contamination. Placing them back in the refrigerator may only allow the bacteria to widespread.
If you have thawed pizza dough, the best and safest thing you can do is to cook the pizza first before refrigerating the leftovers.
Can I Keep Pizza Dough in the Fridge Overnight?
Yes, you can keep pizza dough in the fridge overnight. In fact, it will give better texture and taste to it. You can make dough now and bake it later. But make sure that you refrigerate it in a sealed container.
Pizza dough can last for several days in the refrigerator. When you’re ready, you can take out the dough from the fridge and bake it.
But before cooking, just allow the dough to warm at room temperature. When doing so, please remember that the dough should not be left out for more than two hours.
Experts argued that the bacteria will spread in food at room temperature after 2-4 hours or more. If thawed this long, the dough should be cooked under high temperature to kill the bacteria.
Related: What Happens If Frozen Pizza Thawed?
How Long Should the Dough Rest Before Stretching?
Generally, resting takes about 30 minutes to one hour depending on many factors such as tightness of the dough, room temperature, strength, and many more.
The surface of the dough should be dented when pressed. However, when making yeast doughs, the story can be a little bit different. There are many factors that cannot be controlled. In this case, it is hard to give an exact amount of time for the dough to rest.
What I can only suggest is that try to experiment and find out the answer. Baking is like anything in life that sometimes you need to try, fail, and learn. The experience will be the best teacher.
How Do I Use Store-Bought Pizza Dough?
Store-bought and homemade pizza doughs are similar. The only difference is that, as per my experience, the store-bought dough is harder to stretch than homemade.
If you are making pizza using store-bought dough, do not forget to let the dough rest at room temperature. Wait until rises a little bit before you stretch it out. To make the dough softer, add a little oil to it before stretching. You can use any type of oil. If you have olive oil, that will be a great option.
How Do You Store Pizza Dough Overnight?
Storing a pizza dough in the fridge overnight is like storing any type of dough. Before putting in the fridge, make sure to cover the dough with plastic wrap. If properly secured, the dough can remain in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
Although pizza dough can be frozen, I don’t do it. This is because, when frozen, the dough will not rise as much you expect it to be.
Final Thoughts
Making pizza dough for later consumption is a good idea. But can you refrigerate pizza dough after it rises? Yes, absolutely. Refrigerating the dough will add desirable flavor to the pizza.
However, after taking the dough from the refrigerator, make sure to let it rest at room temperature before baking it for a better result.
I hope this helps.
Related Questions
Where to store readymade pizza base?
You can store a ready-made pizza base at room temperature as long as it is unopened. It can last for 1 day or 2 in that condition. But if you plan to store it for several days before cooking, refrigerating it is a good idea. Refrigerating helps the pizza base to have a longer shelf life.
Can you freeze dough without yeast?
Yes, you can freeze dough without yeast. In fact, refrigerating is a great way to preserve a yeast-free dough for later cooking.
