Pizza dough is a staple in the food industry.
It can be used for both pizza and bread, making it an essential ingredient to any chef.
The dough can be cooked in an oven or on top of a stovetop grill.
In this blog post, explore storing pizza dough and how long pizza dough lasts so you don’t waste a bunch of dough.
What is Pizza Dough?
Pizza dough is a staple of Italian cuisine.
Typically, it consists primarily of wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water.
This mixture is kneaded with a dough hook to create an elastic flour-based skin that can be stretched without tearing.
The increased hydration of the gluten in this product also creates more surface tension than bread crusts, allowing it to puff up nicely when cooked at very high temperatures.
The perfect pizza crust will have the right balance of flavor, texture, and appearance.
The dough 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.
A light dusting of flour on both sides before rolling is key for achieving this goal.
There are two main types of pizza in Italy: Neapolitan (thin) and Roman (thick).
In Naples, fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce may not even be used.
Instead, only olive oil, mozzarella cheese, salt, and basil leaves are added for flavoring.
Pizza dough can be made with or without yeast, impacting how long you need to wait before baking it.
If your recipe does not call for yeast, you will need to let it rise for at least two hours before shaping.
How to Store Pizza Dough?
Pizza is a meal that many people enjoy.
It can be prepared at home or ordered from a restaurant, and it usually has tomato sauce and meat toppings like pepperoni.
The dough for pizza crust typically contains yeast to provide the gas needed to make bubbles in the bread-like dough.
Pizza dough can be stored in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to one week.
It’s important not to store pizza dough near other foods with strong odors, as this will cause the flavor of the crusts to change and sometimes take on those smells.
Pizza dough should be stored in a fridge or freezer.
The cold temperature restricts the growth of any bacteria that may contaminate your pizza, so it doesn’t get funky and helps keep its shape for later use.
Additionally, if left at room temperature, it could go bad over time due to exposure to bacteria.
When you have leftover pizza dough, it’s best to divide them into small portions to be used as needed.
You can also wrap the dough in aluminum foil and freeze it to keep its shape for later use.
Please note: Never refreeze pizza dough once it has been thawed.
This could encourage bacterial growth or cause your crust to fall apart when you bake it.
How Long Does Pizza Dough Last?
Everyone has their personal preference when it comes to pizza crust.
Some prefer thick, doughy bread-like pizzas, while others prefer a thinner, crispy crust.
While the type of pizza you like most will affect how long your dough can last before it spoils, there are some general rules to follow when storing this key pizza ingredient.
The type of flour used to make the dough will affect its shelf-life, as organic wheat is more likely to contain yeast spores that can spoil your dough in a shorter time frame than regular all-purpose flour would.
The temperature at which you store your pizza crust also impacts how long it will last.
Freezing or refrigerating your dough will not kill any potential bacteria present and could cause mold growth if stored for too long outside these temperatures.
The shelf life all depends on what ingredients were used in the recipe.
If they’re good quality ingredients, the dough can last as long as 10 to 14 days before it starts getting funky.
Pizza dough will last in the freezer for about three months, but you should always check its expiration date before freezing it if possible.
Regardless of the expiration date, always use your best judgment when evaluating a pizza crust and discard any doubt about its freshness or quality- especially after handling raw meat on top of the dough.
How to Tell if Pizza Dough is Bad?
Pizza dough is always best when it’s fresh.
If the dough has no expiration date, you should tell by how old it is and its appearance.
If you are looking for a surefire way to tell whether pizza dough has gone bad, here it is:
The first sign of spoilage will be a change in the smell.
It will start to have a sour odor, usually followed by mold on top of the dough ball.
The second sign that pizza dough has gone bad is if it starts to form creases as you knead or pull at it.
These are indications 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 the presence of any fungus (mildew, mold) is detected in the dough ball or around it, then it has gone bad and should be thrown out.
And last but not least, if your pizza dough doesn’t rise during its initial fermenting phase (within 12 hours), discard that batch immediately.
It’s a sign that there are some serious problems with the yeast you used to start fermentation; bacteria will soon take over entirely as well.
If you don’t want to risk any problems when you make pizza dough, then store its container correctly: in the fridge and tightly sealed.
If you are in an area with a humid climate, then keep the dough covered before refrigerating it to avoid excess moisture from developing on top of your ball of dough.
If storing at room temperature (not recommended), make sure that you cover the container tightly to avoid moisture and use a slightly smaller container so that the dough won’t rise too much.
Conclusion
In conclusion, pizza dough can go bad and doesn’t last as long as other doughs.
For best results, store the dough in an airtight container or bag and eat it within a week to prevent spoiling.
If your pizza dough has been sitting out on the counter for hours without any covering or protection from air contact, then give it a sniff test before using it.
You should be able to smell yeast fermentation before you touch the dough.
If it smells like vinegar, don’t use it because it indicates that your pizza dough has spoiled.
How Long Does Pizza Dough Last? Does Pizza Dough Go Bad?
Ingredients
- Pizza dough
- Air-tight containers or Ziplock bags
- Labels and markers
Instructions
- Read the guide thoroughly to learn how long it lasts.
- Label your container with the content and date and keep track of how much you’re using!
- Make sure to store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place (pantry or fridge).
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