Can pizza dough be over proofed? Well yes, pizza dough can be over proofed. In the most extreme cases, over proofed dough can lead to a dense and tough dough that makes poor quality pizza.
When a pizza dough sits out for too long, it becomes over-proofed. Over-proofing is caused when the yeast has no more “food” to eat. Once the yeast stops working, the pizza dough's bubbles pop, thus affecting all aspects of the dough, including its taste, smell, and structure. Woops.
Over-proofed pizza dough tastes good and will get crispy; however, it will be flat and lifeless because the yeast is spent.
Don't be disheartened if you have mistakenly overproofed your dough. You can still bake it, but the result won't be what it should ideally be. Punch down the dough and try shaping it into a pizza crust. If it is still too soft and sticky, refrigerate the dough for a few hours to let it firm up before shaping it.
Dough Degassing After First Rise
The goal is to deflate it with a couple of pushes with your fist straight down, then straight back up. Don't twist! Punching is essential because it releases the built-up CO2 gas, redistributes the yeast so it can find new food sources, and equalizes the dough temperature.
Place the ball in a container to prove and cover with cling film. Leave the dough to prove in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or cold prove in the fridge for 1-3 days. When cold proving, take the dough out 2 hours before starting to cook.
The general rule is to let pizza dough rise until it has doubled in size, which could take anywhere between 1-1.5 hours. This will give the yeast time to activate and create a light, airy texture in the crust. However, I personally prefer cold-fermenting the dough for 48 hours for extra flavor.
Over-proofing happens when dough has proofed too long and the air bubbles have popped. You'll know your dough is over-proofed if, when poked, it never springs back. To rescue over-proofed dough, press down on the dough to remove the gas, then reshape and reproof. (This method won't work for sourdough bread.)
If the dough doesn't spring back at all, you've likely over-proofed the dough.
Standard pizza dough (with more yeast) can sit out on the counter for 2-4 hours, while a Neapolitan-style pizza dough (with less yeast) can be left out for up to 24 hours.
Pizza dough should proof in room temperature anywhere from 1 to 24-hours or even more. While cold-proofing a pizza dough can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours.
Keep dough in a food-safe container and cover with a lid with an airtight seal. A well-made pizza dough box prevents crusting on top and encourages complete and consistent proofing.
Generally, you should do it before rising, although you can knead the dough before and after it rises. Kneading is the process of mixing ingredients and developing strength in the finished product. After the first proof, you can perform this step to remove bubbles and spread gas on the dough.
Using too much water for the amount of flour you're using will result in a wet dough that's really hard to handle. Similarly, if your sourdough starter is too runny you may also end up with a super wet dough.
Most bread recipes have two rises, a first rise (also called bulk fermentation), and a second or final rise. You can chill your dough during either the first or second rise. Your yeast won't give you much love if it's asked to do both rises in the fridge, so it's best to do one or the other at room temperature.
Although a single-rise dough will not have the same complex flavor as a double-rise dough, it will still be fluffy and light. So, does pizza dough have to rise twice? The answer is no, but rising the dough twice does produce a tastier crust.
Bring your dough to room temperature.
This step will loosen up the dough and make it easier to shape. If it's in plastic from the grocery store (or freezer, you champ!) take it out of the plastic and move it to an oiled mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place for at least 30 minutes.
If the dough is not knocked back the fermentation rate slows down as time goes by. Of course, there are only so many times that you can knock it back and expect it to rise again. But in most cases, we don't have to worry about it as there is no good reason to degas the dough multiple times during bulk fermentation.
By deflating — or punching down — the dough after the first rise, the baker is allowing the yeast to move to areas where more sugars are available. The yeast can then repeat the same process during the second rise and create more gas to be trapped in the dough.
Because stand mixers produce faster results, it's easy to overdo it. The overworked dough will often feel tight and tough. This means that liquid molecules have been damaged and won't stretch properly, causing the bread to break and tear more easily.