After mixing the dough, our recipes only require two hours at room temperature for their initial rise (assuming you've used lukewarm water); then the container goes into the refrigerator where it can be stored for up to two weeks (depending on the recipe).
Summary. The standard time dough can be left out for is 4 hours. But this can change depending on the ingredients used and the baking methods used. The use of science to study the bacteria growth generated during the baking process should be acknowledged.
You can keep dough in the fridge for about 3 days before baking. To keep it well, make sure the dough is properly covered and stored in an air tight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
You can't have doughnuts without dough
If you're making yeast-raised doughnuts (pictured) you'll want to make the dough the night before and chill it overnight first. When you're ready to begin, remove the dough from the fridge, dust with flour, and press the dough out flat on a floured surface.
If the bench time is too long, volume could be lost in the proofing process; the donuts will shrink during frying; the texture will be coarse; and the flavor will not be up to your standards.
Once you've made your pizza dough, you can place it in the fridge and let it rise overnight for up to 24 hours. Take it out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you intend on using it to let it come to room temperature. This way, you can make your pizza dough the day before. This is great for entertaining.
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. One of Clara's favorite recipes to make with a cold ferment is Vermont Sourdough.
But, you want to know the best thing about this doughnut recipe? The dough is super simple, and cut-out doughnuts can rise in the refrigerator overnight so that all you have to do to enjoy homemade doughnuts in the morning is cook them. In your bathrobe, of course.
Use bread flour – the key ingredient in this recipe, for soft doughnuts, is bread flour. Using bread flour guarantees that your doughnut will come out fluffy. Know your yeast – Follow the steps in the recipe notes if using active dry yeast.
FREEZING: You can freeze both the dough and the fried, unglazed doughnuts. For the dough, cut out the doughnuts, let them proof (along with any scraps), place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze until solid, then store in the freezer in plastic zip-top bags.
A batch of original glazed starts with Krispy Kreme doughnut mix, water and yeast, the same single-cell fungi used to make bread rise. The yeast is what makes the original glazed so light -- it puffs the dough up with air, so it's not dense like a cake doughnut (more on this later).
If it's excessively sticky you can add a few tablespoons of flour and mix for several more minutes. Do not add too much flour though. This dough is sticky, that's the nature of it.
The dough should be tacky and soft. Knead the dough for about 5 - 7 minutes until you have a soft, shiny, slightly tacky dough. Check if the dough is kneaded well with the window pane test. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes in your hands till you have a smooth dough ball.
Why? A cold rise slows down the process of yeast growth, allowing the yeast to develop a deeper flavour as they grow and multiply. Plus, a chilled dough is easier to handle as well. Butter plays an important part in this recipe too.
If a dough seems dry it could be because the liquid isn't evenly distributed. The center of the dough can often be wet while the outside is dry. Give the dough a little extra kneading, just until it comes together, and that alone might be enough to fix it.
Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.
When you're going to use the refrigerated dough, take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour before you're planning to bake pizza, to let it come to room temperature.
Because the yeast has already exhausted some of the dough's food supply, it won't be as energetic and will create much smaller air bubbles. Those smaller bubbles will allow for a texture more suited to sandwich bread, however, and will result in hardier bread.
It's Too Cold
That's because doughs proof best in warmer temps—around 80ºF is just right for yeast. If your kitchen is too cold, the yeast just doesn't have the right atmosphere to help the dough rise.
To fix dough that won't rise, try placing the dough on the lowest rack in your oven along with a baking pan filled with boiling water. Close the oven door and let the dough rise. Increasing the temperature and moisture can help activate the yeast in the dough so it rises. You can also try adding more yeast.
Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough. Sticky dough isn't necessarily a bad thing, although I appreciate how frustrating it is for a new baker.
If the dough you are using is "sticky" it will stick to your finger when you touch it. If it is "tacky" then it will pull back to the dough or break off clean.
For a normal loaf, the more you knead it the less sticky it becomes. Dough is always wet and sticky at first but, once you've kneaded it for five to six minutes, it becomes less sticky and more glossy as it develops a skin, which is the gluten forming.