Cold temperatures won't kill yeast but just slows fermentation, so an airtight container or plastic wrapped dough in the fridge works well. Proofing for 24 hours is a good minimum, but the taste will develop for days to come. Around 2-3 days is the optimum before it starts deteriorating.
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.
Don't let it rise for too long, though.
“A few days' rise is fine and will enhance the taste of the crust, but any more than three days and the yeast will start to eat up all the sugar in the dough and convert it into alcohol, which will adversely affect crust flavor,” Schwartz said.
You can refrigerate the dough after almost any step, but after the first rise (or a little before) works best. Store it, covered, in the refrigerator for 1-3* days.
“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.
If the dough is under proofed, the indentation springs back really fast and does not stay. If the dough is over proofed, the indentation stays, the surface is sticky, and the structure may collapse.
Step 1: Perform the fingertip test to make sure your dough is overproofed. The test involves gently pressing your finger into the surface of the dough for 2 seconds and then seeing how quickly it springs back. The dent you make will be permanent if the dough is overproofed.
After kneading, put the dough in a greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Punch the dough down after it's been in the fridge for 1 hour, then punch it down once every 24 hours after that. Dough will keep in the fridge for 3 days but it's best used within 48 hours.
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.
If you want your dough to develop a slightly sour flavor, you can leave the dough at room temperature to rise, but you'll need to punch it down, reshape and allow it to rise again before baking.
I always, thought that letting bread dough rise overnight in the fridge is a smart way of baking bread. You can space out your baking time to fit into your lifestyle, you can speed up or slow down the process of bread proofing and best of all, you can seriously improve the bread texture and flavour.
Cold temperatures won't kill yeast but just slows fermentation, so an airtight container or plastic wrapped dough in the fridge works well. Proofing for 24 hours is a good minimum, but the taste will develop for days to come. Around 2-3 days is the optimum before it starts deteriorating.
The good news: We found an easy way to rescue overproofed dough. Simply punch it down gently, reshape it, and let it proof again for the recommended amount of time.
After the dough has rested, turn it out onto a very lightly floured work surface and knead it by hand about 20-30 times. (If your dough has the perfect consistency, you don't even need to flour the surface.)
The best operating conditions for proofing pizza dough are to set the temperature at 90 F and the humidity at 75 percent relative humidity.
Over-kneading your dough will create a fine, crumb-like texture, giving your dough a bready texture rather than a light and airy pizza crust.
If you've over-proofed your bread and wondering if it is safe to eat, then the short answer is, YES! It is safe to eat over-proofed bread although it might contain a lot of alcohol! Do not panic!
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.
The easiest way to fix a sticky pizza dough is to slowly and gently knead more flour into the dough. You should do this in small increments to ensure you do not add too much and cause the dough to become dry. Keep adding more flour until the dough turns less sticky and becomes a firm, smooth texture.
If the dough doesn't spring back at all, you've likely over-proofed the dough. When the dough rises too much before it gets baked, it will collapse, rather than rise, in the oven's heat, and the crumb will be uneven and ragged.
Your dough will rise in the fridge and it can be a huge help as it makes bread making easy to fit into your day. When you put your dough in the fridge it slows the yeast activity down. It takes ten times longer for dough to rise in the fridge than it does at room temperature.
Let rest at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. Or, if time is tight, let it rest at least 20 minutes before proceeding. Or refrigerate for several hours, deflating if necessary if it threatens to burst the plastic.
The best place to let dough rise is a very warm place. On a warm day, your counter will probably do just fine. But if your kitchen is cold, your oven is actually a great place. Preheat oven to 200 degrees for 1-2 minutes to get it nice and toasty, then turn it off.
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.