How Long Does Pizza Dough Last In The Fridge?

Making homemade pizza dough is a time consuming process. Finding a recipe takes time, mixing the ingredients takes time and letting it rise for hours takes time as well. It’s safe to say that pizza isn’t usually something that can be whipped up at the last minute, in fact it usually takes hours or more of prep time before it’s ready. So, if you want make it in advance, how long does pizza dough last in the fridge?

In my experience, pizza dough will last 2-3 days in the fridge if your recipe uses 1-2% yeast. It can last up to 7 days in the fridge if you’re using less than 1% yeast and as little as 1-2 days if you’re using over 3% yeast. This has to do with how the yeast interacts with the rest of the ingredients and how this affects the gluten structure of the pizza dough.

In other words, it depends, but you can expect your pizza dough to last at least a day or two in the fridge after you’ve made it. Let’s go over what what variables go into pizza dough fridge life and how you can extend it if you need to.

pizza dough should look like 6 How Long Does Pizza Dough Last In The Fridge?
The yeast percentage of your pizza dough affects fridge life the most.

More Yeast Means Less Shelf Life For Pizza Dough

The more yeast you use in your pizza dough recipe, the less time the dough will last in the fridge.

This is because yeast creates gas as it feeds on the sugar and flour in the dough. This gas creates bubbles which expand when baked and gives pizza crust its delicious fluffy texture.

But if left too long in the fridge, the yeast will actually burst these bubbles and weaken the gluten network of the pizza dough. When this happens, the dough will bake into a pizza crust that is flat and dense.

So using a higher amount of yeast works great for pizza you want to eat as soon as possible, preferably even the same day. It will still last a day or so in the fridge, but leaving it much longer might degrade the dough.

Related Post: Does Pizza Dough Need Yeast?

Less Yeast Increases How Long Pizza Dough Will Last In The Fridge

If you’re looking to make a pizza dough far in advance, your best bet is to use minimal yeast to increase its shelf life in the fridge.

Yeast multiplies on its own so using less of it allows the pizza dough to sit in the fridge for long periods of time without bursting all the gas bubbles. I often let my pizza dough sit in the fridge for up to a week when I keep the yeast percentage to under 1%.

This style of pizza dough is perfect for long, cold fermentation in the fridge. Fermented dough will give you your crust a delicious tangy flavor and a beautifully bubbly crust – as long as you don’t add too much yeast.

Final Thoughts

If you’re planning on making a pizza, keep the following information in mind. It will help you figure out how long your pizza dough will last in the fridge and how much yeast you should be using depending on your plans.

Yeast %Estimated Fridge Shelf Life
.05-1%7 – 10 days
1-2% 2-3 days
+3%1-2 days

Bear in mind that these are just estimates and there are other factors as well such as the temperature of your fridge, the amount of hydration in your pizza dough and even the kind of flour you’re using. But yeast is by far the most important.

And don’t forget that you can always freeze pizza dough for months at a time, but of course you won’t get the benefits of cold fermentation under those extreme temperatures.

If you need a pizza dough, try this amazing no-knead recipe I use all the time. This recipe uses a very small amount of yeast and will last days in the fridge before going bad.

I hope this post has been helpful for you in some way. What’s your experience with storing pizza dough in the fridge? Any other questions? Let me know in the comments below.

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