How Long Can Pizza Dough Sit Out Before Cooking?

If you’re planning to bake your pizza at home, you might as well know the little details on how to prepare its main ingredient - the dough. You'll need to answer how long the dough can sit out at room temperature before you cook it. We've researched this to bring you the steps to prepare pizza dough for baking, including the length of time needed to proof the dough at room temperature.

Pizza dough is safe to sit at room temperature for four to eight hours. Yet, if the room temperature is cold enough, it could stay up to 24 hours. Remember, several factors also affect the proofing time:

the temperature,
amount of yeast,
the humidity of the room,
sugar in the flour,
and the length of the rise.

It is vital to take note that exceeding the time limit for your pizza dough sitting out could affect its taste and consistency.

Keep reading to see how different locations and temperatures affect your process for making pizza dough. Other than that, find out how you can adequately let the pizza dough sit without damaging its whole process.

Let Your Pizza Dough Sit Properly

If you're like most people, you probably don't give much thought to how long your pizza dough can sit out before cooking. After all, it's just dough, right? Wrong!

The amount of time that pizza dough can safely sit out at room temperature depends on a number of factors, including the type of flour used, the size of the dough ball, and the room's ambient temperature.

See the following guide below to learn more about how you can prepare your pizza dough.

What is the best place for your pizza dough to rise?

Pizza dough can sit out for a few hours at room temperature before it needs to be cooked. So, if you wish to sit it properly, room temperature is fine.

But then, take note that the warmer the temperature, the faster the dough will rise. So, if you are not going to use the dough right away, you can store it in the refrigerator. Afterward, let the dough come to room temperature before using it.

That’s why pizza dough can work sitting at room temperature but can also handle being refrigerated. Depending on your need for the dough, pizza dough is good to place in either location.

How long can you leave the dough at room temperature?

Proofing pizza dough at room temperature is ideal as it helps to enhance the yeast fermentation process. It even helps to improve the flavor while it brings more texture to the dough. But too long proofing time at room temperature is not advisable. So, it would be best if you looked closely at your pizza dough.

The usual rising time of pizza dough takes up to 30 minutes to one hour. At this time, you would expect it to double its size. Once you notice it, it would be good to place it inside the fridge to slow the sitting process. You can also directly cook them after seeing that the size doubled.

Check out the following situations and how long will it possible take to rise the pizza dough:

If the room has about 1 degree or absolute zero temperature, the pizza dough will rise for about 11 hours.
If the room is 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), it could take up to six hours.
If the room is 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), it might possibly go for only four hours.

But then, if you plan to keep it within the room temperature, it should not reach more than 24 hours. It is because pizza dough can only withstand room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, it will start to dry out and become less pliable. Also, it will begin to rise and become too sticky to work with.

If you want to keep it longer, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week. Just make sure to bring it back to room temperature before cooking.

How to store your pizza dough properly?

Preparing your pizza dough when it gets stored is quick and easy. Here are the steps on how you can do it properly:

First, divide the pizza dough into equal parts. Then, you can use the kitchen scale to weigh the dough after shaping them like a ball. Besides that, feel free to divide the pizza dough depending on the number of pizzas you are about to prepare on the same day.
After rounding the pizza doughs as balls, you can now cover them with a few drops of olive oil.
Then, get airtight containers and place the pizza dough balls inside. You can let them sit for a while or put them directly in the fridge.

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Can pizza dough be frozen?

Yes, pizza dough can be frozen. For best results, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap or a freezer-safe bag before freezing. The frozen dough will keep for up to 3 months. When you are ready to use it, thaw the dough overnight in the fridge before using it.

How long can dough sit after refrigeration?

After keeping the pizza dough in the fridge overnight, you can put it at room temperature for two hours to warm up. But still, it depends on the temperature of the room and the amount of yeast. If the room is colder and the awarded yeast is limited, it will result in a slower proofing duration.

To let the pizza dough sit properly, simply place it into a bowl. Then, securely wrap the bowl with a towel and place in a warm spot in your kitchen. Besides a towel, you can also use plastic wrap around the bowl, helping to trap the heat inside.

As you let it sit at room temperature, do not let it be directly exposed to sunlight or any other heat sources. Just like what is mentioned earlier, you can let it rise for less than 24 hours only.

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Can I leave pizza dough out all day?

Without exceeding 24 hours, you can let your pizza dough sit out at room temperature. But then, you should consider different things and adjust a few ingredients. For example, if you plan to keep the pizza dough out all day, you should place it in a cool place like a cooler or area that has low temperature.

Other than that, you could also use less yeast to slow down the rise time of the dough. It even prevents overpowering the whole fermentation. And lastly, planning your pizza dough to stay out would be safe if you tightly secure it with a cover.

What happens if you let pizza dough rise for too long?

Even if you slowly monitor your pizza dough to sit and proof, it might still end up being damaged. If the pizza dough rises for too long, it could potentially collapse. As a result, it will become gummy and crumbly and very different from what you need - fluffy and crispy.

Additionally, over-proofed and sat pizza dough can affect the taste! It could bring a sour taste and off smell due to the too much work for the yeast. It could even affect the appearance of the bread.

What to do if pizza dough is overproof?

If there is still no bad appearance or smell, you might still have time to salvage the pizza dough. To help you recover the overproof pizza dough, begin by rolling the dough flat as you press it hard to release the excess gases. Then, urgently bake it and see if it is good for eating. Expect that this will not be as good as the regular pizza dough.

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Final Thoughts

You could be like someone who doesn’t totally care to prepare pizza dough before cooking. But the good thing is you can still review the following guide above and see the best way to keep your pizza dough fresh and good. You can begin considering all the tips and suggestions above and try them on your next DIY pizza-making at home!

To get more ideas on how to keep your baking to the next level, feel free to review the following articles below:

Should You Let Cake Batter Rest Before Baking?

How To Store Meringue Overnight?

How To Put Dough In A Pie Pan [A Complete Guide]