Making the dough is probably the most challenging thing about baking – it doesn’t only take a lot of energy but also a massive amount of time. Therefore, many people might want to make their dough in stock, which may leave them asking:
How long does dough last in the fridge? Dough can usually last up to three days in the fridge; however, it is still recommended to eat it within 24 hours because the dough starts to lose its deliciousness quickly after this amount of time.
This is just to put it simply, though, and it is needed to look into this topic much more profoundly if we want to understand it. So without any further delay, let’s just get into it!
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Can you refrigerate the dough?
Yes, you can refrigerate the dough to make it last longer, but the increase in its lifespan won’t be that crucial. Even though, in some cases, dough in the fridge may last even as long as three days, it usually starts to turn bad after a day.
Therefore, you should always use all of your dough in 24 hours, even though it was in the fridge. But, on the other hand, you should rather not touch it when it’s been there for more than 48 hours.
Does refrigerated dough go bad?
Yes, as we have explained just in the answer above, even refrigerated dough goes bad because although the spread of bacteria is limited thanks to the fridge, it isn’t completely stopped.
Because of that, dough in the fridge will usually go bad after it’s been in there for 72 hours. With that being said, though, the vast majority of dough won’t be in good shape just after something like 48 hours.
How long does dough last in the fridge?
It is hard to tell how long the dough can last in the fridge because this depends a lot on the specific type of dough. However, in general, it can be said that your dough will last for something like three days in the fridge.
But with that in mind, it is essential to remember that most kinds of dough will be in their best shape only for 24 hours, even when refrigerated.
Can I put the dough in the fridge after it has risen?
Yes, you can put your dough in the fridge after it has risen, and doing so is even a common practice. That’s because yeast is more active when it is warm, and the cold makes it less active.
Because of that, putting already risen dough in the fridge makes it not rise anymore, which can otherwise be a big problem.
Also Read: How Long Do Fried Eggs Last in the Fridge?
Do you need to reheat the dough?
The answer to this question is pretty straightforward – no, you don’t need to reheat the dough after picking it from the fridge. The reason for that is that there’s simply nothing to be reheated since the dough has yet to be baked for the first time.
How can you tell if the dough has gone bad?
As we’ve explained above, the dough starts to turn bad pretty quickly; even when it is refrigerated, it won’t last for much longer than a day or two. But how can you tell that the dough has gone bad?
You can tell that the dough has gone bad when it is exceptionally dry and has a weird, diminished texture. The expired dough will also most likely have a terrible smell, and some weird gray stains might appear on top of it as well.
What happens if you eat bad dough?
And being able to tell that your dough has gone bad may save you a lot of trouble – because there are usually raw eggs in the dough, there’s a risk of Salmonella and E.coli connected to eating the expired dough.
And even though in most of the cases, nothing serious will probably happen when you eat bad dough, there are even many other illnesses that you may get from it, and it is, therefore, wise to keep your hands off of it.
Summary
Storing the dough is quite a challenge because And even though it is plausible to store it in the fridge, you actually won’t increase its lifespan by it that much.
Even when refrigerated, most dough turns bad just after 24 hours. So baking with dough older than that (despite being in the fridge) is then usually not recommended, although possible.
But when you’ve had your dough for more than 48 hours now, you should get rid of it without a doubt – that dough simply won’t make any good anymore, and most likely, it has even already gone bad.
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Image credits – Canva
