How Long Does Pizza Dough Last in the Fridge?
Updated Apr 24, 2025, Published Jun 16, 2022
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
How long does pizza dough last in the fridge? This is a question I get asked frequently since our Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe is a top reader and Google favorite. Find all the answers to your pizza dough storing questions here!
Quick Look at This Method
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Proving Time: 14 hours 10 minutes; up to 60 hours 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Servings: 8 people
- Dietary Info: Vegan
- Fridge Storage: Store raw pizza dough in an airtight container or zip-top bag in the fridge for up to 2 days for quick-rise doughs, or up to 4 days for Neapolitan style pizza dough.
- Freezer Storage: Shape the dough into balls and place in an airtight container or zip-top bag and freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge.
Why You’ll Love This Method
If you love to make pizza dough as much as we do, here is your guide to properly storing your dough. This post will walk you through how long you can store pizza dough on the counter, in the fridge and freezer, and how to properly thaw the dough for future use. Next time you are making pizza dough, store it properly and save extra for another time!
Serve your amazing homemade pizza with other Italian favorites, like a healthy salad (Italian spring salad), a 20-minute pasta dish (easy pistachio pesto pasta), or a tasty Italian dessert (Italian lemon ricotta cake)!
Made With Amore,
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Neapolitan Pizza Dough
What ingredients go into homemade pizza dough, like our Neapolitan Pizza Dough or Roman Style Pizza Dough? Here’s the basic ingredients you’ll need for any authentic pizza dough recipe…
- Flour: For Neapolitan pizza, use type 0 or 00 flour. These are Italian-milled, finely ground flours that contain a higher protein (gluten) content of around 10-12%, which is perfect for a thin, crispy pizza crust.
- Water: The water should around 20°C (68°F). When you knead the dough, the temperature will increase, that’s why the water doesn’t need to be too hot when you start the process!
- Yeast: In Italy, it is most common to use natural fresh yeast or brewer’s yeast for pizza dough. You can find fresh yeast in almost all European grocery stores; it’s hard to find in the US, so use active dry yeast inside.
- Salt: Neapolitan pizza is made with about 2.5- 3% fine sea salt. Salt extends the fermentation time, improves the texture and flavor, strengthens the gluten, and helps the crust brown and crisp as it bakes.
How to Store Pizza Dough
Storing Pizza Dough on the Counter
- How long does it last on the counter? This depends the amount of yeast in the dough and the temperature the dough is stored. Yeast is more active in higher temperatures, and less active at lower temperatures.
- 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.
- Divide the pizza dough into balls and store them in an airtight container, zip lock bag, or covered with plastic wrap. By doing that, the dough will not dry out and create a hard, dry surface.
Letting Pizza Dough Rise (Ferment)
- When making Neapolitan pizza dough, let the dough balls ferment for 24 hours.
- The best way to let pizza dough rise/ferment is in a proofing box. This is an air-tight container made for easy storing of dough during proofing.
- Proofing boxes come in all different sizes, and can hold anywhere from 4 to 12 pizza dough balls. Here’s the proofing boxes I use and love.
Fridge Storage Tips
For Neapolitan style pizza dough that rises at a slower rate (with less yeast) you can store dough in the fridge for up to 4 days.
For quick rise doughs that rise at a faster rate (with more yeast), you can store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Storing Dough in the Fridge
If you are using a cold fermentation process for your fresh dough, the easiest and most convenient way to store the pizza dough balls is in individual airtight containers. You can store the dough balls in a proofing box too, if you can fit it in your fridge. Another option is coating them with a little flour and storing them in ziplock bags.
Using Refrigerated Pizza Dough
- Take the dough out from the fridge at least 1 hour prior to making the pizza.
- Let the dough come to room temperature.
- Stretch, shape, top with your favorite toppings and bake your pizza.
Freezer Storage Tips
- Pizza dough will last up to 3 months in the freezer to store for future use. When homemade pizza dough is stored in the freezer, the fermentation process stops completely and can store for an extended period of time.
- Make sure the dough is wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in airtight containers to avoid freezer burns. You can also use ziplock bags. For this reason, pizza dough keeps much longer in the freezer than in the fridge.
- I prefer to freeze pizza dough after I divide them into equal portions and make them into balls. I find it is easier in the end since they are ready to go after the thawing process.
How to Thaw Frozen Pizza Dough
- Thawing in the Fridge: Place frozen dough in the fridge for 12-24 hours. When ready to use, let the thawed dough come to room temperature on the kitchen counter for 1-2 hours before using.
- Thawing on the Countertop: Take the dough out from the freezer and leave it on the countertop for 4 hours. Let the dough thaw and come to room temperature. Stretch, shape, top with your favorite toppings and bake your pizza.
Recipe FAQs
For Neapolitan style pizza dough that rises at a slower rate (with less yeast), you can store dough in the fridge for up to 4 days. For quick rise doughs that use more yeast, you can store them in the fridge for up to 2 days.
If you are using a long, cold fermentation process for your fresh dough, the easiest and most convenient way to store the pizza dough balls is in individual airtight containers. You can store the dough balls in a proofing box too, if you can fit it in your fridge. Another option is to coat the balls of dough with a little flour and store them in Ziploc bags.
Pizza dough will last up to 3 months in the freezer. When it’s frozen, the dough’s fermentation process stops completely and can be stored for a much longer period of time.
To make it even easier to make the pizzas later, divide the dough into equal portions and make them into balls. Wrap the raw dough balls in plastic wrap and store it in airtight containers to avoid freezer burns. (You can also use freezer-safe zip top bags.)
There are a few distinct ways to tell if your pizza dough is bad.
Smell: One of the most typical ways to determine that pizza dough went bad is to check its smell. A yeasty, sour, or an alcohol/beer odor is good and is a result of pre-fermentation. However, a rotten-milk like scent means the pizza dough is bad. Trust your nose!
Color: Fresh pizza dough has a cream or beige color. Grey color with flaky or orange peel on the surface of the dough means that it is not good anymore. The color change appears as a result of the enzyme-catalyzed phenolic and fatty acid oxidation in the flour.
Texture: If pizza dough loses elasticity and becomes dry, flaky, and crusty it is hard to roll into a ball or shape into a pizza base and not good anymore.
Mold: Bad pizza dough can also have mold on it. Any mold occurrence is a warning sign that you need to discard the pizza dough. There may be harmful bacteria and it is not worth the risk!
The last thing you want after going through the trouble of making your pizza dough is for it to turn bad! The main culprits for pizza dough going bad are time, temperature, and improper storage.
To avoid your pizza dough going bad, make sure to follow the proper steps to store your dough properly (storage containers or proofing box) making sure it is stored at the right temperature, and not leave it out too long at room temperature or too many days in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
All this talk about homemade pizza makes me hungry! Make your own homemade pizza dough, then make one of my authentic Italian recipes for pinsa romana, pizza al taglio, and pizza margherita.
Want to round out your pizza meal? I have loads of ideas for you in my collection of 75 Best Side Dishes & Desserts for Pizza. If you love Italian bread recipes, be sure to try my No Knead Italian Focaccia Bread, Rye Sourdough Starter, and Fast Italian No Knead Ciabatta Bread.
My Pro Tips
Expert Tips
- When mixing the dough, the salt and yeast should not have too much direct contact. If the yeast has too much contact with the salt, it will damage the yeast cells and will ruin the fermentation process. This is why the salt is mixed with water and flour before adding the yeast.
- Pizza doughs that include dairy products and/or olive oil may store differently than this simple yeast dough.
Other Pizza Recipes You’ll Love
💙 MADE MY PIZZA DOUGH AND LOVED IT? 💙 Please leave a ⭐️ STAR rating and COMMENT below – I love connecting with you! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Pinterest.
So informative – thank you for all the tips and tricks
You are most welcome! Enjoy the recipes and all the other tips and tricks! You might like this one: https://www.cucinabyelena.com/how-long-to-boil-spaghetti-pasta-perfect-every-time/