Will Pizza Dough Rise In The Fridge?

Ever wonder if your made-from-scratch pizza dough (like our favorite Neapolitan-style dough) will rise in the refrigerator? Well, wonder, no more. We reached out to Tony Gemignani, a 13-time World Pizza Champion and the chef and owner of Tony's Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, who said it was fine. "Yes, pizza dough will rise in the fridge," Gemignani told Tasting Table. "Though it will rise slower because yeast feeds slower at cold temperatures versus hot temperatures. Usually, a cold rise method is optimal when it comes to making pizzas." 

The reason for this, as Gemignani explained, is that yeast gets more time to feed on the sugars in the dough when you're letting it rise slower in the refrigerator. This prolonged feeding also makes your dough more digestible. "This is why you always want to try to use dough that's older rather than younger," he said. Older dough has more developed gluten networks, making the dough chewier and tougher. Allowing the yeast to feed on the older dough over a longer period of time (24 hours or more) will help soften the dough up a bit. 

Putting pizza dough in the fridge will not kill the yeast, if that's what worries you. Feel free to let any type of pizza dough rise in the fridge, including our beer-based pizza dough recipe. 

Ready to make some pizza dough from scratch? As was mentioned, older dough rises better in the fridge. According to Gemignani, dough with a higher protein and gluten content (such as those made with bread flour) also last longer in the fridge relative to lower protein dough, like those made with all-purpose flour. As he explained, "The higher the protein, the stronger your dough, making it last longer in a refrigerator using a cold rise method." 

After you've prepped the dough, you should store it properly before refrigerating it. This will prevent the dough from drying out. "You typically want to store your dough on a clean flat surface," he said. "A quarter sheet pan or a small cookie tray works fine. Wrap it with plastic wrap and allow your dough to grow overnight, into the next day, to the point where you could easily scrape the dough off using a bench scraper."

If all this talk about pizza dough has your mouth watering, we've got you covered. Our fully loaded barbecue chicken pizza recipe is sure to satisfy, especially now that you know how to handle the dough.