Why Do I Always Leave Pizza Dough in the Refrigerator for Three Days?
Making pizzeria-quality pizza at home is quite achievable, but it requires some knowledge. You can read my nine tips to get started, but you should know that there is one very special tip on this list. Doing this one step has a huge impact on your pizza, requires literally no work on your part, and costs no money.
In short: you need to age your pizza dough. I make this every time I make pizza and haven’t looked back.
Homemade pizza is a fun and shared family dinner, but I actually love making pizza for myself for lunch . I’ll buy a pound of pizza dough from Trader Joe’s or Shoprite and cut it into four equal pieces. I wrap the quadrants separately and start making pizza for myself for lunch – one small ball of dough used every day and the rest sitting in the fridge waiting their turn. That’s four days in a row of personal pizza.
As the dough aged, I noticed changes. The first day crust will be harder to stretch, the dough will be firmer, and the finished pizza crust will be denser, with tiny, closely spaced air bubbles. With each subsequent day, the texture of the crust improved. By the fourth day, the crust will have large, irregularly shaped bubbles, stretch easily, and bake like a pizzeria. Plus the crust will be more flavorful.
Why aging your pizza crust produces better results
Whether you make a homemade crust recipe or buy raw dough from the supermarket, pizza dough is yeasted bread, and yeasted bread develops flavor as it ferments. This is why many sourdough recipes suggest leaving the dough to ferment in the refrigerator overnight, while others suggest a 72-hour fermentation period for pizza dough.
This extra time gives the yeast time to feed and release carbon dioxide, creating those lovely air pockets. Plus, the gluten in the dough has time to relax, so you can stretch it without difficulty. My favorite thing about pizza at a pizzeria is when giant air bubbles pop up around the pie. The only way to replicate this at home is to refrigerate the pizza dough for three or four days.
How to age (ferment) pizza dough
Curing pizza dough is so easy that you’ve probably done it by accident a few times already. If you buy frozen dough from the supermarket, simply refrigerate it for at least three days. Day 1 is for thawing the dough, so it’s more like day 0. Add 48 to 72 hours of extra time in the refrigerator to allow the dough to ferment.
You can see the difference in the picture. The dough on the left has been fermenting for three days, and the dough on the right has just been thawed – technically ready to use, but not fermented. The run test shows tons of air bubbles visible against the plastic. You can also see the difference in overall elasticity: the rested dough is much looser, while the unrested dough on the right still maintains a firm shape with a smooth, bubble-free surface.
If you are making your own pizza dough, mix the recipe as usual. Once the dough is completely mixed, form it into a smooth ball, place it in a plastic bag or lightly greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 48–72 hours.
When fermentation is complete, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and stretch it as usual. Brush it with tomato sauce (or one of those fancy pizza sauces ), top it, and bake until it’s bubbly and crispy. And keep in mind: if you like big bubbles, be careful not to pop them while you stretch the dough. You will be rewarded.