Missed my target on a cold rise....

[mykall]

and now the dough is a week old.  Do I toss it and start over or can I at least give it a go?   If the answer to this question is that "it won't taste good" I'm willing to give it a go.  If the answer is ..."health risk" I'll toss it.  What should I do?

Thanks

Michael

[widespreadpizza]

not a health risk,  it may be better than you think,  go for it.  Just consider not letting it get too warm before you open it up as it may be weaker than you are used to.  let us know how it works out  -Marc

[dmcavanagh]

Go for it, I do it all the time. I think I used one that was three weeks old once and I'm still alive to tell about it! Hey, either way you will learn something, just don't put a lot of expensive toppings on it.

[Pete-zza]

Michael,

If the dough turns out to be very extensible, to the point where you can not toss and twirl the skin formed from the dough, you can always build your pizza on a sheet of parchment paper and load it, parchment paper and all, into your oven onto the stone. That way, you can safely use most toppings.

Peter

[Chicago Bob]

Some of my best pizzas have came from misplaced doughs...

[mykall]

Ok thanks for the replies.  There always seems to be this 3-4 day window for cold rise discussed on this board.  Maybe that's because that's the window for max flavor, I thought it might have meant that it's too old.  Guess not. 

[norma427]

Michael,

I also used some doughs I thought were way over fermented and they did work out well when making the pizzas. Some were even left in my deli case for almost a week without refrigeration.  My friend Steve (Ev) also used doughs that are meant to be used in days and sometimes those doughs are a week old or older. The taste of the crust is usually better, but sometimes they don't brown on the rim as much as wanted.  

Norma

[Woodfiredovenpizzero]

What are the recommendations of freezing the dough after 48 hours in the fridge and defrosting a week later. I have done it with OK results. Just adding a little flour to reduce the moisture. Any thoughts?

Edgar

[Pete-zza]

What are the recommendations of freezing the dough after 48 hours in the fridge and defrosting a week later. I have done it with OK results. Just adding a little flour to reduce the moisture. Any thoughts?

Edgar,

I would say that it depends on the dough formulation you used and especially the amount of yeast. Freezing kills some of the yeast, and if there is not enough active yeast by the time you decide to use the dough, the dough may not perform especially well. Also, if the dough is frozen in a standard home freezer that has a defrost cycle, the cycling can also adversely affect the dough. Commercial producers of frozen dough balls typically use a lot more yeast than normal, to allow for the destruction of some of the yeast during freezing. I have seen the same thing for frozen dough balls sold at the retail level, for example, in supermarkets. In a home setting, whether the freezing takes place up front before fermenting or after fermenting, it is best to use the dough balls fairly soon. It is also perhaps best not to let the dough ferment too long before freezing. If freezing of the dough was an unplanned event, then you have no choice but to accept the degradation of the dough and its lessened performance. There is little that you can do to a dough once it has been frozen and defrosted to bring it back to its original pristine state.

Peter

[Woodfiredovenpizzero]

Thanks Peter. For that recipe I don't recall the amount of ADY used but usually if prepped for home oven bake NY Style perhaps I used 1/2 TBLS for a 16 inch. The rest about 3 to 3.5 cups flour and 1 cup water, plus 1/2 TSP sugar and 1 TSP salt.

[Pete-zza]

Thanks Peter. For that recipe I don't recall the amount of ADY used but usually if prepped for home oven bake NY Style perhaps I used 1/2 TBLS for a 16 inch. The rest about 3 to 3.5 cups flour and 1 cup water, plus 1/2 TSP sugar and 1 TSP salt.

Edgar,

I estimate that your ADY is around 0.85%. That is good in your case. However, that also usually means that, as with commercial frozen dough balls, you should use the defrosted dough balls fairly soon. They may be good for one or two days after defrosting, but they have a hard time surviving much beyond that without ending up slack and hard to work with.

Peter

[Woodfiredovenpizzero]

Thanks Peter that's exactly what I'm doing. Once is defrosted is right to the oven...