can i make my pizza dough the night before??

[Lori]

Well, it is the annual school bake sale and my daughter wants me to prepare homeade pizzas instead of a cake. I'm happy to do it, but can I make the dough the night before and let it sit, covered, in the oven (obviously not turned on)? I have prepared dough up to five hours in advance of using it, but never the night before. Anybody out there know if this is okay?

Thanks.

[Teamedup]

I usually put my dough somewhere as cool as possible, I've never dared risk the fridge, but cool never the less. The the next morning I put it somewhere pleasantly warm to warm through before I use it.

The problem I get when I have left it overnight is that  when I knead it then it doesn't seem to want to stick to itself, so I have a small bowl of warm water handy and if as I press down it looks like it isn't sticking, then I wet my hand and put a film of water over one of the bit of the dough that isn't sticking and press it down again. A bit faffy but it works for me and as long as I only put a light film of water on the dough it doesn't get the dough too wet or sticky.

 

ps when I say the night before, I have only ever made mine just before bedtime, rather than early evening. No idea what happens if it is left for that long.

[Lori]

Thanks Teamedup - now the tricky thing will be to find a cool spot in this warm weather ! The coolest area is outside after midnight when the temps cool down, but I'm sure something will show up to eat it, even if covered. So, I'll have to think of something else.

Thanks for the tip.

[Teamedup]

Lori, if you store your wine in a cave, that should be cool enough.

 

[Lori]

We do and I'll give that a try. Will get up early that morning so if the dough fails me, I can quickly put together something else.

Thanks

[Chauffour]

the secret is the wood burning oven...

and you can get pizzas like this one!

http://chauffour24.free.fr/pizza

 

 

[Patf]

I make dough in advance and always put it in the fridge overnight, it does no harm. It just takes that much longer to rise, after a quick kneading, in the morning. I also freeze dough, in batches. Again no harm done. Just remember to take it out in plenty of time to thaw slowly. You are talking about yeast dough aren't you? Some people make pizza dough with selfraising flour. Pat.

[Teamedup]

I'll try that Patf. I've always hesitated about letting it rise slowly in the fridge.

[Ian Hoare<br>All the best<br>Ian<br>La Souvigne Corrèze<br>http:www.souvigne.com]

Hi TU,

You said:-

I'll try that Patf. I've always hesitated about letting it rise slowly in the fridge.

I think it was Elisabeth David in "Yeast and English Bread cookery" who said you can always do this if you need to slow down the rise, and that if anything, the bread is the better for it. OK, she was talking about breadmaking rather than pizza crust, but I'm sure the principle is the same.

Let us know how it all worked out, Lori.

[Lori]

I feel so much better about putting it in the fridge now. Yes, it is yeast pizza dough, not self raising flour dough. I was a bit nervous leaving it in the cave all night - creepy crawly things, etc. (even covered). So, this is good news. I will put both doughs in the fridge and take them out at 6 am to give them ample time to reach room temp. before rolling them out and baking them around 8 am, just before school.

Thanks to all for the replies - most helpful.

[Teamedup]

I  use the Elizabeth David method these days, little yeast and leave it to rise a long time. I've never read her books though. As I said, the only problem I've found is that if I leave it longer than usual, ie overnight, as it needs gentle kneading the second time, the dough doesn't seem to want to stick to itself, hence I started to put a film of water on it and that works for me.

[derf]

Lot's of commercial and local small bakeries make their dough for bread and rolls the day before then they put it on racks in a prover/retarder looks like a giant freezer, this freezes the dough then at a predetermined time the following morning the the cabinet starts to warm up and then proves the dough, it allows the baker to have a few extra hours in bed.

[Lori]

I always wondered what time those boulangeres had to get up. Consider myself a morning person, but when it is dark, I find it hard to get up.

[Lori]

Thanks to all, but I was so busy this weekend, I decided to make homeade brownies instead. Just couldn't deal with the prospect that the pizza wouldn't turn out well.

The brownies are always fool-proof. With the excellent dessert chocolate they sell here, you simply can't go wrong. When I walked past the table in the market this morning at 9:30 am, all my brownies were sold. Happily.

Will try the pizza dough in the fridge another time when it isn't a problem if it goes wrong.

Thanks anyway for all the advice. It is most helpful.

[Patf]

After all I said about putting dough in the fridge and freezer, last week I made the dough in the morning and baked it pm . It was really good, better than the other way. So fridge/freezer works, but fresh risen/baked is better (in my opinion) Pat.