Pizza is something that people absolutely love, and there’s a good chance that you enjoy it on a semi-regular basis. It has become a staple weekend food for many people, and it’s definitely great to enjoy when you’re in the mood for something tasty.
Making your own pizza can actually be a lot of fun, too. It’s possible to make a good one at home that’s healthy and satisfying if you follow the right recipe.
If you bought pizza dough recently and haven’t had the chance to use it, then you might be worried about how long it’ll stay good. Can pizza dough go bad or should you not worry about this?
Keep reading to get more information about it and how long it’s going to be usable.
Pizza Dough Can Definitely Go Bad
The first thing to know right away is that pizza dough can indeed go bad. All types of dough will go bad over time, and this means that you can’t just keep dough around that you aren’t planning to use.
Keeping pizza dough in your fridge for a little while is perfectly fine if you plan to use it soon. However, if you don’t know when you’re going to be making pizza, then it might be better off waiting to make or buy dough.
Pizza dough won’t stay good forever, and there will be a point when it turns bad. It’s not always as easy to tell that it has gone bad as you might think, though.
If you read on, you’ll be able to learn a bit about how to tell if pizza dough has gone bad. This should help you to avoid trying to make a pizza with dough that is bad and could get you sick.
1 – Obvious Mold
The most obvious sign that pizza dough has gone bad will be that mold is present on the dough. If you see mold starting to form on the dough, you’ll automatically know that it shouldn’t be eaten.
This is usually only going to occur when the pizza dough is past the expiration date or you’re not storing it properly. You should always check the dough to see if there is any mold on it before you decide to use it.
Failure to do so could lead to you making a pizza that will get you sick. You definitely don’t want that, and a little vigilance is going to go a long way here.
Aside from being able to see the mold, it’s possible that you might smell that something is off. If you’re familiar with how pizza dough smells, then it should be obvious when it smells kind of funny.
If you can’t see anything visually wrong with the pizza dough, then it’s still a good idea to smell it. When something is off with the smell, it’s a sign that the dough might be starting to become moldy and you’ll want to throw it out.
2 – Texture Changes
Pizza dough isn’t supposed to be dry, and you’re going to want to be cautious if the texture of it doesn’t seem right. Make a note of how pizza dough looks and feels so that you can tell when something changes.
If you take pizza dough out of the refrigerator and find that it’s rather dry, it’s starting to go bad. This only happens to dough when it’s past the date that it should be used.
It might not make you sick if you bake a pizza using dough that is kind of stale or dry, but it’s not going to be ideal. You might have a pizza that doesn’t taste very good overall, and it’d be a shame to take the time to bake a pizza that doesn’t taste how you want it to.
The best thing to do when pizza dough has changed its texture and gotten dry is to throw it in the garbage. It might seem wasteful, but you can’t eat food that is starting to go bad.
3 – Color Changes
Color changes can also be an indication that the dough has gone bad. Normally, pizza dough should look white or maybe beige in color.
Dough that is going bad might start to have a gray color instead of being white or beige. Even if the pizza dough appears to have gray spots, it’s going to be a sign that the dough is spoiled.
This is another reason why it’s imperative to check the dough out before you start using it. You wouldn’t want to bake a pizza using dough that has gray spots.
It’s only going to make the pizza turn out bad, and it could make you sick if things go really bad. Place pizza dough that has started to turn gray in the garbage and be done with it.
4 – Freezer Burn
Of course, many people buy pizza dough that you can freeze and use at a later date. This is normal, but you’ll still need to watch out to ensure that the dough is fine before using it.
When pizza dough has visible signs of freezer burn, it’s not going to be able to be used properly. It won’t turn out well and you’re going to want to throw it away.
Freezer burn occurs when something has been in the freezer for way too long. It can also happen if you didn’t store something properly and the food item was exposed in some way.
To be fair, eating dough that has freezer burn isn’t necessarily bad for you. A pizza made using dough that has freezer burn will be fine to eat, but it just won’t taste as good as usual.
Also, sometimes pizza dough that has freezer burn will have issues with cooking properly. It’s possible that you won’t be able to get your pizza to turn out right if you decide to use the dough.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.