How Do I Save Extra Pizza Dough?

Storing extra pizza dough helps you to avoid large amounts of pizza leftovers.

Preparing a meal for two or three people can lead to leftovers and wasted food. Pizza is a simple meal to prepare that can cater to the pickiest of eaters, however many recipes create enough dough for two full-sized pies. Instead of cooking both at once, store the extra dough in the freezer for up to a month. Alternatively, storing dough in the refrigerator allows you to make the dough ahead of time and prepare a meal in minutes, without waiting an hour for the dough to rise. Does this Spark an idea?

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Pizza dough
Flour
Plastic wrap
Aluminum foil
Masking tape
Permanent marker
Large mixing bowl
Cooking oil
2 kitchen towels
Baking pan

Instructions

Freezer Storage
- 1
  
  Prepare dough according to the recipe. Split the dough in half, and set one ball aside to rise.
- 2
  
  Lightly flour the second ball of dough and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Cover the plastic wrap with aluminum foil; make sure there are no gaps.
- 3
  
  Write the date on a piece of masking tape and label the aluminum package. Store the ball of dough in the back of your freezer for up to a month.
- 4
  
  Grease a mixing bowl with cooking oil and place the frozen ball inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough defrost overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for about two hours.
Refrigerator Storage
- 5
  
  Prepare pizza dough according to your recipe and set one of the two balls of dough aside. Lightly cover the second ball of dough with cooking oil.
- 6
  
  Line a baking sheet with a kitchen towel. Place the dough in the center of the sheet. Form the dough into a patty and cover with the second kitchen towel. Store the dough in the back of the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.
- 7
  
  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before shaping into pizza.

Tips & Warnings

Store multiple balls of dough in the freezer separately to ensure they properly freeze.
Discard dough stored in the refrigerator after 48 hours as the dough will begin to ferment.