Preparing yeast dough is a rather labor-intensive and somewhat creative process, which has a certain technology and features. Every housewife has her own recipes and baking secrets, but not many know whether yeast dough can be stored in the refrigerator and how to do it.
Homemade yeast dough can be stored for 2-3 months if the conditions are met.
You can store both fresh and rich yeast dough. The shelf life depends on its composition, storage temperature and compliance with a number of other conditions. Let's talk about this in more detail.
How long can yeast dough be stored in the refrigerator? No more than 48 hours, and it is better to prepare it within 24 hours after kneading or freeze immediately.
Defrosting rules
- The frozen dough is placed in the refrigerator for several hours, usually about 2-3 hours, for it to thaw. Then knead the product with flour, put it in a bowl, cover with a towel and place in a warm place until the dough rises. The main thing is not to overdo it with flour; there should not be a lot of it, otherwise the dough will become “heavy”.
- The dough is defrosted at room temperature.
- The mass can be defrosted in the microwave. If your oven has a “Defrost” mode, then turn it on for about 4 minutes, the time will depend on the power of the device. But this type of defrosting is not entirely recommended, since there is a risk that the dough will overheat or dry out.
- Without removing the dough from the bag, place it in a container with warm water. In this case, the water must be changed as it cools.
- On heating devices (battery, heater, stove). With this method, the dough must be transferred to a pan, covered with a lid and placed on or near a heat source.
How to store yeast dough in the refrigerator
Ready and unused dough can be stored in the refrigerator, but, like any food product, it has a limited shelf life. Therefore, if you have excess viscous mass left, do not throw it away, but put it away for later. In this way you can prepare semi-finished products for future use. The main thing is to remember how to properly store them in the refrigerator. Before putting the product away, be sure to include a note in the bag indicating the date of manufacture. You can defrost the mass only once.
Baking dough in the freezer
Yeast dough retains its properties well in the freezer. The finished mass is stored here, which does not require further fermentation. Such a semi-finished product can be found today in any store where freezers are installed. Before freezing the product, first roll it into thick layers (up to 1-1.5 cm) for convenience, cut into pieces, generously sprinkle with flour, wrap with parchment paper or wrap with cling film. You can store the blanks in plastic containers.
Pancake dough
Housewives prefer to use pancake dough right away rather than leave it for later, but it’s so nice to eat fresh baked goods for breakfast or an afternoon snack without having to stand at the stove for an hour. Yeast preparation for pancakes is stored in the refrigerator for two days. If you add kefir to the dough, do not leave it for more than a day. You need to bake pancakes from the preparation with vinegar and soda immediately, otherwise you will be disappointed; the dish will not be tasty. Before putting the mixture in the refrigerator, cooks are advised to first pour the mixture into a regular bottle with a lid.
Popular questions about storage
The most frequently asked questions about the test are:
- Can yeast dough be left in the refrigerator overnight?
Answer: you can, but you should first knead it and move it into a spacious, deep bowl with high sides - it will continue to rise, albeit slowly.
- How to store yeast dough in the refrigerator after rising?
Answer: in the cold at +5-+6 it will remain fresh for a day. The dough is folded. The resulting “ball” is greased with oil and wrapped in polyethylene. It is important not to forget to puncture holes in the film. The bundle is lowered to the bottom of a spacious pan, which is placed against the far wall of the refrigerator compartment.
- How long does yeast dough last in the refrigerator in a bag?
Answer: The shelf life of yeast dough in the refrigerator is up to 24 hours. In the package too. What was previously thawed cannot be stored at all.
- How to store yeast dough until the next day?
Answer: A good "shelter" is a high pan and low temperature. A freezer will also work. In cold weather the mixture will last longer.
- Can yeast dough be stored in the freezer and for how long?
Answer: you can. It’s impossible to say for sure how long. They also take into account the products that were added to the bowl and how fresh they are. All this affects storage. A mixture based on butter can be frozen for no longer than a month, while a mixture based on vegetable fats or spread can be frozen for up to six months. But it’s better not to delay cooking for so long, otherwise the baked goods will be tasteless.
- Is it possible to leave yeast dough at room temperature overnight?
Answer: you can’t, it will turn sour. The contents of the fermenter at home will not last longer than six hours. It’s better to leave the yeast mixture out early in the morning and then sculpt and bake without worrying about freshness. Or hide the tub in the cold if the dough has been standing since the evening.
Basic principles of storage
There is conflicting information about whether it is possible to store yeast dough left over from pies and what rules should be followed. Many people cannot accurately describe what happens to the flour and water mixture after the yeast is introduced to it and when it rises. Particularly difficult is the question of how to store yeast dough in the refrigerator after rising, for example until tomorrow, and whether this is even permissible. Mistakes come from ignorance.
The dough rises in the kettle due to air bubbles that appear during the fermentation process. In warmth the reaction goes faster. The risen dough is rolled with a rolling pin, cut into circles or divided into blanks for future buns. The mass forgotten in the kneader turns sour. Fermentation accelerates, the dough will begin to emit a noticeable “beer” smell and will soon disappear. Moreover, the warmer the place where the kneading plant is located, the faster this will happen.
The best “shelter” for dough is the refrigerator, but it won’t save you from time. Even storing yeast dough in the freezer does not last long. In a regular camera, with standard plus five or six, even more so. The duration directly depends on the moment at which cooking had to be interrupted. At room temperature the mixture will sour very quickly. If there is even the slightest doubt that the dough will go into use without any residue, it is better to freeze it.
You can see what storing yeast dough in the refrigerator looks like using specific examples.
Example one
The hostess prepared the dough, began to knead it, and then something urgent happened. You will have to forget about cooking for half a day, or even more. The return is planned on the same day, so the yeast mixture is transferred to a deep bowl and hidden to the far wall of the refrigerator. Returning, they stir and bake. This is the easiest way.
In this case, the maximum storage period is ten hours. If it is doubtful that things can be completed during this time, it is better to freeze the mixture. Dough that has overcooked is immediately thrown away.
Example two
The dough was already ready, but suddenly I had to leave home urgently and for a long time. Then the dough is quickly kneaded to remove air bubbles from it, rolled into balls and placed in tall bowls, then covered with food grade polyethylene. Holes are made in the film to allow the dough to breathe. The bowls should be very deep, their walls should be twice as high as the resulting balls, because the dough will also work in the refrigerator. Such preparations can be stored for a maximum of a day.
It is better not to use this method for butter dough, because fermentation is accelerated by sugar. If there is no time left for cooking, it is better not to leave the mass in the chamber, but immediately put it in the freezer.
You don’t have to put the balls in bowls, but grease them with oil and pack them into spacious bags. After this, place it in the far corner of the refrigerator. Precisely spacious - after all, the dough, as already mentioned, will continue to “grow”. But even in this way you can preserve the dough for a short time - up to two days.
Has it spoiled or not? How to find out
Suppose you put the dough in a cold place for storage, and when you did this, you didn’t mark it and simply forgot. What if it went bad? How to determine? There are several clear signs:
- the dough has a sour smell or a strong smell of yeast;
- it is sticky to the touch;
- the top is covered with some kind of plaque or mold;
- acquired an unusual texture.
Already one of these “symptoms” is enough to understand everything about the unsuitability of the product.
Okroshka: store separately or pour the drink right away?
Famous chefs recommend pouring okroshka immediately with a chilled drink, if you are sure that the dish will be eaten in one day. There is an exception to every rule, which means that the life of okroshka can be extended by following simple rules. The storage time of cold soup depends on the freshness of the ingredients, cooking technology, acid-base balance, and moisture. The lower the acidity level and the higher the moisture level, the more favorable the environment for bacterial growth, which means the shorter the shelf life of the dish. For example, okroshka with meat will retain its freshness longer than with fish.
Okroshka in the form of a salad is a kind of preparation that, before serving, is poured with a liquid base and brought to taste with sauce and spices. Each product is cut and stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of +4°C in separate tightly closed containers.
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It is not recommended to cut greens, fresh cucumbers and radishes in advance, as the taste will be spoiled after 6 hours. Radishes and cucumbers will drain, greens will wither.
Useful tips for housewives on storing okroshka:
- The finished soup, prepared ingredients for okroshka, and the liquid base for the dish are stored in the refrigerator at a temperature not exceeding +4°C. Remember that the temperature in the refrigerator is always lower at the back wall, so think about where you place which container.
- Oxygen promotes the rapid growth of bacteria, so that the cuttings for okroshka remain fresh longer, use containers, preferably glass, with an airtight lid.
- Do not put hot foods in the refrigerator, for example, boiled potatoes, meat, eggs. This not only impairs the performance of the equipment, but also contributes to the rapid spread of bacteria inside the refrigerator.
Shelf life of the liquid base in the refrigerator at +4°C:
- mineral water is stored only in original, unopened containers;
- homemade kvass remains fresh for up to 10 days;
- chicken broth – 3 days;
- kefir – 5 days;
- serum – no more than 7 days;
- ayran – 5 days;
- unfiltered beer begins to lose its taste immediately after opening the sealed bottle.
Khrushchev dough - the correct classic recipe with milk
Every housewife strives to ensure that the mass is obedient and pliable as a material from which one can create. For example, patterns on pies, beautiful curls. Khrushchev's dough will provide you with such an opportunity.
Take:
- Flour – 650 gr.
- Butter – 200 gr.
- Milk – 250 ml.
- Granulated sugar – 100 gr.
- Salt - a small spoon.
- Eggs – 2 pcs.
- Dry yeast – 11 gr. (substitution with fresh yeast in the amount of 30-33 g is acceptable).
In fairness, it must be said that the leader of the Soviet country attached himself to the glory of the test completely undeservedly. Khrushchev loved baking, especially pies and pies. The manager's personal chef Anna Dyshkant, having visited France, brought a recipe for a unique dough. Since then, the Khrushchev family made baked goods only from it. And the recipe went to the people with the name of the Soviet leader.
Step by step recipe:
Warm the milk to 36-40 o C, pour into the container. Add salt and granulated sugar.
Beat in both eggs. Whisk until all the crystals dissolve.
Melt the butter (by any method). If it gets too hot, cool it down a bit. Pour into a bowl. Whisk again until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine flour with dry yeast. If you start using pressed live yeast, take 30 grams, crush it and dilute it with warm milk.
Combine the contents of both bowls. Start kneading the dough.
