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How Long Does Pizza Dough Last in the Fridge?

February 1 2025 by Nick Charles

prepped pizza dough on a cooking sheet

When you build a house, it starts with the foundation, and that foundation better be faultless—otherwise, everything could collapse. That’s true of pizza, too, because a fresh, delicious crust will make or break your customers’ pizza experience.

Spoiled crust is right up there on the list of ways to ruin every bite, but we’re here to help you spot spoiled dough and even avoid it altogether.

Can Pizza Dough Go Bad?

It sure can, and it’s a bummer every time, especially for operators that need to get as much mileage as possible out of every ingredient.

How Long Does Pizza Dough Last in the Fridge and Freezer?

General pizza dough shelf life guidelines, organized by crust type:

  • Self-rising crusts will perform the best when used within 120 days of the manufacturing date, but they’re good up to 180 days in the freezer. Self-rising crusts should never be held in the refrigerator.
  • Par-baked crusts will last roughly one week in the fridge and will be usable for up to 365 days after the manufacturing date in the freezer.
  • Dough balls will proof and bake the best when used within 90 days of the manufacturing date but will continue to perform up to 180 days post-manufacturing. Get tips on perfect pizza proofing here.

What Happens if You Eat Expired Pizza Dough?

If you follow proper storage and pizza preparation guidelines, your dough will be safe to eat, even if you store them for the maximum of their usefulness lifespan. When you go past that safe storage guideline, quality will suffer. More seriously, eating bad pizza dough can cause foodborne illnesses, so don’t risk it!

 

How Can You Tell if Pizza Dough is Expired? 

Pizza crusts and dough have physical “tells” which let you know they've gone bad and could ruin your customers’ pizza experience. Symptoms of expired pizza dough include:

  • Sour smell
  • Diminished texture, i.e., the dough is gummy and inflexible
  • Exceptionally dry feel and appearance
  • Gray color or flecks of gray, which could be caused by dead yeast or freezer burn 

Treat Yourself to Self-Rising Crusts

Your customers deserve delicious, fresh pizza dough that’s easy for your operation to prepare while reducing waste. AK Pizza Crust self-rising crusts offer freezer-to-oven convenience, have a 180-day frozen shelf life, and deliver a bready, flavorful, rich bite your customers will crave. Get to know our self-rising pizza crusts and never deal with expired pizza dough again.

 

This blog was originally published on May 15, 2019, but updated and republished on February 1, 2025

 

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Categories: Performance/Quality, Pizza Crust, Dough Balls

Nick Charles

Written by Nick Charles

President, Alive & Kickin' Pizza Crust
Nick has been in the pizza dough business for more than 20 years. He heads up the company’s customer development and service (making sure they’re always happy with our product and our processes) and manages the overall business. It’s a big job, and he’s the right guy to do it!