Pizza Dough Fermentation: The Ultimate Guide to Pizza Perfection

“The Proof is in the Dough”

In this guide, you’ll learn everything about pizza dough fermentation, what it is, and why it is essential when making pizza at home.  

So, stick around to discover the pizza dough fermentation process, learn tips, and best practices to ferment your dough, and how pizza dough fermentation will give you an unforgettable pizza!   

Let’s get started!

Pizza-Making Process

In this guide, we only discuss the pizza dough fermentation process, which is only a segment but an integral part of the pizza-making process.  

If you are starting, we recommend that you read our article on how to get started making pizza at home. 

Step Process to Make Homemade Pizza

Making pizza at home is a multi-step process.  This process entails planning, gathering equipment, and the ingredients.

Followed by making and shaping the dough to finally bake your pizza. 

Although it might seem a complicated process,  it’s not difficult, but it certainly takes dedication and a particular time. 

Once you get familiar with what you need to do, you will get better at it; you will perfect your recipe and your skills. You will be more consistent, and the results will be phenomenal.

Pizza Dough Fermentation Step Process

The pizza dough fermentation process consists of the following steps:

1. Mixing the Pizza Dough
2. First Fermentation
3. Degassing Pizza Dough
4. Shaping into Doughballs
5. Final Rise – Also known as Proofing or Cold Fermentation.

Here’s an infographic so you can visualize the process.

We will discuss each of the steps in detail, but first, let’s start with figuring out what pizza dough fermentation is.

The yeast needs oxygen to complete this process, but the oxygen is limited because the container where the dough is placed is covered, so gluten proteins trap the dough’s gas.

These gas bubbles expand inside the mixture, causing it to rise or appear larger. 

The alcohol produced by the yeast during pizza dough fermentation and other chemicals produced in the process gives the crust its flavor and aroma. The ethanol produced mostly evaporates from the dough during the baking process.

The dough also gains structure as the carbon dioxide inflates the gluten network.

As you can see, the star ingredient of the pizza dough fermentation process is yeast!

Yeast is readily available in supermarkets, you can find fresh, instant, or active dry yeast.

Why Do We Need to Ferment the Dough to Make Pizza?

There are two important reasons why you need to ferment pizza dough.

When making pizza, you need to build a base to hold the sauce, the cheese, and all your toppings.  Given the number of items you will add, this base needs structure to hold all that weight.

Think of it as the foundation of your house; it has rebar and concrete or wood to hold all the weight of the house.  In pizza, that base is what we called the “crust”. 

You need that base to taste good or even better than the toppings you will be adding.  So, we need to build flavor in order to accomplish this task.  Fermentation will help us reach these two goals.

Tips for Pizza Dough Fermentation

For the best homemade pizza results, try to implement these best-practice guidelines. 

• Mix your dough properly – Try not to have any lumps.
• Rise the dough in the correct bowl or container. For the best results, containers should be the right size and material, metal or glass.
• Spray your bowl with non-stick cooking spray before adding the dough to the bowl for easy cleanup.
• Shape the dough into smaller dough balls before placing them in the refrigerator.
• Rise and Proof the dough at the correct temperature. The first rise is 80°F and 38°F for the final rise in the refrigerator.
• Rise and Proof the dough for the recommended period. The first rise is 1 to 1 ½ hrs. and 8 to 72 hrs. for the final rise.

PIZZA DOUGH FERMENTATION PROCESS

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Step 1- Mix the Pizza Dough

To make homemade pizza, you need to start with the dough. To learn more about how to properly mix pizza dough, check our article How to Mix Pizza Dough.

Step 2- Pizza Dough Fermentation – “Pizza Dough Rising”

The dough’s first rise, also known as bulk fermentation, first fermentation, or the first rise, is the dough’s first resting period after the yeast has been added. 

After the dough is mixed with yeast, it’s allowed to rise before the shaping of the dough balls occurs. This process causes the dough to stretch and relax as the strength of the gluten develops.  

This is a crucial first step if you want your pizza to look and taste good. It’s called bulk proofing or bulk fermentation because the entire batch of dough is fermented before it’s divided and shaped into dough balls that will be later shaped as pizzas.

The bulk fermentation is complete when the dough has doubled or is substantially larger. 

 

Pizza Dough Bulk Fermentation

How to check if your pizza dough has completed the first fermentation period or first rise.

Sometimes it is difficult to determine if your dough has doubled in size by looking at it without any guidelines. 

So, to know if your dough has completed the first fermentation period or first rise, you can physically check the dough by sightly denting it with your finger. 

Don’t poke the dough or make a hole; just lightly tap it with your finger.

Test the fermentation of your pizza dough, and check the results of your test:

Required Tools:

-Your hands

What Do You Need for Pizza Dough Fermentation?

• You need a pizza dough ball after the first fermentation period

Pizza Dough Fermentation – Best Practices

If you place the dough in a small bowl, the dough will overflow, and you might end up losing some of the dough. So, bigger is better; your dough will need space and confined air to rise appropriately.

For a better rise, it is best to place the pizza dough to rise in a metal or glass bowl as these types of bowls retain heat better than plastic bowls.

If you don’t have a metal or glass bowl, the plastic bowl will do fine; just leave it to rest a couple more minutes.

Before adding the dough to the bowl, it is also best practice to spray your bowl with non-stick cooking spray for easy cleanup. 

Pizza Dough Fermentation – FAQs

Which yeast should you use to ferment your pizza dough?

Making pizza at home is different from making pizza commercially. In a pizzeria, they use yeast every single day. Some even use fresh yeast to make the dough, which will give spectacular results.

Most commonly, they use instant yeast for its convenience and ease of use. 

But, to make pizza at home, fresh yeast is not recommended because fresh yeast’s life span is minimal. Within days the yeast dies.

So, to make pizza at home, you can use either active dry yeast or instant yeast. You can use them interchangeably at a ratio of 1 : 1. 

For example, if your recipe calls for 10g of instant yeast, you can substitute it with 10g of active dry yeast.  

We prefer using active dry yeast because it gives us a sense of security. Once you mix it with water within 15 minutes, you will see the yeast is alive, and you will be sure you will get good results. 

You mix it with the flour with instant yeast, then add the water and let ferment. If it doesn’t rise, the yeast is dead. You would have to start all over and waste all that precious flour. 

Check your oven; sometimes, people don’t realize the oven has a “Proofing” setting or button. This setting heats the oven to 80°F, which is perfect for the dough to rise.

If your oven does not have this setting, preheat it to 200 degrees for 1-2 minutes, then turn it off and let the dough rise in the oven while it is turned off.

Another alternative is to turn on just the oven light and not the oven. The heat from the light bulb will help the oven reach an adequate proofing temperature.  

Now you can also use a home dough proofer; we highly recommend this one because you have total control of the temperature and time. Also, when you are not using it, just fold it and keep it in a safe place.

If you live in a place where the overall temperature is about 80°F, that is fine. But if you live in a hot area where the overall temperature is over 85°F, then it will be too hot.

The same applies if you live in a cold place; it will take longer to rise. Make sure the dough is covered; if not, your dough is set to get a suntan causing a thick crust to develop on the outside, which will make your dough unusable. 

In pizza baking, time will be your best friend, so give the dough time to turn into your best creation.

Pizza Dough Fermentation – Troubleshooting

Why your pizza dough isn’t rising?

There might be several reasons why your dough is not rising:

• Make sure you add yeast to the dough. It happens; sometimes, you forget.
• The yeast might be dead. If you didn’t activate the yeast before mixing, there is a good chance the yeast is dead. Ensure the yeast is not expired; if so, you will need to start a new batch with fresh yeast. (Fresh as in not expired, not baker’s fresh yeast).
• Check the temperature; if it’s too cold, it might take longer for the dough to rise.
• Check your time. The rising period should be from 1 to 1 ½ hrs. Give it a little more time if the dough has been resting for less than that.

Step 3 – Degas Pizza Dough

Degassing Pizza Dough

The purpose of degassing the pizza dough is to:

• Relax the gluten.
• Make the dough easier to shape.
• Redistribute the yeast cells, sugar, and moisture so they can ferment and rise the dough again during the proofing stage.
• Produce a finer grain.

Don’t overwork the dough; you are just going to reshape it into a big ball of dough that you can start dividing into smaller dough balls.

Step 4- Shape into Doughballs

After your dough has risen, the next step will be to turn that big ball of dough into smaller dough balls. The benefit of dividing the dough is that it makes it easier to portion each doughball that will later be shaped into a pizza.

Step 5 – Pizza Dough Proofing

Proofing or “Cold Fermentation” most commonly refers to the final rise a pizza dough undergoes, which takes place after the dough balls are shaped but before the pizza is shaped. 

During the proofing stage, the yeast produces gas, which imparts a level of aeration to the dough just before the baking stage.

The pizza dough fermentation processes and chemical reactions during both the first rise (Bulk Fermentation) and the final rise (Proofing) are the same. 

These pizza dough fermentation processes are done primarily to:

• Allow the dough to achieve a more exceptional flavor.
• Develop gluten strains to trap carbon dioxide, leaving a light and airy final product.

In pizza making, we proof the dough by retarding or slowing down this last pizza dough fermentation process. 

You want your crust to taste good, but you also want to look good. Proofing allows the dough to develop its gluten strains giving the crust structure so your pizza can stay level when you grab a slice, and it doesn’t bow down to you. 

When you check the crust, it should have a visible hole structure that will make your crust lighter and tender. 

How to Proof Pizza Dough

So to get started:

1. Place the dough balls in a dough proofer or any container to proof and cover with a lid or cling film.
2. Leave the dough to proof in the refrigerator for 8 to 72 hrs.
3. When you are ready to shape your pizzas, take the dough out and let it sit for 1 hour before starting to shape it.

To proof the dough at home, you need a big container to hold all the dough balls so they don’t touch each other.

If you place the dough balls in a small container, the dough grows and sticks to each other. So, bigger is better; your dough will need space and confined air to rise appropriately.

For a better rise, it is best to place the pizza dough to rise in a proof box as these types of containers are air-tight and specially made for this purpose.  However, if you don’t have or want to get a proof box, any container with a tight seal will do. 

It is best if the container has a lid instead of just cling film.  The refrigerator’s humidity may unseal the container allowing air to come in, and the doughball will dry up; they will develop a crust and adhere to any smells in the refrigerator.

Before adding the dough balls to the container, it is also best practice to spray your bowl with non-stick cooking spray for easy cleanup. 

How to Proof Pizza Dough – Step Process

Required Tools:

– Proofing Box or

– A bowl or any container big enough to hold the dough balls

What you need:

– Pizza Doughballs

Pizza Dough Proofing – Best Practices

If you place the dough balls in a small container, the dough balls grow and stick to each other. So, bigger is better; your dough will need space and confined air to rise appropriately.

For a better rise, it is best to place the pizza dough to rise in a proof box as these types of containers are air-tight and specially made for this purpose.  However, if you don’t have or want to get a proof box, any container with a tight seal will do. 

It is best if the container has a lid instead of a cling film.  The refrigerator’s humidity may unseal the container allowing air to come in, and the dough ball will dry up; they will develop a crust and adhere to any smells in the refrigerator.

Before adding the dough balls to the container, it is also best practice to spray your bowl with non-stick cooking spray for easy cleanup. 

For a couple of days, proofing in the refrigerator is excellent, from 24 to 72 hrs., enhancing the crust’s taste.

However, in any more than three days, the yeast will start to eat up all the sugar in the dough and convert it into alcohol. The excess alcohol production will adversely affect crust flavor.

The best place to let dough proof is in a cold place.

The most accessible place would be your refrigerator.  The typical temperature of your fridge is 38°F, which is perfect for this kind of proofing.

Depending on what kind of pizza you want to make, it could be that that kind of pizza is what you want.  

For example, let’s say you want to make a cracker-style pizza base that looks more like a flatbread. In this instance, you avoid the proofing process. It will probably still be a delicious pizza, but it will be quite different from the traditional pizza. 

If your goal is a flat cracked-style pizza, make sure to roll your dough with a rolling pin and make it as flat as possible because if you leave a thick dough to make the crust, it will end up dense and chewy.

Pizza Dough Proofing – Troubleshooting

On the other hand, if you want a fine-textured pizza crust, let it rise three times.

Pizza Dough Over-Proofing

Over-proofing occurs when the dough has been proofed for an excessive period. You can visually check your dough by inspecting if the dough’s air pockets have burst. 

Or, you can perform a palpable test by gently tapping your dough with your finger; if it springs back, it’s perfect; if it doesn’t spring back, it’s over-proofed.

Pizza Dough Retarding

Pizza Dough Cold Fermentation – Best Practices

• It is best practice to shape the dough into smaller dough balls before placing them in the refrigerator so they will be ready for future use and are already portioned.

• After the dough is fermented, before you shape it into a pizza crust, take them out of the refrigerator for at least 1 hr. This resting period will make the dough easier to shape. 

Pizza Dough Fermentation Additional Resources

The Last Slice

We hope this guide helps you learn the difference between dough rising and pizza dough fermentation and the steps they take in the pizza-making process. 

We hope you’ve learned everything you need about pizza dough fermentation. If you still have questions, you can always contact us; we will be glad to help.

We encourage you to experiment with different temperatures and proofing methods to become a homemade pizza PRO!

Enjoy!

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