Raw dough storage
I'm making cinnamon rolls tonight but they're not going to be baked until Sunday morning, what is the best way to store them without baking them until Sunday?
Best Answer
Options
With yeast-leavened dough, there are two approaches you can take:
- par-bake
- refrigerate
With chemically-leavened dough, you can't refrigerate, but you get a third option:
- don't mix. (probably not applicable)
I'll explain all three:
Par-baking
Here, you go ahead and bake the rolls tonight, but only until they're mostly done. You want the dough fully set, but not browned. It's best to look for recipes, but generally this means a slightly shorter bake (e.g., maybe 30 minutes instead of 40) or slightly lower temperature.
Then you freeze them (for very short term—say next day—just leave them on the counter, or—if you're going to serve them warm—refrigerate them for a day or two). They store in the freezer fairly well for up to a few months.
When you want to serve them, you defrost and then put in the oven to reheat and brown (often the defrost and brown are both done in the oven). After baking, you apply the glaze/frosting/etc. as normal.
This is surely familiar—it's the way many commercially-produced frozen baked goods work.
- Advantages: very easy & predictable on the day of service; fairly long storage life.
- Disadvantages: slight quality loss. Enemy here is basically staling, though the reheat/brown will take care of a lot of staleness, at least until they cool. Frozen greatly slows staling (and as almost always, you want to get them frozen as quickly as possible; here you actually want to defrost them quickly as well, because fridge temperatures promote staling).
Refrigeration
Yeast activity can be nearly slowed and stopped by keeping the dough cold, in the fridge. The colder your fridge, the less the yeast will grow. You go ahead and make your dough (probably with a less yeast), and then throw it in the fridge. Sometimes it'll be between the first and second rise, other times before either (even going so far as to use ice water in the stand mixer). Good recipes will tell you about this option, and how to best apply it to the recipe.
On the day of, you take the dough out of the fridge, let it warm up, and continue the process where you left off.
- Advantages: Excellent quality, often the refrigeration step even improves quality, though this isn't likely in a highly-enriched dough like yours.
- Disadvantages: More time day of, and far less predictable. You've got to wait for the yeast to do their thing, on their time table. Also, can only be done for one to three days, depending on how cold your fridge is.
Don't mix
Chemical leaveners are normally activated by mixing the dry and wet ingredients. So, you prepare them and then don't mix them until the day of. Another popular method commercially (pancake mix, cake mix, ...).
Depending on the liquids, you may or may not be able to pre-mix them. E.g., egg + lemon might react over time.
This probably isn't applicable here, especially with the amount of butter you've likely got in the dough. I'm just including it for completeness.
Recommendation
Sounds like you're asking about Christmas morning breakfast, where I suspect you need something predictable & easy. I'd go with par-baking it.
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Quick Answer about "Raw dough storage"
Put the bread dough in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a day. Choose a container that's twice the size of the dough. Dough can double in size in a single day in the fridge, which can make it spill out of smaller containers. Store the dough in the refrigerator after the first rise.How can I store raw dough?
You can put the dough in a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap, wrap the entirety of the dough in plastic wrap, or simply place it in a sealed plastic bag or airtight container.Does raw dough need to be refrigerated?
Storing dough in the fridge will extend its life for at least 3-5 days, but you should check on it regularly. Yeasted dough should be knocked down and allowed to rise again once it's close to double in size. Once you're ready to use your dough, leave it at room temperature until it warms up again and use it as normal.How long can you store raw dough?
A dough will last approximately three days in the refrigerator; however, it is best to use it within 48 hours. This is the best way to refrigerate your dough. After the dough is kneaded, place in a lightly oiled, large mixing bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.Can you store raw bread dough?
Yes, risen dough CAN be placed in a refrigerator. Putting risen dough in the fridge is a common practice of home and professional bakers alike. Since yeast is more active when it's warm, putting yeasted dough in a refrigerator or chilling it slows the yeast's activity, which causes dough to rise at a slower rate.How to store pizza dough
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