I made about 13 pounds of pizza dough last night but I think the yeast was old and dead. There’s almost no bubbles this morning. Is there any way to save it by tonight for our party?

by ShawnSaturday

19 Comments

  1. this is what I would do: Cut the dough in half. take one half and freeze it however you would like (probably in smaller portions than a 6.5lb block). Get new yeast. Cut the other half into small chunks. Make a 1/2 version of your original dough, but don’t halve the yeast. Maybe even bump it up 25%-50%. Incorporate your old dough chunks into the mix for your new dough. Proceed from there. For best results, make sure you are using very warm water (100F) so that fermentation kicks off properly.

  2. You could try getting commercial yeast, mix it in a dough that’s about the same hydration as your existing 13 lbs (but with enough yeast to be good for all 13), then cutting it all together to try to mix it.

    You honestly might be better off just going for new dough entirely. Hurts to waste that much flour, though.

  3. thelovingentity

    You can dissolve some new yeast in water, then pour that water over the dough and knead it in. There’s probably more information about this method online, but that’s the gist of it: to introduce some more yeast into the dough.

  4. d2mightyduck

    What’s the temperature of your room and the dough? Where did you store it last night? What was your recipe?

    You may be able to save it

  5. Same_as_it_ever

    Can you explain your recipe and how you held the dough after mixing? How much room temp time, how much fridge time? 

  6. bilbul168

    You can make flatbread and itll be great, just roll it out super thin and itll be crispy

  7. Culture-Extension

    If you are completely desperate and don’t have the time to save the dough, cheat. A lot of supermarkets have decent frozen pizza dough (not the stuff in the tube).

  8. againontothenextone

    If you don’t want to fuss over new yeast, I would make flatbread pizza or some sort of calzone concoction! Honestly sounds delicious lol

  9. Sad_Week8157

    Make a new batch. You only need a few hours for pizza dough

  10. SoberSeahorse

    How long did you proof it for and at what temp? Just looks over proofed to me.

  11. ibestusemystronghand

    How did OP get on?What did you do in the end?

  12. NickTidalOutlook

    I’m sure you’re already past due but honestly could make a emergency 4 hour dough

  13. Dizzy_Variety_8960

    Are you sure the yeast was not good. My pizza dough doesn’t get bubbles like bread dough. If you have any yeast left test it in some warm water and a little sugar. If there is no reaction then yes you will need to add fresh yeast to this existing dough or use some of this dough as a preferment on your new batch.

  14. I’ve been spending too much time on r/foraging. Thought this was a puffball mushroom

  15. Honestly, dough doesn’t take all that long to rise. I know it’s a lot, but just make another batch with fresh yeast and flour from the store. Cut your losses.

  16. WesDetz1443

    To test your theory that the yeast was bad, do an experiment and proof your yeast. If it proofs out, something else is wrong. This is a quick elimination test before going to the 2nd half batch process.