✔ Updated · conservative fridge and freezer times, spoilage signs and raw flour and egg safety
Yes, dough goes bad, and I’ve thrown out my share. Raw dough is made from perishable ingredients, and once it is mixed, yeast, bacteria and molds start working on it.
Yes, dough goes bad. Keep it on the counter only while it rises, no more than 2 hours for dough with eggs, milk or butter. In the fridge at 40°F or colder, bread and pizza dough last 2 to 3 days and cookie or pie dough about 3 days. Frozen at 0°F, most dough keeps up to 3 months. Throw out dough with mold, slime or a rotten smell.
- Room temperature: only while rising, a few hours for lean yeast dough, 2 hours max for dough with eggs or dairy (1 hour above 90°F)
- Fridge (40°F / 4°C or colder): bread and pizza dough 2 to 3 days, cookie and pie dough about 3 days
- Freezer (0°F / -18°C): up to 3 months; yeast dough rises best if used within 1 month
- Store-bought refrigerated dough: use by the date on the package
How long it lasts depends on what is in it and where you keep it: a lean bread or pizza dough keeps longer than a cookie or sweet roll dough made with eggs, milk and butter. Below are conservative times for the counter, the fridge and the freezer, how to tell when dough has gone bad, how to store it, and why you should never taste raw dough. When in doubt, throw it out.
How Long Does Dough Last?
These are conservative times for homemade dough, kept covered or sealed. For store-bought refrigerated dough, such as canned biscuits, crescent rolls or tubes of cookie dough, follow the use-by date on the package and bake it soon after opening.
| Type of dough | Counter | Fridge (40°F or colder) | Freezer (0°F) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lean bread dough (flour, water, yeast, salt) | Only while rising, a few hours | 2 to 3 days | Up to 3 months, best within 1 month |
| Pizza dough | Only while rising, a few hours | 2 to 3 days | Up to 3 months, best within 1 month |
| Enriched dough (brioche, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls with eggs, milk or butter) | 2 hours max (1 hour above 90°F) | 1 to 2 days | Up to 3 months, best within 1 month |
| Cookie dough with eggs | 2 hours max | About 3 days | Up to 3 months |
| Pie crust dough | 2 hours max | About 3 days | Up to 3 months |
| Sourdough (shaped loaves or bulk dough) | Only while rising | Up to 2 to 3 days (cold proof) | Up to 3 months |
| Store-bought refrigerated dough | 2 hours max | By the package date | Freeze only if the package says so |
How to Tell If Dough Has Gone Bad
Check the dough before you shape or bake it. Throw it out if you see any of these signs:
- Mold: fuzzy spots or specks of green, black, white, pink or orange. Discard the whole piece, don't cut the mold off.
- A rotten or very sour smell: fresh yeast dough smells mildly yeasty or beery. A strong sour, cheesy, rotten or solvent-like smell means it has spoiled.
- Slimy or sticky film: a wet, slippery surface that wasn't there when you made it.
- Dark gray or discolored patches: a faint gray surface can be harmless oxidation, but dark gray, green or streaky patches, or any gray dough that also smells off, should go.
- Past its time: dough with eggs or dairy left out longer than 2 hours, or any dough kept in the fridge well beyond the times above.
Old Dough vs. Spoiled Dough
Yeast dough that has been in the fridge for a few days often looks deflated, smells strongly of alcohol and won't rise much. I've seen a Friday pizza dough do exactly this after one day too many in the fridge. That is over-fermentation: the yeast has used up much of its food. If it is still within the fridge times above and shows no mold, slime or rotten smell, you can knead it, let it rest and bake it as a flatbread or pizza, but the texture and flavor will be weaker.
Spoiled dough is different. Mold, slime or a rotten smell mean it is no longer safe, and baking won't fix it. See can you bake dough that hasn't risen for what to do with a flat but safe dough.
How to Store Dough So It Lasts
- Refrigerate promptly. Once mixed, keep dough in the fridge unless it is actively rising. Keep the fridge at 40°F (4°C) or colder.
- Seal it well. Lightly oil yeast dough and put it in a container or bowl with room to expand, covered tightly. Wrap cookie and pie dough in plastic wrap or parchment, then a bag.
- Label and date it. Write the date on the bag or container so you know when to use or freeze it.
- Freeze what you won't use in time. Divide dough into portions, wrap tightly, press out the air in a freezer bag and freeze flat at 0°F.
- Thaw in the fridge. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the fridge, not on the counter, then let yeast dough come to room temperature and rise before baking.
- Don't refreeze thawed dough that has been sitting at room temperature, and don't refreeze it after it has risen.
Why You Shouldn't Eat Raw Dough
Even fresh dough is not ready to eat. Flour is a raw agricultural product that has not been treated to kill germs, and it has been linked to outbreaks of E. coli. Raw eggs can carry Salmonella. The FDA and CDC advise against tasting any raw dough or batter, including cookie dough, and keeping raw dough away from children who are playing with it.
Bake dough fully before eating it: bread is done at about 190°F to 210°F in the center, and egg-based dishes should reach 160°F. If you want edible cookie dough, use heat-treated flour (heated to 165°F) and no raw eggs, or pasteurized eggs. Read more in can you eat raw dough.
Common Mistakes
- Leaving enriched dough out overnight to rise. Dough with eggs or milk should rise in the fridge instead.
- Storing dough in a container that is too small. Yeast dough keeps rising in the fridge and can pop the lid, drying out and picking up fridge smells.
- Scraping off mold and using the rest. Mold can spread through soft dough, so throw it all out.
- Thawing frozen dough on the counter for many hours, which lets the outside warm up while the center is still frozen.
- Tasting raw dough to check the seasoning. Bake a small piece instead.
More Dough Guides
Plan ahead with my guides on refrigerating dough, freezing dough and leaving bread dough to rise overnight. Having trouble with a batch? See why dough isn't rising and how to fix sticky cookie dough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can dough go bad in the fridge?
Yes. Bread and pizza dough keep 2 to 3 days in the fridge at 40°F or colder, and cookie or pie dough about 3 days. After that, yeast dough over-ferments and loses its rise, and any dough can grow mold or bacteria. Freeze dough you won't use in time.
Can you get sick from eating old dough?
Yes. Spoiled dough can carry mold and bacteria, and even fresh raw dough can carry E. coli from raw flour and Salmonella from raw eggs. Don't taste raw dough, discard dough with signs of spoilage, and bake it fully before eating.
Is gray dough safe to use?
A slight gray tint on the surface of refrigerated dough is usually oxidation and is common in pizza and bread dough after a day or two. If the dough also smells rotten, feels slimy or shows any fuzzy spots, throw it out. If you aren't sure, discard it.
Can you leave dough out overnight?
Not dough with eggs, milk or butter, which should not sit out more than 2 hours. Lean bread dough left out overnight usually over-proofs and tastes sour and boozy. For an overnight rise, put the covered dough in the fridge instead.
Does flour expire?
Yes. All-purpose white flour keeps about 6 to 8 months in a cool pantry and up to a year in the fridge or freezer. Whole wheat flour turns rancid faster: about 3 months in the pantry, longer cold. Toss flour that smells sour, musty or bitter, or has bugs.
