ShelfLife
How long does refrigerated dough last?
Refrigerated dough in tubes, ready-to-bake pie crusts and cookie dough keep until the use-by date on the package. Pie crust and cookie dough freeze for about 2 months, puff pastry for 12 months. The USDA doesn't recommend freezing dough in tubes.
| Food | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Dough in tubes (biscuits, rolls, pizza) | Until the use-by date | Not recommended |
| Ready-to-bake pie crust | Until the use-by date | 2 monthsfrom purchase |
| Refrigerated cookie dough | Until the use-by date | 2 monthsfrom purchase |
| Puff pastry | — | 12 months |
Fridge at 4 °C (40 °F) or colder, freezer at −18 °C (0 °F). Freezer times are for best quality: food kept frozen stays safe, but slowly loses taste and texture. These times are USDA guidance, not a guarantee. When in doubt, throw it out.
How to tell if dough has gone bad
- A sour, yeasty or alcoholic smell beyond the normal doughy smell.
- Gray or dark patches, mold, or a slimy surface.
- A tube that has burst open or swelled well before baking. Graying from oxidation on cookie dough is usually just surface discoloration, but mold or a sour smell means it should go.
How to store refrigerated dough
- Keep dough in the coldest part of the fridge until you use it, and follow the use-by date.
- Once opened, bake tube dough straight away: it can't be resealed.
- Wrap leftover pie crust or puff pastry tightly and use it within a day or two, or freeze it.
Can you freeze refrigerated dough?
Pie crust and cookie dough freeze for about 2 months, and puff pastry for about 12 months: wrap them tightly. Thaw pastry in the fridge before rolling it out; cookie dough can be baked from frozen. Dough in pressurized tubes doesn't freeze well.
Questions
Can you eat raw cookie dough?
Only if the package says it's safe to eat raw. Otherwise raw dough contains uncooked flour and often raw eggs, which can carry bacteria.
Can you use dough after the use-by date?
It's better not to: refrigerated dough is perishable, and tubes can lose their rise. If the date is close, freeze pie crust or cookie dough instead.
Why did my dough tube pop open in the fridge?
Yeast or leavening produced gas, often because the dough got warm or is near its date. If it smells sour, throw it out.
Add dough to ShelfLife with its use-by date, and bake or freeze it in time.
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Storage times: USDA FoodKeeper (Food Safety and Inspection Service), public domain. Text by ShelfLife.