Refrigerating Yeast Bread, Bagels and Pizza Dough
- All dough made with either Basic Bread Dough can be refrigerated for no longer than 3 days.
- All pizza dough made with InJoy recipes can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- All bagel dough made with the Basic Bagel Dough recipe can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- To refrigerate dough, after mixing, remove dough and place into bowl. Keep cloth damp during the storage time. When ready to bake, shape the dough, let it rise until double (approximately 1½ hours). Bake as recipe indicates.
Freezing Bread, Bagels and Yeast Bread Dough
- Bread, bagels and pizza dough can be frozen prior to baking, either before or after it has been shaped.
- Freezing does not kill the yeast, but it does slow down its action.
Baking with Yeast Dough
- Bake all breads in a preheated oven.
- Use darkened metal or glass loaf pans for well-browned crusts. Dark pans absorb more heat than shiny pans. Check pan manufacturer instructions on baking and greasing. If using glass pan, reduce oven temperature by 25°F.
- Stagger loaf pans on lower oven shelf so they do not touch the sides of the oven or each other.
- Top of each pan should be level with or slightly above the middle of the oven.
- Always check for doneness at the minimum suggested baking time. To check for doneness, tap loaf and listen for hollow sound. If crust is too dark and the bread does not sound hollow when tapped, cover the bread with aluminum foil.
- Remove loaves from pans immediately so the sides of the bread remain crusty. Place on wire racks away from drafts to cool.
Crusts: Use the following chart to create the crust of your choice
| Crisp | Brush loaf gently with cold water before baking |
| Shiny Bronze | Brush loaf gently with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water before baking |
| Golden | Brush loaf gently with egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons of water before baking |
| Soft, Tender, Bronzed | Brush loaf gently with milk before or after baking |
| Slashed Top | Just before baking, slash an oval loaf diagonally three or four times ¼” deep with serrated knife. Slash a round loaf twice one way and twice again at right angles across the first cuts |
| Sprinkles | Brush loaf gently loaf gently with 1 egg white beaten with 2 teaspoons of water before baking. Sprinkle on your favorite topping, such as, sea salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, minced garlic or onion, grated cheese or chopped nuts |
Storing, Refrigerating and Freezing Breads (Quick and Yeast), Muffins and Bagels
- Bread and rolls should be stored in airtight containers in a cool, dry place for no longer than 5 days.
- Refrigerate breads only when the bread will be exposed to hot humid conditions.
- If freezing bread, make sure bread is completely cooled. Tightly wrap in freezer wrap. Place in plastic freezer bag removing excess air before sealing. When freezing muffins and bagels, individually wrap before putting plastic freezer bag. This makes it easy to thaw individual baked goods. Pre-slicing breads and bagels works well.
- To thaw: unwrap frozen baked good and let sit at room temperature until thawed. Loaves of bread can take 2-3 hours to thaw.
- Frozen baked goods can be stored for 2-3 months.
Freezing Waffles and Pancakes
- Make sure waffles or pancakes are completely cooled. Wrap individually or separate with wax paper.
- Place in plastic freezer bag and remove excess air before placing in freezer.
Baking Pizzas
- Pierce pizza dough with fork before baking.
- To avoid soggy pizza lightly brush dough with oil before putting on sauce; make sure oven is hot enough before placing pizza in oven; avoid putting too much sauce on pizza; avoid putting too many vegetables as toppings. The vegetables are full of moisture so too many can cause the crust to get soggy.
- For crispy Crusts, roll dough thin. Pre-baking crusts in 450° oven for 8 minutes before adding sauce and toppings also helps produce a crispy crust.
- For thick and chewy crusts, roll dough thick.
Ingredient Freshness Tests
- To test freshness of yeast, fill a cup with warm water. Stir in 2 teaspoons of sugar. Sprinkle with a few teaspoons of yeast on top of water. After 15 minutes, if the yeast is fresh, it should foam and have a distinct odor.
- To test for freshness of baking powder, stir in 1 teaspoon of baking powder in ½ cup hot water. If it bubbles, it is fine for baking.
- To test freshness of baking soda, mix ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar with baking soda. If the mixture actively bubbles, it is good for baking.
Test To Determine if Dough has Risen Enough
- Dough appears to have doubled in size.
- Press two fingers in dough and if imprint remains, it has risen enough.
Honey Hints
- Honey is naturally acidic so the addition of baking soda tempers the acid.
- If substituting honey for sugar, lower temperature by 25° for baking cakes and other baked goods.
- Honey will soften cookie batters. If you prefer crispier cookies, refer to sweetener conversion chart for ingredient additions when using honey.
Suggestions for Places to Let Dough Rise
Use a warm (between 75-85°F), draft free rising place
- On lower shelf of oven, place a large shallow pan. Pour in boiling water. On shelf right above, place the covered dough centered over the filled pan and close the oven door. Do not turn on oven until rising dough has been taken out.
- Place the covered dough in the laundry room while doing the laundry
- Heat towel in the dryer so it gets very warm. Then wrap the hot towel around the pans base.
- If it is a sunny day in the winter, place in sunlight. If it is a sunny day in the summer, it will be too hot.
- If using a gas oven, set the temperature to 200° and wait until you hear the burner come on. Then close the door for 1 minute. Turn off the oven and put the covered dough inside. Remove the dough before preheating oven.
If using an electric oven, heat the oven to 200° for about 1 minute 15 seconds. Place covered dough inside to rise. Remove dough before preheating oven.
