Biscuits are a staple for many households, and why wouldn’t they be? They’re tasty, inexpensive, and so simple to make. But, ever since you started getting busier, making biscuit dough from scratch every time seems more daunting. Can you refrigerate biscuit dough overnight and bake it whenever you’re ready?
Yes, you can refrigerate biscuit dough overnight for a convenient make-ahead breakfast or brunch. It enhances flavor and simplifies morning prep! Here’s why.
Can You Refrigerate Biscuit Dough Overnight | Let’s Find Out
First, you’ll want to use a recipe designed to be refrigerated. These recipes usually include baking powder and baking soda, meaning the dough will rise slowly. This makes it possible to prepare the dough the night before and bake it when needed.
Secondly, refrigerating biscuit dough has a lot of benefits. It gives the dough time to chill and helps to develop flavor. When the dough is cold, the butter will solidify and be easier to handle. This results in flakier, tender biscuits.
Now, if you want to refrigerate your biscuit dough overnight, it’s essential to handle it correctly. First, make sure that you wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap to avoid it drying out in the fridge.
You can also shape the dough into individual biscuits and lay them apart on a sheet tray before wrapping it up. This makes it even easier when you’re ready to bake the biscuits!
Thirdly, consider the type of flour you’re using. If you’re using all-purpose flour, this process is foolproof. However, if you’re using self-rising flour containing baking powder, don’t add baking soda or powder. This will ensure that the dough stays the same.
Finally, remember that the longer you keep the dough in the fridge, the less the biscuits will rise. So, if you’re looking for tall, fluffy biscuits, it’s best to bake them the night after you make the dough. Anything past that, and the dough will still be good, but the biscuits will rise less.
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How Long Should Biscuit Dough Rest In Fridge?
Firstly, the resting time of biscuit dough in the fridge depends on your recipe. Some recipes recommend letting the dough rest for 15-20 minutes, while others suggest rest in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Generally, it’s best to allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. It allows the fat to solidify, which makes it easier to handle, and the gluten strands relax, enabling the dough to rise and become tender.
Secondly, the resting time of the dough depends on the fat content used. If your recipe uses butter or shortening, which is high in fat content, then it’s recommended to let the dough rest for at least an hour.
It’s because fatty dough takes longer to chill in the fridge than lean dough. On the other hand, if you are using oil or a lower-fat content ingredient, you can reduce the resting time.
Thirdly, it depends on how long the dough has already been out of the fridge. If you have already left the dough at room temperature for more than 30 minutes before refrigerating it, you can reduce the resting time in the refrigerator. However, if the dough has been out for a while, it’s recommended to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Fourthly, if you plan to make biscuits for breakfast, you can make the dough the night before and let it rest overnight. It’s because a long resting time in the fridge allows the dough to develop better flavour and texture. In the morning, you can quickly take the dough from the fridge, cut it into rounds, and bake fresh, hot biscuits.
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Why Put Biscuit Dough In Fridge?
The primary reason for putting biscuit dough in the fridge before baking is to help the biscuits rise better. When the dough is chilled, the fat in the dough hardens, which helps create flakier biscuits.
The butter or shortening in the dough needs to be cold to create little pockets of steam as it bakes, and these pockets contribute to a better rise in the biscuits.
Another reason to put biscuit dough in the fridge before baking is to reduce the spread of the dough. When biscuit dough spreads out too much during baking, it can end up flat and tough. Chilling the dough before baking helps it hold its shape, resulting in taller, more tender biscuits with a nice fluffy texture.
It is also important to note that chilling biscuit dough before baking can be especially helpful if the kitchen or room is warm. The warm dough can cause the fat to melt too quickly, leading to a greasy, heavy biscuit. Chilling the dough can help prevent this, resulting in biscuits with a better texture and consistency.
While it is true that you can make biscuits without chilling the dough first, the difference in texture and rise can be significant. For the best possible results, it is recommended to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Alternatively, you can make the dough in advance and chill it overnight, allowing the flavors to meld together for an even tastier biscuit.
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Bottom Line:
So, Can You Refrigerate Biscuit Dough Overnight? In conclusion, you can refrigerate biscuit dough overnight, which will be fabulous! It’s an excellent time-saver and makes baking biscuits easy and stress-free.
Remember to wrap the dough tightly, use the right amounts of baking soda and powder, and bake them soon after refrigeration for the best results. Now that you know the secret, go ahead and get baking!