Easy Refrigerator Dough

The timeline for this bread from mixing to cooling rack can be as little as 3 hours or as long as a week.

Mixing Stir the instant or active yeast into the 1/4 cup lukewarm water and let it dissolve. There's no need for the typical "pinch of sugar" but feel free to add it if you want.

Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the yeast-water mixture and the water, beginning with the lower end of the range, 1 1/4 cup.

Mix everything with a spatula and then switch to using your hand, kneading in the bowl or on a clean work surface. Different brands of flour have different "thirst," so add a little more flour if the dough is sticking to your hands, or a little more water if the dough is cracking as you knead it. Aim for a smooth, pliable texture like in the video above (but note that the dough will "smooth out" as you knead it and won't immediately look like the video dough).

First Rise Let the dough rise until it is roughly double in size. See the photos in the gallery below for what this expansion looks like in a bowl. This may take 1 1/2 - 3 hours depending on your dough and ambient temperature.

Refrigeration Here are a few of the options for next steps. Note that on day 2 of the dough in the refrigerator, even if you're not going to use the dough, you may need to compress the dough -- shape it into a small ball again -- so it doesn't overflow your bowl. This is also good for strengthening the dough and re-distrubuting the "food."

Delay Decisions and Baking: Knead the dough back into a ball, cover and refrigerate it to use another day.

Bake A Little Bread Immediately: Cut off a piece or more of dough for immediate shaping, proofing, and baking. Ball up the rest of the dough, cover and refrigerate to use another day.

Bake the Entire Dough Tomorrow: Shape the entire dough, cover and refrigerate it, and bake the next day.

Bake the Entire Dough Now: Skip refrigeration. Shape the entire dough, let it rise a second time (final proof), and bake it.

Shape(s)

ROLLS or dough balls are the easiest shape to make. I made 1-2 rolls most days, but you can also divide all of the dough into 8-10 small rolls to bake in a 9x13 inch pan.

PITAS or flatbreads are also easy. Form a small piece of the dough into a ball, about plum size. After the dough rises again, you'll use a rolling pin to flatten it into a circle that is 1/4 inch thick. This final shaping happens when your pan is already pre-heated. (More on that below.)

SANDWICH LOAVES are shaped by flattening the dough into an oval that is a little shorter than your loaf pan and rolling up the dough on that shorter edge so it fits in the pan, seam side down. Grease your pan or line it with parchment paper.

Second Rise

After you shape your dough (pre-shape in the case of pitas), let it rise again to almost double in size. With dough that is cool from the refrigerator, this may take 1-2 hours, whereas with room temperature dough, this will likely be less 30-60 minutes.

Score and/or brush with liquid

For rolls or sandwich loaves, you will score or slash the top of the the dough to direct the oven spring (extra rising that happens during baking), and brush the crust with water or milk to create steam that keeps the crust from setting too early in the bake. These actions aren't needed for pitas.

Bake

Bake time varies depending on the size and shape of the dough. If you have a probe thermometer, target an internal temperature of >190°F.

Individual small ROLLS (1/8 of the dough, plum size) bake at 400°F for about 15 minutes. If many are crowded in a pan, the bake time may be longer.

PITAS can be fried in a dry cast iron pan on medium heat for a couple of minutes each side, until there are golden brown spots on each side and it balloons up.

If you use the entire dough for a SANDWICH LOAF, you can bake it at 400°F for about 40 minutes. If you make a smaller loaf, reduce the bake time. Cover with aluminum foil early on if the crust is getting dark.