Does Pillsbury Dough Expire Or Go Bad?
Modern food manufacturing techniques, such as using preservatives to extend the life of food products, can cause some confusion among consumers.
Best before dates are also confusing. Is it a use-by date where after the date the product is spoiled or is it a date that covers the manufacturer from liability if customers use the product past this date?
Expiry dates on food are a serious subject and one that should be understood to avoid disappointment and potentially becoming ill from eating spoiled food products.
In this article, we will find out if the Pillsbury dough boy has much to smile about.
Let’s get into it.
How long is Pillsbury dough good for after the expiration date?
It suggested the Pillsbury dough is good to use and consumed two weeks after the expiry date, which seems a little misleading. If you prepare your Pillsbury dough and something doesn’t seem quite right, like there is an off smell or a rancid taste to the product, it shouldn’t be eaten.
However, two weeks is a good starting point for you to assume the product is ok to consume.
The truth is all bakery-type products have a relatively short life span unless frozen, and storage is key to maximizing the product’s life.
Before you get to a bad Pillsbury dough product, you will notice the product has changed slightly before it is deemed unfit to eat, the product’s color might change, and the taste is not as yummy as you have experienced before.
Can you use expired canned dough like Pillsbury canned biscuits?
As a rule of thumb, Pillsbury biscuits are safe to eat a couple of months after the expiry date has passed. Of course, that is assuming they have been stored correctly in a fridge and the packaging is not damaged in any way or showing signs of swelling.
Under normal circumstances, biscuit dough has a small amount of yeast to provide bulk to the biscuits and ensure they are not flat after cooking.
However, placing yeast in a can could be the Pillsbury recipe for disaster, yeast grows uncontrollably in warm conditions that could see the can swell to exploding point, and it would surely be some dough-filled explosion.
The excellent news is Pillsbury canned biscuits use the leavened dough. The leavened dough uses baking powder rather than its explosive counterpart.
If your Pillsbury canned biscuits are open and you want to store the unused biscuits, store them in the refrigerator. They should be ok for a few days.
Can you use Pillsbury pie crust after the expiration date?
It’s all about the packaging and storage. If you have Pillsbury pie crust in unopened packaging, then it should be good for up to 18 months after the sell-by date and stored correctly in the refrigerator.
If the packaging is opened, it’s typically good for a couple of months and stored in the refrigerator. You can extend the life of the opened products slightly by placing the contents into an airtight container.
If you have had a pie crust for 18 months, you are not baking enough! But the pie crust may still be okay. These products degrade slightly before not being consumable or are termed as gone bad.
Does crescent roll dough go bad?
All dough products will go bad over time, even the products that are stored in a freezer.
An unopened package of Pillsbury crescent dough is typically good for five months after expiration. However, you will need to use caution when using an expired package of dough, and to be honest, if you are relying on the quality of the contents after such a long time, you could be disappointed with the result.
If you examine the packaging, you will notice the best before date is typically after three months of the product being made and shipped to the retailer.
If you haven’t opened the package by the expiry date, you will have a further two months making the actual shelf life of the product five months.
If you really want to push the limits of shelf life, freeze your crescent dough rolls! It’s perfectly safe, and the product will have a life of approximately twelve months in the freezer from the new.
You can even freeze cooked crescent cookies that are placed in an airtight container for two weeks without any loss of taste and texture.
Yes. Place the cookie dough in an airtight container for the best results, cookie dough exposed to the frost in a freezer may get frosty burn rendering the dough useless.
And if you want to freeze cookie dough for later, cookie dough rolls and Pillsbury™ Ready to Bake! ™ cookie dough can be frozen up to 2 months in advance.
Before slicing and cooking, you must plan your cooking schedule and defrost the cookie rolls. If you have cookies already sliced but still frozen, you are in luck. Cookies can go straight from the freezer to the oven creating the perfect cookie.
Yes, In the unlikely event you have cookie dough left over, it’s acceptable to refreeze the cookie dough again.
Unlike many other products, refreezing is a big no, but ice crystals do not penetrate the dough changing its consistency with dough.
When refreezing, you should use an airtight container to prevent freezer burn, which will destroy the texture of the cookies. And also, tightly wrap the cooking dough to keep its shape.
Can you freeze all Pillsbury dough products?
Even if it’s not recommended, it is generally safe to freeze bakery products. The contents are just flour, water, oil, and baking powder, so there is nothing that can actually spoil in the freezer.
Obviously, storing your Pillsbury dough products in the freezer is going to extend the life of the product dramatically. They should last for 12 months if stored in unopened packaging or if opened in an airtight container.
How can you tell if the dough has gone bad?
There are the usual human sensory indicators such as:
- Smell. If the product smells sour, then it has expired, and it should be discarded immediately.
- Texture. The dough should feel soft and almost like human skin. If the texture is clearly off, throw the product away.
- Dru. If the dough is dry and hard, then it’s dehydrated and should be thrown away.
- Color. You all know the color of the dough. If your dough looks gray, then it’s not fit for consumption.
Typically before dough reaches those stages, you will notice that dough does not perform as expected. This is due to the age of the product and the loss of properties in the ingredients that make Pillsbury dough so great.
How long does it take for Pillsbury pizza and apple pie to go bad?
If you buy the Pillsbury pizza dough and add your own topping, the dough can be stored as any other dough that has been discussed in this article. However, If the pizza has toppings, you can expect the toppings to go bad long before the dough base.
Typically a cooked pizza will need to be consumed in its entirety the same day as cooking. Leave it in the fridge overnight; the pizza base will be hard and possibly inedible.
The apple pie has a slightly longer life after being cooked for around four days if kept refrigerated.
Does dough mold?
Yes, but it may present itself differently from how you would generally view mold on bad food products.
If you open your dough and notice dark specs in the dough, this could be mold. The dough should be the same color and texture all the way through.
If you do see your dough with dark specs, you should discard it immediately.
Can you eat Pillsbury dough raw?
Back in 2020, Pillsbury doughboys made some necessary tweaks to the products, such as using heat-treated flour to kill off all the bacteria. With some other subtle alterations to the Pillsbury lineup, the dough is now safe to eat raw.
All of Pillsbury’s dough refrigerated range, including the brownie cookies, can be eaten raw also.
How can I extend the life of Pillsbury dough?
The two best techniques to get the most life from your Pillsbury dough products are easy, check that the packaging is intact when you buy the product. If the packaging is damaged, leave it on the shelf.
Check the best before date, and buy fresh products from the production line that have just been delivered to the retailer. This will maximize the storage life of the product.
Use your freezer. If you want to plan your menu, you can know when you will be baking, take the dough from the freezer, and then refreeze if necessary.
Remember to use an airtight container to avoid freezer burn. Freezing will give you at least twelve months of life for your Pillsbury dough products.
