Dough – How to deal with overproofed pizza dough

I'd say your problem is that the yeast has exhausted the food in the dough before you even get the leftover dough in the fridge. When you pull it out the next morning, the yeast does nothing or very little because there are no more sugars left for it to eat. And not only will this prevent rising, it will also limit browning because it's at least partly the sugars that brown in the oven.

You could work some more flour (and water, to maintain hydration) into your dough as yeast food--maybe even a little sugar if you want--and then rise/form/rise and bake. But at that point you're doing what @tmow suggests--just using your pizza dough as a starter for new bread.

Kenji over at Serious Eats gives some of the best "pizza science" lessons on the Internet. Here's a good article on the role of yeast and fermentation in pizza dough: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/09/the-pizza-lab-how-long-should-i-let-my-dough-cold-ferment.html

In short, time and kneading cause proteins in dough to form an elastic network of fibers called gluten. Yeast consumes starch and emits carbon dioxide. Gluten traps the carbon dioxide which causes the dough to expand or "rise".

The amount of yeast and time may vary based on the intent of the cook. More time allows the cook to use less yeast (the yeast organisms will multiply) and allows for a greater development of the proteins in the wheat flour.

A longer, slower rise will allow for the greatest flavor to be developed. In his tests, Kenji found the optimum rise time to be 2-3 days in a refrigerator. However, this must be balanced against the cook's desire for an expedient dinner :-)

In my personal pizza cooking, I usually use 1 packet of yeast (2.25 tsp) for approximately 13 cups of flour. I will typically allow this to rise for around 24 hours on my kitchen counter-top (my house says cold at around 55-60degF). If the dough will not be used right away, I will put it in the fridge but will allow it to warm to room temperature for several hours before cooking it.

Good luck with your pies!