My Mia is turning 11 and I am planning on throwing a pizza party for her this Saturday, but I am going to make the pizzas. I can use the home oven, and I have an Ooni Karu 16 that I can use to make 2 pizza's at a time. I'm going to go with NY Style pizza, and I anticipate 35 people. Just typing that out makes me feel like I've lost my mind. I need to determine how much pizza dough to make. I also need to figure out the logistics of all this. Should I cook them ahead, or cook a few of them ahead and just keep them coming during the party? Should I put them in cardboard pizza boxes to keep them warm? I would so love to hear what you guys have to say about this.
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We had 9 people here on Friday, all adults,I planned out 5 pizzas, 1 pizza was not touched, but cut and took home by everyone. Most of mine where cut in squares, so slice wise, I would count on 2 slices per person, if you can cut in 8 slices, and maybe count in 3 slices per with smaller slices?
For me, it was all about mise en place, everything had been chopped, grated, sausage had been pre cooked, etc… dough was ready and pre shaped..
personally I liked making them fresh, even if it means I spent some time in the kitchen (10 minutes per pie with final shape - to cut an on a board), had I had more repetitions on an outdoor pizza oven, I would do it that way, you just need to consider ices baths for toppings to be kept proper temps.
if I’m right, you can move a pizza in your ooni in about 3 minutes, Right?
So, 10 -12 pizzas in less than an hour, including shaping, I recommend a good pre shape, and make sure your dough is ready to go, prior to final shape. Lot’s and lot’s of semolina flour. Plus, it will be fun for the guests to see, as long as you are confident in your peel game.
Of course you could always par bake them a bit and find a way to keep the covered & refrigerated, but, I have no experience with that.
Sounds like a ton of fun though!Last edited by Richard Chrz; June 4, 2024, 03:34 PM. -
I just priced out pizzas on Dominoes. It's pretty darned tempting.Comment
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Yep.
And they will deliver.
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Man how cool is that gonna be! Tossin’ pizza dough up in the air for shape….doing a few spins and catching the dough, throwing it in the oven and bam!!!! Dave is the pizza king in Florida!!!!!
hope you have some fun with it as well! And Happy Birthday to Mia!!!!Comment
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I have thought about this before as I have an Ooni Koda (12) and was planning on having a few people over for pizza - way less than 35 but more than I could comfortably churn out in real time.
Never wound up doing this party but my thought process at the time focused on doing a par-bake on the pizza skins, no toppings, before everyone got there and then let cool/set aside to top and reheat when ready to eat.
Logistically and practically it made the most sense in my head for neapolitan style pizza and also allowed some of my friends to "get in on the action" by helping with the final toppings/baking that is more difficult when you have to deal with stretching and launching a raw dough and a bunch of friends that never made pizza. I figured the reheat would take about a min and would be easy to churn them out in a row and not have to worry too much about the temp of the stone needing to rebound.
If you are using parchment, you don't have to worry as much with the timing of the topping/launching but 35 people is a lot to get done. I guess for a NY style, you can follow some of the pizzerias in NY and pre-bake a bunch just a shade short of done and then give a quick reheat in either the Ooni or the oven on a stone for a min or two to warm it up.
Another option would be a variety of styles, like some Detroit, Sicilian, etc and then the total quantity for the Ooni is greatly reduced. Those styles are easier to make, feed more people per pie and reheat exceptionally well (if not sometimes taste better on the reheat).
Good luck either way (and friends don't let friends order Dominoes!)
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I’ve never done a homemade pizza in my life. The closest I’ve come is taking a frozen pizza and doctored it up with a few extra ingredients . But man, 35 people!? That’s a lot of work! I’d do Dominos myself. Tell Mia you’ll make her favorite pizza for her next week.Comment
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Happy birthday Mia! I wouldn’t do this. 35 people at avg 2.5 slices per of a large size pie, is 11 pies. You’re not going to have any fun. I’d order out or make something else.Comment
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+1 with Dominos. Those kids will be happy with cheese or pepperoni pizzas and birthday cake. They don't care that you made the pizzas. If any adults are hanging out, then sure make some for them and enjoy several cold beverages as you deal with the noise and chaos of 11 year olds at a birthday party. That's what I do at my granddaughters' birthday parties.Last edited by Purc; June 4, 2024, 04:16 PM.Comment
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This is what I was thinking. Buy Dominos for the kids and let them get started eating. After they have started chowing down, you can make pies for the adults. Or just buy enough pies for everyone. I wouldn't try making pies for 35. That will run you ragged and you won't have time to enjoy your daughter's party.
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I use this recipe all the time for pizza parties. The dough is easy to work with and is delicious.
I have several Cambro's to cold ferment the dough.
I would suggest quadrupling this recipe so you don't run out of pies.
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I love using my pizza oven for large groups. As long as people are eating you can just keep cranking out pizzas. Not everyone needs to eat all at once and as a pizza comes out of the oven get another one started. The girls can eat while they are watching a movie or playing a game or whatever else is planned.
I shoot for around 300g of dough per pizza for my 16" pizza oven. 250g if I am using one of the 12" ovens. For 35 people I would shoot for maybe 20 pizzas? My son is 12 and can easily finish off half a pizza himself so having 20 pizzas for 35 people would probably be plenty, including the couple of pizzas that will invariable not launch properly. Would guess you are looking at 60-90 minutes of cooking time depending on how quickly the girls eat. And the girls would probably love making some of their own pizzas so you can get them in on the action as well.
And if you are planning on that many pizzas I would just go with pre-shredded cheese and pre-sliced pepperoni. Grating it yourself from a block is usually preferred but that would be a LOT of grating.Comment
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This!
Sorry but, anyone can order a pizza.
I used to pick up a half dozen pizzas all the time when my boys had friends over playing video games for marathon sessions.
But for a party? Nah. Now I’m going to show off my skillz and show the other parents why their kids think I’m the cool dad. LOL
And definitely let them “make their own.” Supervised of course, so they don’t put 4 lbs of cheese on a 12” pizza. Even if it takes a little longer, their “own creation” will be worth the wait.
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