1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Since you are new to it, your pies will (should) be smaller (11-12"). Shoot for a finished doughball in the 250-280 gram range. I normally figure one small pizza per adult, this allows for mistakes and oops.

Using my most basic high temp dough, this works out to about .375 pounds of raw flour per pizza, or 1.5 pounds for my normal (handmixed) batch of 4ea 280 gram balls.

Pizza Anarchy - High Temp Dough

If you have a recipe you are comfortable with, I would suggest using it, and adjust the doughball size in the 250-280 range when you ball them, and make enough for about 12 pizzas.

I wouldn't worry about doing your first bake with friends and family, the worst that can happen is that you are ridiculed for the rest of your life. Just kidding, even a crappy WFO pizza is better than they have probably had from any commercial pizza joint.

Do your prep, burn it long, and take your time.

Thanks for the advice, so if i use that chart i would make 16 pies if i were to multiply that formula X4 right? So ill need about 7 pounds of flour right?

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

V-wiz, I recently had a chance to use a WFO for the first time (follow the link for the whole story). It helped to be able to observe the caterer work the oven the day before. Still, where he and his helper carter for 40+ people without any apparent effort, I can't quite say the same for myself.

1. Firing the oven.
The two times I initially fired the oven I moved the fire to the side a bit too early and the hearth temp was lower then I had planned. Pizzas still came out pretty good, but the next time I get the chance, I will wait longer and more fully saturate the brick.

2. Dough Prep.
I tried a few different dough preparations and they all worked pretty well. I think you might get a bit more help in this area if you let us know your experience level in preparing dough.

3. Assembling the pies.
Again, previous experience helps here. Have your toppings laid out for so once your dough ball is stretched out, it can be ready for the oven as quickly as possible. Be sure the ball is well floured before forming the round. I used the same technique the caterer used. The dough was stretched on a floured plastic prep board and a metal peel slid underneath. This worked fairly well, but I ended up with a few calzones.

4. Placing in the oven.
This turned out much easier then I expected. I simply laid the peel flat on the floor, and pulled back and forth until the front of the pie was on the hearth and the peel could simply be pulled back. I would do one at a time.

5. Finishing the cook.
If you got this far the rest is easy. Let the crust set and then begin rotating the pie so it cooks evenly. Lift the edge and check for the level of char or browning you like. If the bottom cooks quicker then the top, lift the pie on the peel and hold it up near the top of the dome.

For the first pies I would aim for 12" rounds. When I have pizza parties, I generally plan about 1/2 a pie each for my crowd. In general, 1/3 pie each would likely be enough. I would also make a bit thicker crust, about a 300 gram dough weight. It will be more forgiving on the peel and easier to work into a the round. Also, you might want to wait on the 90 sec cook until you have more experience. A little lower temp, say 600 f on the hearth and 700-800 f for the dome leaves you more margin. If you really want to be on the safe side, make a few parbaked shells or have some pizza screens you can use if have too much problem going from peel to oven.

Hope some of this helps. I look forward to seeing what some of the more accomplished pizza makers on this site have to say. Have fun.

Thanks alot for the help. You make a good point about the fire, a smaller fire will give me more flexability and time to experiment. Thanks

[Tscarborough]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Since you are new to it, your pies will (should) be smaller (11-12"). Shoot for a finished doughball in the 250-280 gram range. I normally figure one small pizza per adult, this allows for mistakes and oops.

Using my most basic high temp dough, this works out to about .375 pounds of raw flour per pizza, or 1.5 pounds for my normal (handmixed) batch of 4ea 280 gram balls.

Pizza Anarchy - High Temp Dough

If you have a recipe you are comfortable with, I would suggest using it, and adjust the doughball size in the 250-280 range when you ball them, and make enough for about 12 pizzas.

I wouldn't worry about doing your first bake with friends and family, the worst that can happen is that you are ridiculed for the rest of your life. Just kidding, even a crappy WFO pizza is better than they have probably had from any commercial pizza joint.

Do your prep, burn it long, and take your time.

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

When we hosted smaller gatherings we used about 8-10 lbs of dough. The larger parties we used 15-20+...I don't remember exactly, those nights were a blur. We had so many great bakeries close by us in CT, and getting dough was easy if I didn't have time to make a lot. I use a no-knead recipe that was handed down from my great-grandmother, but it still takes time, so plan ahead if you make your own.You won't be able to do everything yourself...stick to oven management and get people involved in the process of making the pies...they will have fun and takes some of the pressure off.

Don't sweat it..everyone will be oh'ing and ahh'ing the oven, so unless you flop the pie upside down every time you shoot one in, catch one on fire or constantly slide them off the peel onto the ground, you will do just fine.

Thanks man, so how many pounds of flour will i need? or bags of King Arthur. I really want to make my own dough. I do plan on allowing others make the pies, i will just man handle the fire.

[Bec1208]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

V-wiz, I recently had a chance to use a WFO for the first time (follow the link for the whole story). It helped to be able to observe the caterer work the oven the day before. Still, where he and his helper carter for 40+ people without any apparent effort, I can't quite say the same for myself.

1. Firing the oven.
The two times I initially fired the oven I moved the fire to the side a bit too early and the hearth temp was lower then I had planned. Pizzas still came out pretty good, but the next time I get the chance, I will wait longer and more fully saturate the brick.

2. Dough Prep.
I tried a few different dough preparations and they all worked pretty well. I think you might get a bit more help in this area if you let us know your experience level in preparing dough.

3. Assembling the pies.
Again, previous experience helps here. Have your toppings laid out for so once your dough ball is stretched out, it can be ready for the oven as quickly as possible. Be sure the ball is well floured before forming the round. I used the same technique the caterer used. The dough was stretched on a floured plastic prep board and a metal peel slid underneath. This worked fairly well, but I ended up with a few calzones.

4. Placing in the oven.
This turned out much easier then I expected. I simply laid the peel flat on the floor, and pulled back and forth until the front of the pie was on the hearth and the peel could simply be pulled back. I would do one at a time.

5. Finishing the cook.
If you got this far the rest is easy. Let the crust set and then begin rotating the pie so it cooks evenly. Lift the edge and check for the level of char or browning you like. If the bottom cooks quicker then the top, lift the pie on the peel and hold it up near the top of the dome.

For the first pies I would aim for 12" rounds. When I have pizza parties, I generally plan about 1/2 a pie each for my crowd. In general, 1/3 pie each would likely be enough. I would also make a bit thicker crust, about a 300 gram dough weight. It will be more forgiving on the peel and easier to work into a the round. Also, you might want to wait on the 90 sec cook until you have more experience. A little lower temp, say 600 f on the hearth and 700-800 f for the dome leaves you more margin. If you really want to be on the safe side, make a few parbaked shells or have some pizza screens you can use if have too much problem going from peel to oven.

Hope some of this helps. I look forward to seeing what some of the more accomplished pizza makers on this site have to say. Have fun.

[stonecutter]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Yes i know most of you will try to talk me out of serving pizza to guests when its my first time (and i agree), but what can i do, my parents, in-laws, siblings and friends know that im going to fire up the oven, and there is no way they wont come over....


So im estimating around 12-16 people. Im kinda nervous, mostly to get the dough right and put out some tasty pie's. I would really appreciate any advice you guys can give me. Mostly how much dough? flour, indigence etc.

Thanks for all the help.

When we hosted smaller gatherings we used about 8-10 lbs of dough. The larger parties we used 15-20+...I don't remember exactly, those nights were a blur. We had so many great bakeries close by us in CT, and getting dough was easy if I didn't have time to make a lot. I use a no-knead recipe that was handed down from my great-grandmother, but it still takes time, so plan ahead if you make your own.You won't be able to do everything yourself...stick to oven management and get people involved in the process of making the pies...they will have fun and takes some of the pressure off.

Don't sweat it..everyone will be oh'ing and ahh'ing the oven, so unless you flop the pie upside down every time you shoot one in, catch one on fire or constantly slide them off the peel onto the ground, you will do just fine.

[V-wiz]

Yes i know most of you will try to talk me out of serving pizza to guests when its my first time (and i agree), but what can i do, my parents, in-laws, siblings and friends know that im going to fire up the oven, and there is no way they wont come over....


So im estimating around 12-16 people. Im kinda nervous, mostly to get the dough right and put out some tasty pie's. I would really appreciate any advice you guys can give me. Mostly how much dough? flour, indigence etc.

Thanks for all the help.