How many pizzas does it take to...

[DBinnema]

I am having a party on the 29th - something like 100 people will come in an open-house style party with a friend spinning vinyl while I?m spinning pizza.
The Plan is to make three or four batches of dough - each one big enough to make 20 pizzas, and stagger the starting / proofing times by 1.5 hrs. I just got a couple low pastic bins to store and stack the proofing dough balls, and added a shelf behind the counter to help give me the room I'll need.
I've made 20 pizzas in an evening a few times before; on my own it almost takes two hours, and poops me right out. But with a couple helpers I?m hoping to be able to do 20 pizzas in an hour, and then take a break to reheat the oven for half an hour. Then another 20, another break, another 20?. I think 60 pizza might be as much as I can take but, could I do 80??!!
For a dinner I find I almost need one pizza per person - a little less - but for a party I'd guess I'll need even less pizza per person, so 60 pizza for up to 100 people (probably more like 80 people) should do just fine.
I think I just want to try 80 because I'm crazy. What?s the most pizza?s you?ve made in an evening?

[scott123]

Are you cold fermenting? If so, I wouldn't stagger the starting times, but, rather, stagger the time you take each batch out of the fridge.

Helpers are certainly nice, but if they don't have your stretching skills or your oven tending skills, there may not be a whole lot for them to do.

If the party has an official start time and it's close to a meal time, and 80-100 people show up at the same time, you're going to have a LOT of cranky people on your hands. You can make a few pies in advance, but, too many and the quality will suffer. If you have the labor, you can also cut the pizzas up in smaller pieces and have your helpers walk them around as apps. Even then, though, unless you have a lot experience working at high volume and have some very skilled workers that keep up with your pace, it could be tough.

Are you taking orders? With that many people, it could get a little hairy.

Or if the starting time is relatively open and/or you're not beginning around a traditional meal time, then you should be fine

[david s]

I strongly suggest that you cook the pizzas, cut and plate them as they come out of the oven then hand a plate to a guest and say "have a piece of this and share it around". Doing it this way you make your guests the waiters, feed everyone a piece at a time and you can keep this going for a couple of hours and feed everyone. Don't take orders just provide a variety, those who want something special will tell you. Sharing is the way to go for a big crowd.I've been doing it this way for big crowds for ages now because my mobile oven is small (21"0) and I usually cook one pizza at a time. If individual guests have individual pizzas some people will be waiting ages. I recently hired it out to a local fishing club and they cooked 190 pizzas in one night (2 at a time)

[Peterreinhart]

It's been awhile since I posted here on the Forum but I just finally got my logon issues figured out and want to say thanks to Scott and David for two great suggestions and for your ongoing support. I'll try (but no promises) to touch in more often in the future.

[DBinnema]

It has been a success! Torential rain ended a few hours before start time, and the sun come out. Later the full moon shone into the yard. We made 60 pizzas in three rounds of twenty, with breaks inbetween. At the end of the night there were two pieces of pizza left, and lots of full people. Guests brought salads and desserts. I didn't cold ferment the dough (not enough room in the fridge for that much dough) but the staggered starting times worked well. I had three starters ferment over night and then made three batches of dough over the day. I had to write out a schedule for myself to keep things happening at the right times. We started baking at 4:30PM and finished the last pizza around 10:30PM. Those who thought they came too late were happy there was still hot pizza coming out at 10:00! Toppings included fresh shatakii mushrooms from my yard, chanterelles from the woods, cold smoked salmon from my cold smoker, and nettles I'd gathered and frozen in the spring. I had one person streatching the dough and buildling the pizzas, someone else running the oven, and someone else cutting pizza and passing them around throughout the night (I had a mini pizza party the weekend before to train my helpers). It seemes that people like to be handed random pieces of pizza while they are standing around talking, listening to music and dancing.I kept the oven burning after the pizzas were done so that, as the air cooled off, dancing continued around the oven until 2:00AM. Her name is Hestia after the greek goddess, and a goddess she has become. I do not know how many people I fed - but something close to 100 including the kids. I will post some pictures when I get a chance!

[DBinnema]

It has been a success! Torential rain ended a few hours before start time, and the sun come out. Later the full moon shone into the yard. We made 60 pizzas in three rounds of twenty, with breaks inbetween. At the end of the night there were two pieces of pizza left, and lots of full people. Guests brought salads and desserts. I didn't cold ferment the dough (not enough room in the fridge for that much dough) but the staggered starting times worked well. I had three starters ferment over night and then made three batches of dough over the day. I had to write out a schedule for myself to keep things happening at the right times. We started baking at 4:30PM and finished the last pizza around 10:30PM. Those who thought they came too late were happy there was still hot pizza coming out at 10:00! Toppings included fresh shatakii mushrooms from my yard, chanterelles from the woods, cold smoked salmon from my cold smoker, and nettles I'd gathered and frozen in the spring. I had one person streatching the dough and buildling the pizzas, someone else running the oven, and someone else cutting pizza and passing them around throughout the night (I had a mini pizza party the weekend before to train my helpers). It seemes that people like to be handed random pieces of pizza while they are standing around talking, listening to music and dancing.I kept the oven burning after the pizzas were done so that, as the air cooled off, dancing continued around the oven until 2:00AM. Her name is Hestia after the greek goddess, and a goddess she has become. I do not know how many people I fed - but something close to 100 including the kids. I will post some pictures when I get a chance!