Whether a pizza operation is a restaurant, c-store, or entertainment venue, the goal is to provide delicious pizza down to that last bite of chewy crust. Alive & Kickin’ has been helping pizza makers serve pizzas that are tasty through and through since 1989, including our recent advice on the top three traits for pizza dough suppliers.
Making the move to purchase pizza dough rather than make it in-house is completely reasonable, whether in terms of saving space and time, achieving consistently great crust, or lessening reliance on equipment and training. Working with an established pizza dough supplier can also open possibilities for developing a new, signature pizza crust for your company that will satisfy customers and create loyalty.
The case is strong to transition your operation to wholesale pizza dough, but how would you go about buying it? And, once you’ve bought it, have you considered the storage? Demystifying these processes is the next step in our ongoing quest to improve crusts—and pizza makers’ bottom lines.
Buying the Right Wholesale Pizza Dough
When a kitchen makes its own pizza dough, making just the right amount of dough is perhaps the toughest balance to strike. Make too little dough and you’ll run out of pizzas, losing out not only on immediate profits, but also risking the longer-term damage of appearing unreliable and diminishing customer loyalty. Make too much dough, though, and you’ll be burning through supplies and employee labor with no profits in return.
Determining How Much Wholesale Pizza Dough to Purchase
The right wholesale pizza dough supplier will work with you to help determine the most cost-efficient amount of dough to have on hand. Inventory considerations include:
- How many pizzas do you serve on average per day/week/month?
- Which types of pizza crusts do you need based on these sales?
- Will you be running any specials in the coming weeks/months?
- Which pizza doughs work best for your oven(s)?
- Could any additional products further utilize the doughs used for your current menu?
Maximizing Your Budget for Wholesale Pizza Dough
Working on your budget is paramount to ordering wholesale pizza dough properly. Taking the above questions into consideration, develop your budget as part of calculating pizza dough costs. With any wholesale purchases, greater order quantities will lower the price-per-unit, and pizza dough is no different.
Beyond pricing, erring on the side of purchasing higher quantities of wholesale dough is advisable for several reasons:
- With ongoing supply chain issues, having your pizza dough inventory secure is one less factor to concern you.
- Mitigating supply chain disruptions can also help you reduce waste.
- Having a secure pizza dough inventory means consistent crust quality—a significant factor in customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Of course, stocking your inventory with wholesale pizza dough requires storage capabilities.
Storing Wholesale Pizza Dough
Your pizza operation may be large or small, but whatever its size, you’re tasked with making the most of your finite space. Your capability to store and prepare wholesale pizza dough is significant, as space can single-handedly determine which type of wholesale pizza dough you buy.
Storing Frozen Dough Balls
The key to adequate storage for frozen dough balls is right in the name: you’ll need freezer space to accommodate them. When your facility is able to store frozen dough balls, one of the greatest benefits is just how long your pizza dough lasts, with frozen dough balls proofing and baking best within 90 days, and continuing to perform up to 180 days from the date of manufacture.
Even with adequate storage space, the topic of transitioning to frozen dough balls raises a host of other considerations. Read our three-step tip sheet for more information: How to Get Started with Pre-Made Frozen Dough Balls.
Storing Par-Baked Pizza Crusts
When you’ve got significantly more space for room-temperature shelving than freezer capability, opting for par-baked pizza crusts may be the better option. Par-baked pizza crusts have an extra-long shelf life, and are especially ideal for operations such as entertainment venues or other businesses where customer surges aren’t quite as predictable.
Storing Both Frozen Dough Balls and Par-Baked Pizza Crusts
In some cases, your operation may be best served by maintaining supplies of frozen dough balls and par-baked pizza crusts. Consider the differences between the crust options and how both could benefit different recipes with their different tastes, textures, and preparation times.
A Whole Lot of Wholesale Pizza Dough Help
As always, your unique pizza operation is sure to come with unique questions. Alive & Kickin’ is here to help you determine your best options for buying and storing wholesale pizza dough, whether frozen dough balls, par-baked, or a combination of both. Contact us to discuss the best move for the success of your restaurant, c-store, entertainment venue, or more.
