Welcome @pljohansenfam. There are many, many topics about MDF. One just last week had some good points about problematic materials.
If this is thick Proofgrade, there should be no problem getting through in one pass. If it is true 1/4" thick MDF from a hardware store and you don’t know its composition, that could be a problem. MDF is wildly variable.
If you are not cutting Proofgrade MDF, then this will need to get moved to the Beyond the Manual category for further discussion.
Search cutting MDF 1/4".