First Egged Pizza - Suggestions and Questions

Cornbread Willy

First of all, thanks to Joel and CWM for helping me get the Egg unfrozen. I used the Spin pizza recipes that are posted here on the site with a couple of modifications to the sauce. I used sundried tomato paste instead of regular(not intentionally, that's all I had - but it was quite good - I think I'll do it again) and added a bit of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and a dash of cinnamon to the sauce. That's all personal preference stuff - I like a little zing. I thought the crust came excellent - just enough crispness. All in all a delicious pie and a good first attempt. A few questions:
1) This was my first time using the plate setter and pizza stone. Had trouble getting temp to target 550. Had the daisy wheel on, but wide open and bottom open as well. Granted, the weather here is lousy (cold rain and snow + black throated wind) but I've got to think some of you folks in Minnesota and other chilly locales deal with much worse. Are high temps possible with all that ceramic in the egg?
2) Due to inclement weather, company did not come over so I have an extra dough ball left over. Can I freeze that?
3) Any way to prevent frozen egg lid in the future? Joel suggested putting some clear grease on the bottom vent - how about the lid? Poor Egg is cooling down in the elements as we speak so I know he'll have a little dampness on him by the time he's cool enough to cover.[p]Sorry for the longwinded post.[p]Thanks everybody![p]'Bread

nikkig

Cornbread Willy,
I can't help you on the pizza questions, but on the frozen lid, some people suggest a couple of layers of foil or waxed paper. Someone was even talking about making a metal ring to go between the gaskets. As far as getting high temps with the plate setter and pizza stone, we have never had a problem getting it up high. You might want to take the daisy wheel off completely, and give it a little extra time since it is so cold out.[p]I can't even get to my egg, it's burried in snow. By the time I dig my way to it, hopefully it will not be frozen shut. [p]~nikki

Aron

nikkig,
As for the foil vs wax paper--go with the foil. I tried wax paper, and it can still get saturated with water and then you've got the same problem--it freezes. Had it happen to me. Foil works better. I've been fortunate, and haven't had my egg freeze since getting a pvc cover for it, since no water has been able to get in. Until that fails, I'd suggest heading over to home depot and getting one of those, for about 9 dollars. Unfortunately, I just ripped mine yesterday (it became brittle thanks to the -12 wind chill), but I have it duct taped up. Hopefully it'll remain waterproof, or else I'm off to the depot myself for a new one.
--Aron

Shelby

Cornbread Willy,
First, what's with all this snow stuff? We're heading into late February...isn't it time for the trees to start budding?[p]Now, about your first pizza...sounds like a great success on your first try. You're to be commended on this. I found pizza to be the biggest challenge but now, they come out extremely well.[p]The ceramics shouldn't cause a problem getting up to 5-600 degrees. One thing to remember...even though you'll be doing a relatively short duration cook, in order to get the higher temps, you need a lot of fuel in the fire box. Don't know how much you had so this may not be part of the problem. Also, when was the last time you cleaned out the ash really well? [p]Just think, if your first was that good, wait till the next!

Spin

Cornbread Willy,[p]Congratulations on the first of many pizzas. I little apple cider vinegar also adds a nice zing to the sauce. Cooking temps of 700+°F are possible with the plate setter setup you use. I use a full load of fresh lump and light it in several places, removing the daisy for the preheat. Regulate the cooking temp using the daisy, keeping the bottom vent wide open throughout the cook. The dough will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and freezes well for up to 2 weeks. The only two ways I know to prevent lid freezes are to live in warm weather or use an Egg cover.[p]Spin

KennyG

Cornbread Willy,[p]I've been making a lot of pizza (Spin's complete recipe) lately, including last evening, since I finally discovered how easy it is to make dough in a bread machine.[p]As the man himself indicated, a full load of fresh lump is a must. I use an old, slide metal only, top for pizza cooks and find I can achieve/hold the desired 550° more quickly than with a daisy. With a little patience, your setup should work in any weather condition. [p]As others have suggested, covering the gasket with alum foil strips prior to shutdown should solve the freezing problem.[p]K~G