Pizza Question (made first pizza tonight)

Vogs

Made my first pizza on the egg tonight. Turned out OK. The crust was a little under cooked. The cheese and topping were good. I preheated the plate setter for 20 minutes until it reached 550 deg. I then put the pizza stone on for 10 minutes. I then put the pizza on. The crust was raw and under cooked. Should I let the stone preheat longer next time to get a crisper crust? Is it possible that the home made pizza dough was not made properly( I followed direction and seemed OK). Any suggestions on how to get a crisper crust would be appreciated.[p]Thanks,
Voges

Puj

Vogs,[p]I recommend that you heat the pizza stone longer. You want the conductive heat properties of the ceramic to work for you, or in other words, bake the bottom of the pie. 10 minutes at 550°F is just not enough time to get the stone hot enough to allow the heat to transfer from the stone to the dough in a timely manner (conduction). You want the heat from the wall and dome of the Egg (radiation), along with the hot airflow (convection), to bake the top of the pie and the toppings. Conduction, radiation and convection are the fundamental heating principles at work in a brick oven, and this is why the ceramic smoker properly setup can bake some damn good breads and pizzas. [p]... and yes you can get the pizza stone too hot, which usually means a burnt bottom prior to the toppings being done. It's a balancing act that requires practice to get to know your Egg with your setup to bake your pizza.[p]Keep at it,
Puj

The Naked Whiz

Puj,
If you get the stone too hot, though, you can use the damp rag trick:
[ul][li]The Naked Whiz's Pizza Page[/ul]

Puj

The Naked Whiz,[p]Absolutely.[p]Puj

Gandolf

Vogs,
On the average, we did great! I burned crust on mine, but toppings were just right. I did my first last night, actually made three small. Nothing stuck to the peel or the stone, though, and they were "OK" so on my way.

Shelby

Vogs,
I suggest heating the plate setter and stone together. Everything else sounds fine.

sdbelt

Vogs,[p]You have two choices. Cook longer, in which you risk burning the toppings. Cook at a higher temp, for the same length of time. I find, with my pizza dough recipe, that cooking at 650 is perfect. 600 causes the problem you are noticing and 700 doesn't fully melt the cheese, at the point the dough is done.[p]--sdb[p]