Newbie Pizza Help

1) You need to have your egg at your cooking temp for at least 30 minutes, preferably 45, before you put the first pie on.  You do this so everything has time to preheat, and the heat from the hot dome will help cook your toppings before the bottom of the crust burns.  After I light my egg, it takes about an hour before I put the first pie on.

2) Sugar causes the dough to burn.  If there is sugar in your dough, cook it at 500 degrees or less.

3) Protect your cooking stone from the direct radiant heat of the fire.  You want the air temp and stone surface temp to be about the same.  I use a second pizza stone underneath, with some copper T's providing an air gap which insulates the cooking stone.

4) A food processor is a great tool for making pizza at home.  You can make the dough in it, the sauce in it, will shred your cheese, and slice your pepperoni.  Get a decent sized one, like 11 cup or bigger.

Two main reasons why people use the spacers.  To get the proper balance of heat from above and below, usually the pizza stone needs to be higher than sitting on the plate setter.  Second, it is easier to keep a consistent known temp on the pizza stone if it is up away from the fire.