Sicilian Pizza (Sfincione)

~Mama Mia!~

The Sicilian Pizza is what Italian housewives make at home as it does not require a brick oven, paddle, or any other fancy equipment. They are different from the Neapolitan Pizza in that they are traditionally square, have atleast an inch thick crust, and a lot more toppings! Because of the thicker crust you can really load on the toppings with this pizza  which is why I affectionately call this pizza a Sicilian party on a plate ; )


Tools
You will need a 12 inch square or round pan with atleast an inch edge. A stone ware pan is the best but don't let that stop you from making these awesome and easy pizzas at home as you can even use a metal large cake pan or a rectangular pan like the kind you use for lasagna just so long as it has an inch edge. I would not use glass/Pyrex since the heat used for this recipe is so high.
Ingredients (For 2 Pizzas)
My Pizza Dough Recipe (Or 2 pizza doughs from the Bakery or use 2 Frozen bread doughs-defrosted)
2 cups Italian tomato sauce (1 cup per pizza)
3 cups mozzarella cheese (11/2 cups per pizza)
1/2 cup Grated Parmigiana ~OR~ Romano Cheese (1/4 cup per pizza)
Olive Oil
A dusting of cornmeal for the bottom of the pan
Toppings of your choice, pile em on!: pepperoni, salami, roasted peppers, roasted onions, anchovies, basil leaves.......................................
Directions
Preheat your oven to 550. And if you have a convection oven turn the fan on. Place the rack on the second to the last shelf of the oven.
  Put a good 1/4 cup olive oil in the bottom of the pan. This will help create a crispy crust!
Separate your dough into 2 balls. Lightly oil the dough and your hands.
Take your round pieces of dough and lay them in the pans and dimple and press to fit in. If it starts resisting let it rest a few minutes and then try again. Do this until it fills the entire pan up including the corners.
Dimple the dough one last time and let it rest and slightly rise for about 15-20 minutes.
Spread out the sauce, then the grated cheese, and then the mozzarella. Lastly add your choice of toppings.

Place the pans in the oven together and bake for 10 -12 minutes with a convection oven or 12-15  if a regular oven. I would check after 8 minutes and then 10 though no matter what though just to make sure it is not burning as all ovens are different. It may even be a few minutes longer in some ovens so look for golden cheese and golden crispy crust.
Immediately take a knife and loosen any edges that may have stuck to the side.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
You can cut  4 big squares or 8 smaller wedges. If you are using a rectangular pan cut into 8 squares.