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1
Place a pizza stone in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Alternately, place an upside-down rimmed baking sheet on the rack in your oven.)
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2
Cut the dough into two equal-sized pieces.
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3
Halve one of the pieces of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to form two 8-inch rounds.
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4
Spread 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom half of each round, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.
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5
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the basil and one-quarter of the cured meats evenly over each portion of sauce.
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6
Sprinkle one-quarter of the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and crushed red pepper over each portion of meat.
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7
Gently fold the top half of the dough over the filling, rolling and pressing the edges together with your fingertips to seal them, and crimping as you go along.
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8
Repeat this process to make 2 more calzones with the remaining ingredients.
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9
Depending on the size of your oven, you may be able to bake only 2 calzones at a time.
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10
Cut several small slits in the top of each calzone to allow air to escape while baking, and transfer the calzones to the your pizza peel (lightly dust it with flour or cornmeal before adding the calzones, in order to facilitate moving the dough).
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11
Tilt the pizza peel to slide the calzones onto the preheated baking stone that is still in the oven.
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12
Bake for 16 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the dough is cooked through.
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13
Remove the calzones from the oven with the pizza peel or a spatula, and serve immediately or at room temperature.
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14
Adapted from an Emeril Lagasse recipe.
