29/10/2025
Ghostly Pizza
Ingredients – Black Pizza
For the Dough:
Water – 220 g
Sugar – 1 tsp
Activated charcoal (any type) – 5 g
Dried yeast – 2 tsp (or 20 g fresh yeast, crumbled)
All-purpose flour – 370 g (or 370 g white bread flour)
Extra virgin olive oil – 30 g, plus extra for greasing
Salt – 2 tsp
For the Sauce:
Chopped canned tomatoes – 250 g (or tomato passata)
Toppings:
Pitted large black olives – 100 g
Fresh mozzarella (in one large block) – 125 g
Dried oregano – 1 tsp, for garnishing
Preparation
Pizza
Place water, sugar, activated charcoal powder and yeast into mixing bowl and heat 3 min/37°C/speed 1.
Add flour, oil and salt and knead Dough /3 min. Meanwhile, grease a large bowl. Transfer dough to prepared bowl and shape into a ball. Cover bowl with reusable wrap or a cling film and leave dough to rise until doubled in size (approx. 1 hour).
Preheat oven to 230°C/450°F and line a baking sheet (approx. 40 x 35 cm/16 x 14 in.) with parchment paper and set aside.
Place dough on prepared baking sheet and shape into a rectangle the size of the baking sheet by pressing with fingertips and stretching it gently. Form a small ridge around the edges and let proof for 20 min.
Spread chopped tomatoes or passata on top of dough then bake pizza for 15-18 minutes (230°C/450°F). Meanwhile, continue with recipe.
Toppings
Halve 5 olives lengthways, trim nicely to create 5 bodies of spiders. Cut another 5 olives lengthways into very thin slices to create 8 legs for each spider. Cut block of fresh mozzarella into 5 mm/¼ in. thick slices. Using scissors, cut a piece of thin cardboard into a ghost shape which is a bit smaller than each mozzarella slice. Place cardboard ghost shape onto a mozzarella slice, then, using small, sharp knife, cut mozzarella slice into ghost shape (see tip). Cut 3-5 olives into very small pieces or squares. Using a sharp knife, make 3 small holes in mozzarella ghost, then insert 3 small pieces of cut olives into these 3 holes to create eyes and mouth of ghost. Repeat with remaining mozzarella slices. Place mozzarella ghosts between two double sheets of paper towel then press slightly to dry them.
Remove pizza from oven, arrange olive spiders all over pizza, then place mozzarella ghosts between olive spiders. Bake 3 minutes (230°C/450°F) or until cheese just starts to melt. Use paper towel to soak up excess liquid from mozzarella ghosts on pizza and bake a further 1-2 minutes (230°C/450°F) until cheese is melted.
Remove pizza from oven, sprinkle with dried oregano (avoiding mozzarella ghosts), slice and serve.
